The weakest link

Much time has passed since presenter Anne Robinson first began terrorising viewers of English television when the hit quiz show The Weakest Link first exploded onto the scene.

Of course, the most memorable line from that show has to be: “You are the weakest link, goodbye!” It was all about identifying the weakest link in the team and eliminating them after the end of each and every round. When only one winner remained, they would walk away with all the prize money the team members had previously assisted in raising before being voted off.

Participants would have to undergo the dreaded walk of shame upon being voted off, which was probably why many of us enjoyed watching the quiz so much. But even if you never enjoyed watching the show, it would still be difficult to argue with its central premise.

You may have heard the phrase: ‘You are only as strong as your weakest link’, and whether we’re talking about the TV show or indeed life itself, there certainly is a lot of truth in that.

Consider a hypothetical game of soccer. You could have the greatest attacking players on the planet, but if you simultaneously fielded the worst defensive players in the very same team, you would concede enough goals to cancel out all the benefits of your sterling offensive line-up. Indeed, perhaps a balanced team composed entirely of mediocre players would fare better.

Even in individual sporting or business endeavours, honing specific skills and competencies while neglecting others could leave chinks in your armour, there on full display ready to be exploited by anyone shrewd enough to spot them.

Seek out your weaknesses. What are you not doing that you feel perhaps you should? If you can figure this out, then do an Anne Robinson and say goodbye to your weakest links

But unfortunately, unlike the TV show, in real life we can’t just cut our weakest links loose. We have to carry them around with us while they throw up barriers in our way and limit our potential. The key is to work on our weaknesses until they become strengths, thus creating better overall capability. But what are these weaknesses we face in the exercise and fitness realm?

Strengths in fitness generally tend to become those activities we enjoy or those we are best at. Sometimes we enjoy them simply because we are good at them, and the activity tends to creep to the foreground of all our training efforts regardless of whether or not it is the best activity we could be performing in light of our specific goals. Let’s have a look at a few examples.

Consider an overweight woman wishing to improve the appearance of her figure. She begins frequenting a gym and quickly realises the group fitness classes are far more enjoyable to her than anything else on offer at the gym. She becomes a regular and makes excellent progress, shedding fat and improving her shape. Eventually however, her fitness levels rise to the point where the beginner classes she enjoys so much no longer challenge her and her progress therefore stagnates.

Consider also a man wishing to look more muscular. He quickly discovers the thrill of lifting heavy weights and bulks up to the point where although he is more muscular, he has also put on fat and does not have the muscular appearance he originally wanted.

It doesn’t matter though, because when the whole gym stops and stares as he piles on those big plates either side of the bar for the bench press exercise, he just feels great.

In both cases, the participants have lost sight of their original goals, and developed strengths which over time have come to distract them.

Even though the classes and heavy weights in each instance serve to motivate them and encourage adherence at first, a time might come when disappointment at not achieving the original goal begins to negatively affect motivation, cancelling out the benefits those activities previously represented.

So what should our two participants be looking out for? They should attempt to identify their weaknesses.

The woman addicted to classes has become a slave to routine. She has fallen into a comfort zone and is afraid to try different methods of training. If she can identify these weaknesses then she can take her first tentative steps to working on them, like maintaining her class twice a week and dedicating her third session to trying something totally new.

She could try a different class at first, then perhaps a gym-based session with an instructor, or an outdoor session with a personal trainer. If the club where she trains offers trials for such services, then it should only be a matter of time before she finds something challenging that will get her right back on track towards her goals.

The man addicted to heavy weights has started to value the fitness component of strength above all others. Instead of sticking exclusively to the free weights and muscle-building training, he might venture onto a cardiovascular machine for several minutes per workout at first to burn some fat and increase his fitness to be able to train harder.

He could try higher repetitions with less weight and less rest between sets. He could try super sets or indeed any other system that might encourage the development of stamina, speed or any other component to balance out his strength.

Seek out your weaknesses. What are you not doing that you feel perhaps you should?

If you can figure this out, then do an Anne Robinson and say goodbye to your weakest links one by one.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt