Heart Disease, Deliberate Practice and 942 Kilometres

Heart Disease, Deliberate Practice and 942 KM

You might be wondering what these have in common, but for me, it is what this winter has been all about.

Heart Disease

In my family, you die from heart disease or cancer, most likely both at the same time.

I don’t think this is genetic. I think lifestyle is a significant factor.

Even if it was genetic there is good news. A new study of almost 500,000 adults published this week in Circulation has more proof that regardless of genetics, lifestyle is the key to good health.

The Stanford researchers found that even with high genetic risk, being fit lowers your risk of heart disease by 50%.

This is one of the reasons I exercise.

I have seen the future and I am not taking any chances.

Deliberate Practice

Which brings me to deliberate practice.

I read a great book at the beginning of the year, Essentialism, The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. The theme of the book is “less, but better” it has become my mantra for 2018. The author, Greg McKeown, believes you can’t have it all and do it all, well. So many of us are too busy being busy instead of productive. We are doing more, instead of doing more of the right things. Being an Essentialist isn’t a time management scheme, it is a systematic discipline for deciding what is absolutely essential and eliminating everything else. To be truly focused and good at what we are doing.

To be a truly exceptional performer you need to do one thing differently from everyone else. Intensive, quality practice with a good coach. Exceptional performance is the result of deliberate practice and you can’t do this without being an Essentialist.

All practice is not equal.

“Deliberate practice – Practice that focuses on tasks beyond your current level of competence and comfort”

I often see people practising their bad habits at the gym and in their recreational activities. They get frustrated and feel like giving up when the answer is to simply do less, but better. Don’t add anything, remove the extras and focus on one thing at a time. Be deliberate. Practice. Be better.

Deliberate practice is about specific, sustained and considerable effort on something you want to improve. Even if you can’t do it right now.

Which brings me to 942 KM.

942 KM

Cross-country ski season started late this year. It almost felt like it wasn’t going to start at all.

Now it feels like it won’t end.

I started the season with some coaching with an amazing ski coach. Every time I went skiing I practised one thing. Sometimes even successfully.

I have been cross-country skiing for 25 years. There is still much to learn. With the assistance of my patient and dedicated coaches, Neil and Brad, I think I am getting better. I have one thing to practice. That is it. All winter I have practiced the same thing everytime I go skiing.

I also got a new heart rate monitor in December, at the beginning of the cross-country ski season.

It records distance.

We have had a long, cold and snowy, winter. I skied a lot in March. So much that I thought I would add up my distance for the month of March. It was almost 500 km for a month. Then I wondered, if I skied that much in March, how many kilometres have I skied this season?

That may, or may not, have been a good idea.

When I did the math it was over 700 KM.

Then I had another great idea. I wonder if I can get to 1000 kilometres before the season is over?

As of this morning, I am at 942.

I am planning to stop skiing on Sunday. Spring has to start sometime even though last week it was still -20 C overnight, it is beginning to feel warm, which now means above 0 degrees.

I have four days to ski 58 KM.

58 KM of deliberate practice, of preventing heart disease, of focusing on one thing.

Even if I don’t make it, I am already successful.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla