This week a 26 year old from Dunblane, Scotland, put his name in the history books and changed the perceptions of a nation by winning a tennis match.
Put like that it vastly underplays the enormity of what he achieved. For 77 years the UK watched as the tournament hosted on its own shores was won by an ‘outsider’. In the entire open era no British player had even made the final prior to Andy in 2012 but for many years the weight of expectation was there, most notably on the shoulders of Tim Henman.
Not only had it been 77 years since a British player had taken the title (of the Men’s Singles), you have to go back to the 1800s to find the last Scottish winner. And a little over 10 years ago, when Henman was consistently making the Semi finals, the very idea that a Scot would achieve anything near that level, never mind actually win the thing, was simply unthinkable.
Ok, so we get it, it was a big deal, but what does this have to do with a fitness site?
More than you might think.
First up, although it is not a sport I personally partake in beyond the odd knock about on occasion, I would consider it one of if not the most complete of tests in the sporting world. First up it is an individual pursuit, so if you have a bad day you can’t rely on your team to cover for you. You have to be 100% focused at all times and playing at your best. And with the exception of the year end finals, it is a knock out sport. So again, no matter how good you are, one bad day at the office and you are out. It requires high levels of general fitness, speed, agility, quick reflexes (most serves have a reaction time for the returner of less than a second to get to the ball and angle a return correctly), power and stamina.
I can’t think of any other individual sports that require the same level of quality in all of these areas and with the possible exception of ice hockey I can’t think of many team sports either.
To perform at this level requires an extremely high level of ability in all these areas.
In the world of fitness there is always the argument of genetics and a similar argument is often thrown in the tennis arena, that of talent. You are either born with it or you are not. That may well be true and you could say that someone like Roger Federer has a natural talent for the game and doesn’t need to hit the gym to the same level as many of his rivals. But then there are those such as David Nalbandian who is probably one of the most talented players ever to play the game, but how many grand slam titles does he have? In fact, how many of you have even heard of him? The reason for his downfall? He quite clearly doesn’t work on his fitness to the same level as his peers. Comparatively speaking, he is over weight and lacks the speed shown by those at the top of the game. And if he had taken the time to work on these easily fixable elements, there is a high chance that his achievements would have eclipsed those of Federer through his career.
But let’s look at Andy.
Back in 2005 at the age of 18 during his third round match at Queens (which in itself was a shock at the time) and in a game he probably should have won, he collapsed with cramp in the 2nd set and went over on his ankle twice. He has since admitted that, at the time, his idea of a post match meal would be a pizza, his diet was appalling and his fitness regime not much better.
Most people, at that time, were tipping him to make it into the top 50 but not much else due to his lack of physical presence and stamina.
The following winter he moved his off season training to Miami and in the space of a few months returned to the Australian open with a completely new physique. He had seriously bulked up and was sporting a six pack.
Now he was being told he was too big and it would slow him down. During his 5 set win over Stan Wawrinka at Wimbledon that year, he turned the match around from 2 sets down by retrieving a ball that was almost in the crowd and hitting a cross court winner. Hardly slow. He finished the match by flexing his biceps at the press. He was doing things his way he had a goal and he was staying true to it.
He was further criticised for having an entourage rather than a single coach. He had a team of specialists that he had built around him, but no real head figure. But there was a reason for that. He was the man in charge. His goals, his vision and the team was there to assist in the areas he decided he needed help with rather than having one person tell him what to do.
It became a running joke that half the people there to support him where his team. But now, a few years later, most of the top players are doing exactly the same thing.
So where am I going with this?
Well from start to finish he has been told he was doing it wrong. He was too skinny, he was too bulky, didn’t have the right weapons to threaten the top 3 players, he didn’t have the mental toughness (after all he did lose his first 4 grand slam finals). But there were no bigger critics out there of Andy Murray than Andy Murray himself. The difference was that he knew what he needed. He knew himself well and he knew what to do or when to ask for help to improve any weak points.
He didn’t listen to criticisms, he didn’t get down on himself (well not for long anyway) he simply had a goal and no matter how many times he got knocked down he picked himself back up and used the experience as a tool to improve for the future.
It took him 14 years from starting tennis seriously to finally winning the Wimbledon trophy he desperately sought.
After his first loss in a grand slam he didn’t decide to completely change everything, give up and chase something new. After his first Grand Slam final defeat, he didn’t start looking for some mystical route that wasn’t on the radar or try to copy the guy that beat him that day (Roger Federer) in the hope of unlocking the key. He stayed true to his path and chipped away at the imperfections in his own game. When the main one seemed to be the mental aspect, he sought out Ivan Lendl to be his coach as he knew Lendl was one of the few people he would listen to and be able to learn from.
