As I have to adapt my life to certain demands and rise to the occasion on the face of multiple adversities, self created and otherwise, I think of how this is entirely true to training as well.

If you do not follow Burley Hawk on instagram already, I very much recommend you do so. Not because of his ridiculous feats of strength like his good mornings with 700+ lbs, but for his intelligence regarding the application and implementation of conjugate style training, and moreover simply the ability to adapt and adjust on the fly when it comes to our attempts to get stronger.Many times we are coached, or running a program and HAVE to do our prescribed stuff for the day, and are very resistant to change due to our conviction, dedication, or what have you.

This is not at all a bad quality to have in a world of program hoppers and fickle people, but it can also paralyze you if you are unwilling to look at your own training, body, and approach with a critical eye. We become so locked into what we are meant to do that day that we do not realize that we are in CONTROL and we are the masters of what our bodies are told to do.

"Treat your body like a temple". No. Treat your body as an employee. It works for you. Treat it WELL and allow it to grow, and rest, and learn. But it works FOR YOU. If you tear a bicep, you may have pushed your employee too hard. It has rebelled back against you, and you need to consider your relationship more carefully in the future.

This can be done in many ways. Some call them autoregulation, some call them conjugate, others call them simply finding the sweet spot. I've been training for over 10 years and have accumulated more injuries than most. Do you think that is coincidental?

My recent injury has caused me to reexamine my approach, and I am attempting to take control. As I am at the helm, but I need to consciously turn the wheel sometime rather than allowing others to do so for me. This is causing me to explore a variety of methods, a majority of them being a conjugate style. I have always used block periodization prior, and will likely continue to do so. But do not be surprised when you see more variability, speed work, and non specific strength in the future.

We sometimes need to be steadfast, and withhold a storm as if we are a temple in the downpour. And sometimes we need to act as if we are one with the water and become fluid. Letting it move over you, through you, and moving with it.