WHO'S WORLD OF FANTASY WILL YOU DIVE INTO NEXT?

Hey there! It’s the start of another week, and although I bet you do not look forward to Mondays, surely you do miss me during the week, right? So perhaps Mondays are a day for us to catch up? Hehe, it’s great to have you back as you decide how to respond to that statement.

By the way, if you would still like to take up the challenge and register for the races coming up in September, check it out over here. Also, if you would like to reach out to me, feel free to email me at josemariambui@gmail.com 🙂

Alright, let’s get down to our discussion.

Hey Coach, I love reading your articles. I have a question that you could possibly help me out with. I am a rugby player currently playing for a particular club in Kenya, and I would like to go pro one day. How would you advise me?

Aaaaah, rugby, the game of gentlemen; or rather, the game of ruffians played by gentlemen. 😉 Thank you for your question, which is, by the way, very tricky. There are lots of follow-up questions I would ask at this point, such as how old are you? Which club are you playing for? How long have you been playing? And by ‘going pro’, are you implying playing for Kenya or for another country?

There is no particularly easy way to answer this question, and I would be lying if I promised a smooth ride under our current circumstances. I’m pretty sure you are aware that our government doesn’t quite care about sports development in this country; if they did, our stadia (plural of stadium) wouldn’t be renovated just for political rallies, then left to rot. Have you also heard of the allegation that Ababu Namwamba’s team (Cabinet Secretary of Sport) mistreated the athletics team and misused the funds during their recent trip to Budapest?

If there were a system where we had active sport managers, at least we would be assured that someone is looking out for our interests as athletes. If there were also a system of accountability that the current leaders in Kenyan sports were subject to, perhaps we would even stand a chance to host the Olympics – and what an honour that would be!

Alas, we are left to fend for ourselves…and it can be both expensive and frustrating. Focusing on rugby, for you to be on the scouts’ radar, you need to play games. To play games, you need a team and funds to travel to the match venues. And even if you had the funds, if you haven’t meshed with your teammates, there’s absolutely no way you’ll play as a unit – and I know you know what I mean. And in order to bond with them at that level, you need to have played with each other for longer than the 2 weeks that is granted any Kenyan team before they travel for games – who even came up with that plan, surely?

Boiling it down to you as a player, how good are you? Anyone can play rugby yet only a few make it to the professional level. Are you one of them? How much time are you dedicating to the sport? Can you keep up with the financial and lifestyle requirements to live a professional sporting life?

Here’s my take: supposing you’ve got all these areas covered, finding a manager would be the closest step to where you are looking to go. Even musicians need managers. These guys broker deals, make use of their network connections, and can exploit loopholes that we didn’t even know existed. How many of them, however, do we have in Kenya at the moment? The professional ones, that is.

I can’t promise that you will get there, and I also can’t say that you will never make it to the pro level. You can, nevertheless, boost your chances by finding a manager who’ll take care of everything they need to so that you can focus on your game and getting where you wanna get to.

Dear Coach Maina, I read your previous article on the races coming up in September and I would be interested in showing up for the running individual time trial since it sounds interesting. What advise would you give me seeing as it would be my first ever competition?

Allow me to commend you for your bravery on taking up the challenge; it requires courage to show up to a race – I would know. In my case, I never saw it through my first (cycling) race. I chickened out and rode back home after getting to the start line. Wanna hear about it?

It was in November of 2016, I had been invited to a local cycling race that was called Mwisho wa Lami Individual Time Trial. Until then, I hadn’t known that cycling races existed, and I doubt if I even knew about the Tour de France. Sad, I know. Anyway, I got up particularly early that Sunday morning and got to the start line. But,

When I saw the awesome bikes and kit that the riders had on, I panicked and decided to watch instead. Shortly after, I rode back home. The good news is that I eventually overcame the fear and participated in the next race called the Southern Bypass Individual Time Trial (I’m a fan of the TT). I didn’t win…and I, surprisingly, never lost.

Getting into a race for the very first time can be an anxious experience. That’s made worse when you compare others to yourself. I am willing to bet that even pros tend to go through some of these things each time they get to the start line.

The simplest advice? Don’t overthink it, just do it. There’s a certain pride in knowing that you successfully completed your first race, made even better if you have a token to take home as proof!

Most complicated advice? Just do it. Did you know that the toughest competition we will ever face is the one against ourselves? In my coaching career so far, I nurture my athletes to always try be better than they previously were. After all, isn’t what makes an outstanding athlete the quality of their sportsmanship? Not all Olympians land on the podium yet Olympians are still in a class of their own. Think about that.