All of this applies to any fitness goal. You have a vision, you have something in your mind that you are targeting, if it is not clear what that goal is, your direction is never going to be clear. But the goal has to be a personal one. Not something you are doing for the adulation or approval of others. It has to mean something to you personally.
Too often people start down one road and if it doesn’t go perfectly to plan very quickly, they are suddenly looking for another route or start listening to the criticism of others. You either believe in the route you are taking or you don’t, but if you do, if you truly know where you are going and you have a plan to get there, then no one and nothing should cause you to question that. You are in control. Your route will never be linear and it will never be exactly as you planned. You may need to make adjustments along the way, but they should be in keeping with your own ideals.
In its simplest form I’m talking to the people who think they can buy their way to the physique they want and at the lowest possible price. Those who will try weight watchers, then slimmers world, then curves, then atkins, then buy one of those slendertone belts, then go running while the weather is good, then back to weight watchers, then the local Bootcamp, then the online diet guru and so on. Always asking for “the best exercise to…(insert vague goal here)”, the people who “just” want to tone up, as if sticking the word just in front of it makes it suddenly an easy process.
In the end, some people are born with certain genetic gifts and if those people apply that fullest potential they will reach levels of world class, regardless of the goal in question, be it a sport, bodybuilding, modelling, acting, writing, photography etc. For most of us giving the same application may not mean world class, but it will be better than most and more than most people would generally wish for.
But the one big thing to note, returning to our Wimbledon champion, is that at no point was Andy Murray training or eating to look good.
All of his training and nutrition choices are geared towards improving his ability to play tennis. Yet he has taken himself from that skinny 18 year old who collapsed in the middle of a game 8 years ago and built a physique that most people were shocked by. Whether it is to your taste or not, he has broad shoulders, a distinct upper body V shape, defined biceps and a very defined six pack. Most guys would settle for that. Most guys hit the gym looking for that. Yet most guys trying to achieve it don’t get there, where Murray, who had no interest in the physique aspect, has achieved it by default.
This goes back to the thing I keep saying time and again. What you look like on the outside is an expression of how you treat yourself generally. Andy wanted to fuel himself to play better tennis matches, he wanted to build power for not only his shots, but to allow him to react quickly and sprint for drop shots etc. So he hit the gym and worked on the muscles that would allow those things to improve. And by improving his physical abilities and nurturing his body correctly he achieved what he aimed for.
Along the way, he gave up every Christmas for around 7 years to go and train in Miami, away from his family. He doesn’t drink alcohol as a rule. He sacrifices what most people seem to consider a necessity (nights out in the pub, parties etc) because the goals he set himself mean more than these things.
So the lessons are simple.
– Set yourself clear goals. Goals that mean something to you deep down and give you emotional motivation to achieve them.
– Don’t alter your path for other people. Stay focused on the path you have set yourself and believe in what you are doing.
– Ignore negativity from others. If you truly believe in your path then nothing should cause you to waver for a second.
– Ensure your goals are more than superficial. Health, Strength, Speed, Power are all attributes that are worthy of your attention, vanity is not. Vanity is a goal that suggests that other people’s views of you will determine how you feel about yourself. Absolutely look to make the most of yourself, but entirely, not just on the outside.
– Don’t rush things. It is rare for things to go perfectly from the off. But life goes on and so does your journey. So long as you keep moving forwards you will always reach your target in the end.
– Make adjustments not changes. Tweak things as necessary and as needed, but don’t keep starting again every few weeks.
– Enjoy the process. Murray and his team use forfeits during training to make it more fun. It is not a chore, it is a means to an end and one he enjoys doing. Be sure you are doing something that is not only suitable for the goals you set yourself, but a process you enjoy. That doesn’t mean it has to be easy, it should be a challenge, but not one that makes your stomach curdle at the very thought of it each day.
– And lastly, if your goal truly is an emotional one and important to you, then it should be easy to pass on the distractions that go against the process. The alcohol, the parties, the late nights and so on. If not and you find yourself giving in to things that you ultimately find yourself regretting, then you are not emotionally invested in this goal and there is no point complaining that you are not achieving it, or not getting there fast enough. At that point it is time to re-evaluate the goal itself and what it means to you. Don’t try to improve your will power or look to work twice as hard at the gym to make up for it. Work out why that blip seemed more important to you at the time. Weight up what it meant to you compared to what you ‘say’ you want to achieve and re-assess what you truly want.
Most of us will never re-write history to the level of Andy Murray, but there are lessons to be learned from him and if you take them on board you can conquer your own personal Grand Slam challenges and it will mean just as much to you as winning Wimbledon did to Andy.
