How do I get started?

Grayson Fertig & Mike Morris

This is what I have learned. This is what I’ve experienced. And I wonder if you can use it in your own life. Thanks for listening.

Best, Mike

I think of this as my practice, It looks like a warm-up. But really it is preparation training. Preparation training for what?Preparation for whatever you want to do with your life.

You could probably maintain your level of competiveness in football with just one preparation training session per day.

Preparation Training

I once told that to a pro football player that I had been training on and off since he was 17. At this point he was 26 and in the midst of a pro career. Greg had returned to our hometown in New Jersey with a hamstring injury. His season was over in the Canadian Football League(CFL) and he was preparing for a European contract. For 10 years I had been teaching him the Preparation Training that you see in the video. Unfortunately when he was in season or training on his own, his preparation for games and practices was whatever would most quickly get him ready for the excitement of the activity. The gift and curse of a younger person is that you are already in a state of readiness; you Can jump right in to just about anything.

Developing A Practice

The injury that was constricting his ability meant that he was no longer a great athlete waking up great, he was a great athlete waking up inhibited. He was suffering both the physical pain and the anxiety and stress of seeing the impermanence of his greatness. I’m not saying that if Greg had done the Preparation Training workouts all along that he wouldn’t have been hurt. Instead what I am saying is that had Greg done the workouts all along he would have had a more developed practice that he could have accessed in order to heal and to repatriate himself to greatness.

Back to School

Instead we were on a field behind the local elementary school re-learning Preparation Training. At 26 Greg was very different from his 17 year old self. As things work out the way they do, a few years later I got a text from Greg. “Dude, I’ve been unable to find any time to train. I have so much to take care of. My businesses, my son, practice, travel, games, it’s just too much. So I’ve just been doing the Preparation Training. And guess what. I feel great and I’m playing great.”

Continuing Education

Part of my Dharma is to share what I have learned. I have been fortunate enough to have been taught by some great coaches. My first coach, Mr. Rogers, my grade school track coach, told me, “Your goals and dreams are here to teach you about who you are and why you’re here.” By relentlessly following my goals and dreams of playing in the NFL, I continued to meet coaches. Ben Tabachnik, Remi Korchemny, Brent MacFarlane, Joe Paterno, Randy Huntington, Arthur Lydiard, Stan Bergman. Preparation Training is my assimilation of all that I’ve learned from them.

Focusing Intention

Preparation Training is a way to focus one’s intention on the body. It is a simple way to learn more about body rhythm, physical creativity, suppleness, diaphragmatic breath and postural alignment. The combination of anaerobic and aerobic exercise is a great way to develop and maintain strength, co-ordination, work capacity, speed, and power. It is a consistent practice that allows you to touch the world around you.You Might Like:

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