"Mindset - is greater than - skillset - is greater than - toolset" (M>S>T) is a heirarchy that can be applied to mission-critical challenges. The challenge could be short-term, such as coping with a heavy wipeout in surf or a tough ju-jitsu sparring session. It can also be a long-term challenge like training for these sports, or for health and fitness in general. This post will take a quick look at using M>S>T for surfing, and a closer look for health and fitness.
M>S>T describes how our success in a situation that feels like life or death depends mostly on what we are thinking. Physical attributes can help but are secondary, and any external aids (clothing, types of tools) may not even influence the outcome. Interestingly, surfing and ju-jitsu are so attractive because they have the potential to make it feel like you are at times flirting with death. Meanwhile, the pursuit of health and fitness is not always such an attractive proposition - but it really IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH.
Mindset, Skillset, Toolset in Surfing.
Let's say we are preparing to surf the Cribbar. This is a wave that typically carries more risk than anywhere else on the same swell due to increased wave size and power, limited access and exit points, distance from shore, rocky inside area, and strong currents. The M>S>T cascade can give us great momentum to launch a campaign to successfully surf such a wave.
Mindset.
i. Beliefs. This involves our beliefs about our own ability and the scale of the challenge. And therefore, what would happen to us if we got caught out.
ii. Motivation. Intrinsic factors include simply chasing a rush, proving something to yourself, or the desire for adventure and novelty. Extrinsic factors include sharing the ‘journey’ with a surf buddy, proving something to others e.g. peers, community, sponsors.
iii. Attitude. This considers how important success or failure are to us, and how we would deal with either.
Skillset.
i. Big wave surf ability. This involves paddling into large waves, catching them, dealing with steep take-offs and holding on at high speeds. Also, evasion, handling wipeouts, self-rescue.
ii. Specific fitness. Aerobic fitness for sustained output over 2 hours, anaerobic conditioning for sprint paddling, apnea tolerance. Mobility, coordination and agility to support surf ability.
iii. Watercraft. Reading the water in real time, and understanding the interplay of tides, wind, swell, bathymetry and time.
Toolset.
i. A big wave ‘gun’ surfboard.
ii. Accessories for the above e.g. 10’0 leash, tail pad, big surf fins.
iii. Warm and flexible wetsuit, impact vest considerations.
Lots of guys have surfed Cribbar with only point No.1 in place, sometimes catching absolute bombs. I know some people that have caught a wave with No. 2 and No.3 sorted, but never the 'wave of the day' and they don't tend to stick with it long term. I've yet to hear of anyone having any success with only No.3 taken care of. All the surfers I know that have built up affinity with Cribbar have rock solid mindsets, they don't all have expensive boards and wetsuits.
So what we see is that you cannot buy your way into the wave of your life (No.3) and neither can you just go through the motions (No.2). Usually for surfers, the gateway to a rock solid mindset is simple: surfing powerful waves gives you a feeling that cannot be found anywhere else. The single-minded obsession emerges naturally from this.
But what's my motivation for exercise?
We may have to scratch a little deeper. Surfing has an instant reward system. For some people, exercise does too, but for a lot of us it doesn't. It feels like a chore although we know 'it's good for us'. And we are in good company. One study (Gjestvang et al., 2020) found that after 3 months 63% of new gym members still trained more than twice a week, and 20% had quit altogether. At 12 months, it was down to 57% regular attendees and up to 28% drop out.
This is what the M>S>T cascade may look like for our health and fitness.
Mindset.
i. Beliefs. If we keep doing what we are doing now, what state will our health be in in 6 months, 1 year, 5 years? Are we on route to be a burden or benefit to others in the second half of our lives? The threat is real.
As a society, we are on the path of becoming a burden. Between 1990 and 2017, the number of deaths and disease-adjusted life years DOUBLED across 195 countries (Dai et al., 2020). Unhealthy body-mass index (BMI, aka body fat) is noted as the prime driver for ischemic and hypertensive hearth disease, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, stroke, dementia and lower back pain.
ii. Motivation. Who or what depends on us to be healthy? Do they depend on us financially? Physically? Emotionally? How would your family, friends, and colleagues be affected if you were ill? How would your life look if you were healthy and vigorous throughout your lifespan? What would you do with the extra quality-adjusted life years (QALY)?
iii. Attitude. Do we feel we are missing out and being punished when we can’t have the things we like (or are addicted to)? Or do we see pursuing an integrated healthy lifestyle as our path to freedom from the poisonous, dementia-inducing Western pattern diet (Mattar et al., 2022), self-medicating with alcohol, chronic pain and an unrewarding sedentary lifestyle?