Therefore, sleep well the night before after prepping your shoes and kit you intend to use for the race, eat well, hydrate, show up for the race, hydrate, start the race, run, finish and have loads of fun! I’ll definitely be there to cheer you on!

Dear Coach, a friend of mine directed me to your articles and so far I am loving them. I have been following a few workout challenges, but I have had trouble keeping up with them, especially since most of these challenges last for a month at best before they end. Do you suppose you could find something that could work out for me?

Thanks a ton for reaching out, and pole sana for your experience! Then again, perhaps it hasn’t been so bad after all seeing as you are still looking for your best fit to your active lifestyle. I totally respect that because it’s only by trying that we succeed, right? Keep it up!

Having sampled a few challenges along the way, were there some aspects that you particularly enjoyed? I’m guessing these were majorly home-workout challenges, so maybe push-ups, planks, squats…?

Perhaps an even better (and possibly more vital) question is: what are you looking to achieve from your workouts? Are you looking to build muscle; or run faster; or lose weight; or swim faster…? Your goals determine your choice of workouts.

To illustrate: consider the sensational sprinter Omanyala and the GMOAT – can you decode this one? – Eliud Kipchoge. Both go to the gym, and both hit the road to practice their runs yet they possess different body types: well built vs lean. If Omanyala were to adopt Kipchoge’s gym and road routine, he wouldn’t be able to perform as a sprinter and vice versa.

Once you can answer this question, finding the perfect fit becomes that much easier. Otherwise, you may be stuck oscillating endlessly with frustration eating you at your very core; and that can be enough to get someone off an active lifestyle.

I would totally love to know what your goals are. 🙂

Dear Coach, I secretly hope you’ll post this one in your blog. I’m a huge fan of your articles. I started working out on my own a couple of months ago, and it’s been great. The only issue is that my body has been paining whenever I do particular exercises, which, as you can imagine, limits what I am able to accomplish. Please advise.

I totally appreciate you taking the time to hit me up, and I thought I’d save this question for last – perhaps for best? 😉

Pain, huh? How we all like to evade it, yet we have also heard the phrase “No pain, no gain”. Only issue? Whoever coined the phrase never did seem to differentiate between the good and bad pain.

While the pain that comes with burning muscles due to lactic acid buildup is expected, pain that feels weird is a sign of trouble that is shouting STOP! I specifically like how you’ve mentioned “particular exercises”, which means that your body is trying to communicate that there is something not working as it should, similar to the dashboard lights – check engine!

First question, have you been injured before? Maybe broken a bone or twisted a joint? If so, are you rushing back to exercise before it has been fully rehabilitated?

Second question, supposing you haven’t been previously injured, how is your form when doing that exercise? For example, if doing a push-up, is your bum sticking out or is your body nice and flat? How you shape your body for a particular exercise determines whether you get quality or an injury. In the example, you would most likely get a shoulder- or elbow-joint injury or both.

Third question, are you over-weighing your weights? For example, if you can lift a maximum weight of 60kgs, trying 65 or even 70 could land you in hospital! Good news is that you can work your way up the weight scale, but forcing yourself to already be there before your body is ready could kill you (side-eye emoji).

A solution that effectively tackles all three questions is – wait for it – HYDROTHERAPY. If you have access to a swimming pool, this is one that I would totally recommend. Have an injury? Working out in a pool is a great way to rehabilitate it. Unable to run comfortably on land? Running in the pool will solve your issues, especially if it’s your knees or weak bones that are limiting you on land.

No access to the pool? That’s also okay. It only means that you have your work cut out for you.

My first recommendation would be to change the exercise you are doing. For example, if jump squats are making your pelvic area scream, why not try skipping instead with a side dish of squats? If jogging is shooting sharp pains up your legs, why not try brisk walking? Your body could be trying to communicate that you are not yet ready for that level of intensity, and that if you dial it a notch lower, you could end up prepping yourself for that intensity. 🙂

Second recommendation in the case where you are using weights is to lower the weights being used or retreat back to using your body weight – especially if you skipped this part! An advantage of using your body weight is that you can better adapt the correct form of the exercise, for example, lunging with a straight back and 90-degree knee. In this case, if you jumped straight to weights, your back and knees could become liabilities due to poor form.

Third recommendation in the case where you’ve been previously injured, take your time getting back into shape. Rushing back could worsen the injury and even take you off the game completely! Baby steps.

I would totally love to know if you have any underlying issues, because then it would be easier to make adjustments. Lemme know. Hydrotherapy is still an option, by the way. 🙂

Thanks for hanging out with me. I wish you all the best in your active journey this week.

Cheers!