Wheres my MOJO

It happens to all of us, we feel amazing, training is going really well, and then, it strikes in the night…The MOJO thief.

This is a great YouTube video for some motivation...

I have learned that 'lack of MOJO' is basically - I cant be arsed. 

OR

you have been over-training, partying too hard - too many late nights and you are knackered. 

I have found it difficult to differentiate between tiredness because of training, and tiredness because of over training, and being on the brink of illness.

I have started using a few methods to check how my body is coping. What makes this more difficult is being a shift worker, so basically i am knackered all the time.

RHR

Resting heart rate

Know you resting heart rate, check your HR every morning. if it is higher than normal, this can indicate the onset of illness or fatigue. it may be best to have a rest on this day or have an easy training session. I have learnt you cant train out a cold, and you will only drive yourself into the ground. REST is often BEST.

APPS

RPE

Rate of perceived effort

If last week you were hitting 1:30's per 100m in the pool, and today you are struggling to make 2:00 mins, you have not lost that fitness in a few days. You are probably fatigued. sometime stopping and writing of a session for recovery can be better than grinding out a mediocre session, annoying you mentally and tiring your body out. 

All that said, training hurts, you will be tired. I have learnt to be a bit smarter where recognizing the signs of overdoing it is concerned. 

The Grind - quoted from thesportinmind.com 

In training and competitions, you arrive at a point at which it is no longer fun. I call this the Grind, which starts when it gets tiring, painful, and tedious. the Grind is also the point at which it really counts. The Grind is what separates successful athletes from those who don't achieve their goals. Many athletes when they reach this point either ease up or give up because it's just too darned hard. But truly motivated athletes reach the Grind and keep on going.

Many sport psychologists will say that you have to love the Grind. I say that, except for a very few hyper-motivated athletes, love isn't in the cards because there's not much to love. But how you respond to the Grind lies along a continuum. As I just mentioned, loving the Grind is rare. At the other end of the continuum is "I hate the Grind." If you feel this way, you are not likely to stay motivated. I suggest that you neither love nor hate the Grind; you just accept it as part of the deal in striving toward your goals. The Grind may not be very enjoyable, but what does feel good is seeing your hard work pay off with success.