Kaizen

As Lean Eaters will know, Kaizen is the Japanese concept of continual improvement--of doing a little more, a little better every day. Marc and I were at the range the other day, and another couple whom we often see there happened to join us on the steel range. Usually we only see them on the static range shooting at paper targets, and we've seen them there frequently. Honestly, I had never paid attention to their shooting skills until I saw them shooting on the steel range. I've noticed that they often shoot several different firearms of varying calibers, but never how well they shoot them. The nature of the steel range, though, is such that one can't help but notice others' skills. Frankly, I was surprised by their lack thereof. They really were not very good at all, and I commented to Marc how surprised I was at their poor shooting considering the amount of time they spend at the range. In his seemingly infinite wisdom, Marc made the point that doing the same wrong thing over and over again only serves to ingrain bad habits. Instantly, the light bulb in my head went on. How applicable to all aspects of life--especially the gym!

Showing up and going through the moves is so easy sometimes. The trick is the focus, making sure the moves are worth their salt. The trick is one more perfect rep or 5 more pounds or a bit more squeeze at the top. The trick is one bite less, one bit leaner than last time. The trick is occasionally reaching out to an "expert" for some recommendations about how to improve what we're doing. The trick is continual improvement. Otherwise we're just wasting ammo.

And because pictures are fun: :)