Physical Intelligence - Day 7

Second time I have been on the treadmill to watch a Tottenham game, but this time it was empowering minutes after starting, whereas the last game was 87 minutes of frustration followed by 7 minutes of disbelief regarding Tottenham scoring 3 goals in five minutes at the end of the Swansea game.  Today at Watford, I joined the game late at the half-hour mark and within 2 minutes of starting the treadmill, Tottenham scored.  Immediately I was pumped and I pushed the incline button up.  Then it was 2-0, and again I was pumped and pushed the incline button up further.  Before the half Spurs made it 3-0, the game was won but there was a long way to go and at that point I had elevated the incline to the point I finished on Wednesday afternoon.

By the time the game finished Spurs scored another superb goal in a game of superb goals and at the 4-0 mark I notched the incline to another level, at a gradient I had not set before.  80 minutes later the game was done, Spurs closed the points gap between them and Chelsea to 4pts, pending Chelsea's visit to Bournemouth later on today.  At the same time I had also killed two birds with one stone, in that I am committed to writing a log here in the Bronze Hive, but this also becomes a match report for my Tottenham hive.

The irony is not lost on me that I am engaged in physical fitness, watching my team and celebrating their absolute dominance this year in the Premier League, that it is based on three things that Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is drilling into his side

1. Absolute physical fitness - so Spurs can outplay the other team all game long

2. Strengthened mental endurance - so Spurs players mature in mentality with experience

3. Adhere to Pochettino's football philosophy and system

Now I look at my own practical response to physical intelligence and if hypothetically I was born to have the potential of being a world class footballer, I would not get into Pochettino's squad because I lack the necessary physical capacity and desire to push myself physically beyond a basic and natural limit.  That is not to say that I am willing to risk injury by pushing myself.

What is ironic is that that my effort is infinitesimal compared to the physical work rate of the players who were playing live thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean.  I only engaged 80 minutes of walking on a steeper incline and I was not subjecting myself to 90 minutes of physical action coupled with the risk of injury from soccer - such as muscle or ligament damage, or even concussions or strains and the subject of other physical injuries.

The man of the match Kieron Trippier is not even a regular starting player for Tottenham and it is unfortunate that his position is secondary to Kyle Walker who is now also an England player. 

In the past Spurs would buy marquee players who lacked the physical will to give their all and be flexible enough to support the team when intelligently out of position.  The same can be said about me, when it comes to physical intelligence - this is the first time I have more resolve and determination, even though the underlying desire to train is still not there or at least lukewarm.

It is also strange that in watching sports we are actually watching EXCELLENCE in motion and yet very few of us are inspired day in and day out by the physical reality of training and dedication to physical intelligence in front of large audiences who are willing their team on.

The other good note about today is twofold - I got the gym out of the way by 10am and I wrote the log after the session rather than before it, which means I can now concentrate on the delivery of Toastmasters Success Masters program I will be delivering in a couple of hours at my local college.  Just the shift in mindset and physical flow of my body has a different energy even when I have only slightly challenged myself to be more physical.

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