THE POWER OF MOMENTUM

FIRST, SOME EXAMPLES

Admiral William McRaven is a retired 4 star admiral who served as a Navy Seal for 37 years. He commanded the raid on Osama Laden on May 2, 2011. He is outspoken and highly respected.

On May 17, 2014, he gave the commencement address at the University of Texas at Auburn. He stressed the importance of starting your day by making your bed (correctly). The speech went viral and had 10 million views.

Making our beds is a good start to a successful day, a momentum builder. Here is that speech.

Admiral McRaven is pictured below.

Momentum is an important forward movement of our fitness journey. It’s the psychological and physical movement toward our goals.

I have often started a workout somewhat reluctantly, realizing that my time or energy might have been in short supply. In every instance, I gained momentum to finish simply by starting. Momentum took over from there. The momentum of starting fuels further effort and keeps us committed to our task. Nike says “Just do it”.

KEEPING MOMENTUM GOING WHEN WORKING OUT AT HOME

The Mayo Clinic gives us 5 tips for maintaining momentum with home workouts. Mayo Clinic coaches propose a thoughtful and progressive approach to exercise – a road map.

1. Stack your habits. If the kids are up at 6:30 a.am each morning, set a workout time for 30 minutes before then. if there is a daily conference call, set fitness goals before or after.
2. Designate a workout place at home. Not everyone has a workout room or suitable garage for workouts. We may need to convert a room or make use of smaller, portable equipment. I have a treadmill in front of a bedroom window and lots of equipment that may be easily removed after use.
3. Tailor the work to your abilities. Beginners have certain needs, as do those returning from injury. Not everyone is an elite athlete.
4. Rely on a knowledgable expert. Take the guesswork out of your fitness program. Personal trainers will help, as may experienced fitness advocates.
5. Rethink what success means. Our fitness goals will change as we age, as may our environments. I can attest to that – lighter weights become heavier and yet the effect is the same or may be even better.

Mayo Clinic coaches tell us “to create a habit that you’ll be successful at, it needs to be enjoyable and obvious”. In my experience, tennis was always fun and challenging. It produced a level of fitness, but that was a secondary goal. Some workout sets are more suitable than others, yet there are so many options per muscle group that we are unlikely to ever be bored.

Habit formation has always been important to me. Habits produce momentum as we exercise in a manner that becomes automatic. Here are prior posts that speak of the value of habit:

Habit formation and fitness

Psychology of habit formation

Why habits matter

7 simple fitness habits for anyone

Sir Isaac Newton defined momentum in his second law of motion as the product of an object’s mass and velocity or P=MV. The rate of change of momentum is directly proportional to the force acting on the object.

He was speaking of the physical momentum of objects, of course. But there are parallels to the psychological momentum we generate by beginning and sustaining an activity.

MOMENTUM IN THE SPORTS WORLD

There have been incredible comebacks in the history of sports, indicating the change of momentum. Here are a few examples:

• The 39th Ryder Cup. On the 2012 Ryder Cup final day, the Europen team was behind the American team 6-10. The European team needed 8 and 1/2 points to win, which seemed highly unlikely. But they developed momentum in the early matches and came back to win. This was called “The miracle at Medinah”.
• The 2017 Super Bowl. The New England Patriots were behind the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter. The score was 28-3. But Tom Brady rallied the team to a tie in only 17 minutes and the Patriots won in overtime.
• The 2022 Kentucky Derby. Rich Strike had 80:1 odds to win, started in last place, but found a way to weave through a complex path to win at the end.
• The 2009 U.S. Open (tennis). Juan Martin Del Potro was playing the great Roger Federer in the finals and was trailing two sets to one. But Del Potro won the 4th set in a tiebreak and kept the momentum going to win the final set for his only major championship.
• The 2004 American League Championship series. The Boston Red Sox were behind 3-0 to the New York Yankees in the best of 7 series. But the Red Sox won the next 4 games to advance to the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. They kept the momentum going to defeat the Cardinals for their first championship since 1918.

We amateur athletes also have memories, though they will not have the historical significance of those above (except to us). I can remember 2 such situations. One was a win, the other a loss.

• I was playing a semi final tennis match in a small county tournament. After two split sets, I was behind 5-0 in the final set. My only thought was to win at least one game in the final set to avoid embarrassment. I won that one game and then the next two. I could then see that my opponent was beginning to play tentatively to try to hold on. He was playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Big difference! I easily won the next four games and the match,
• The same situation happened in a high school basketball game, but the result was not a happy one. My team was ahead by 3 points to our strongest rival. Our coach told us to play the time clock and slow up – to play not to lose! It didn’t work. We had not practiced freezing the ball sufficiently and lost the game. We gave away the momentum.

AFFILIATE MARKETING

Writing articles and including relevant links to affiliated companies is a form of affiliate marketing. We are given the right to post links and possibly earn from activity on those links. See my upper menu – BECOME AN AFFILIATE MARKETER – for full information on this business opportunity.

The diagram below shows how this works in simple terms.

Amazon is the associated company that I am using today. Amazon is easy to work with and they have an almost unlimited product line. Their service and delivery are excellent.

Here are a few links, starting with 3 books:

Make Your Bed – by Admiral William McRaven

Sea Stories – My life in special operations, by Adm. McRaven

The Hero Code – by Adm. McRaven

Home treadmill – very similar to the one I use at home

Resistance bands with handles – get a full body workout at home

Loop resistance bands – I use these for physical therapy at home. Less than $9.

Small medicine ball – I use a 6 lb. version of this ball for waist training.

Tart cherry juice – I have found that this drink helps to lower my blood pressure. Steph Curry and Alica Schmidt also use tart cherry juice. It is great!

Pelvic floor trainer – I use this device every day to work my pelvic floor muscles.

FINAL THOUGHTS

For home workouts, I use Bullworker Fitness products every day. See the Bullworker ad at the side of the page and click on the red link for full information on all of their products.

Today’s topic was quite simple – ride the momentum! It can come and go. Momentum and positive habit formation are the two most important aspects of fitness or sports that I have ever found. They could also apply to any other worthwhile endeavor.

Please leave me any comments or questions in the “Comments” section below.

Let’s stay active!