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Skillset.
i. Sleep. The rising tide that lifts all boats. There is no part of your health or recovery from illness that is not improved by quality sleep. For a 2.5 hour masterclass try this podcast with Dr Matthew Walker and Rhonda Patrick PhD.
ii. Nutrition. Exotic diets are unsustainable and fail. Nutrition plans that factor in your reality are effortless to follow and deliver increasing returns. I like to keep it simple and realistic: we get most of our food in Lidls. Try this for a simple nutrition plan. Get in touch if you want additional guidance.
iii. Movement. Walking is the most practical free medicine available. The cost of 30 minutes a day in the short term will be repaid with an increase in your QALY. Don’t expect three hours training a week to undo a chronic sedentary lifestyle.
iv. Training. This should be a source of pleasure that you look forward to and feel energised and refreshed after. Like the other three, it needs structure and time set aside in advance.
Training is the icing on the cake. It goes on last once we have established good patterns for sleep, nutrition and movement. This doesn’t need to take long, huge changes can be made in one week. The world is full of very healthy people who have sleep, nutrition and movement dialled.
Toolset.
i. Gym. Or your workout area. At Natural Scientific we train indoors at K2 in Newquay and outside from Surf Sanctuary overlooking Fistral Beach. Newquay has a lot of gyms, maybe as many as there used to be night clubs 20 years ago. You’ll definitely prefer some more than others, but gym choice is not mission critical as gravity works the same in all of them.
ii. Equipment. This comes from your exercise preferences. Do you like the tactile feel of functional equipment like battle ropes, sled pushes, slam balls, tyres, punch bags, kettlebells and bodyweight? Or do you like the trackable quantifiable data afforded by machines and ergs? There is more equipment in the gym than gym goers. Gravity works the same on all of it.
iii. Supplements. I personally don’t bother and aim to meet my needs from a balanced diet. If time is short of you are struggling to meet calorific and protein requirements, supplements are a sensible idea. I would not recommend trying to work backwards and placing supplements at the forefront of your health journey.
iv. Apps. Strain and workout trackers like Woop and calorie counters are great ways to calibrate your efforts. Whether you wish to yield to them or go by ‘feel’ is your choice.
v. Programmes. Last on the list, but a good programme is faithfully informed by the mindset and toolset. Bespoke programmes fit around your life, and contain movements and challenges that excite you. A programme written for you will guide you through a two or three month transformation and contain consistent challenges that foster neurological and physiological development, and varied components that keep workouts fresh.
If you are like me you will have tried to prioritise various elements of the toolset hoping it will give you the momentum you need. Or you will have tried applying willpower to the Big Four in the skillset, only for your best intentions to fall apart by the end of the month. By taking a conscious inventory we can re-organise our subconscious value system so that we don't need to rely on will power, and good decisions will come as easily to us as the bad habits of yore.
When you enrol on a programme with me we take an extra session to establish your mindset. I've always found that clients like this part; it gives them the chance to shape their programme and gives a real sense of self-agency in their progress. Effortless adherence to an integrated, healthy lifestyle starts with getting the mindset right. From there you will flourish by living under a set of values that suit your lifestyle and culminate in the result you want to see.
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References
Gjestvang C, Abrahamsen F, Stensrud T, Haakstad LAH. (2020). 'Motives and barriers to initiation and sustained exercise adherence in a fitness club setting-A one-year follow-up study', Scand J Med Sci Sports, 30(9), pp.1796-1805. doi: 10.1111/sms.13736.
Dai, H. et al. (2020) ‘The global burden of disease attributable to high body mass index in 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: An analysis of the global burden of disease study’, PLOS Medicine, 17(7). doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1003198.
Mattar JM, Majchrzak M, Iannucci J, Bartman S, Robinson JK, Grammas P. (2022) 'Sex Differences in Metabolic Indices and Chronic Neuroinflammation in Response to Prolonged High-Fat Diet in ApoE4 Knock-In Mice'. Int J Mol Sci., 23(7), pp. 3921. doi: 10.3390/ijms23073921
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