In the past when I went out to do some sport the idea I had about successful training involved sweat and hurting muscles. This has changed for me, especially when I’m moving into functional training. The effort required is a mix of being focused on the movement, the muscles involved, and a specific function like mobility, strength, power, or speed. It also means that successful training is based on my ability to sense the effort I’m providing and how.

What it isn’t about however is about controlling the movement, an exhausting number of repetitions, or always lifting or pushing more weight. All of which would actually be counterproductive.

But it doesn’t mean that the training is effortless. There is always some type of effort to produce. Usually a well-defined one. And one for a known outcome in terms of enhancing a bodily function. Right now I’m for example concentrating on proprioception and coordination.

What this defies is the idea, that effort needs to be hard, or that we just need to try hard enough. And simply showing up and providing some effort to show willingness doesn’t work either.

That’s true for any project we entertain.

We’ve got to know what the effort we are showing up with is for.

It takes a while until how this works becomes clear. It takes time until we learn to see the outcome an effort is for and thus how it may contribute to the result we want to create.

It’s all part of learning our craft and the work we do.

It never happens without effort.