It is obvious that Jim Bishop put a lot of work into his castle. More than likely, he encountered many sore muscles and tons of sweat. He also used tools along the way as he worked many, many days from sun up to sun down. At the end of the day, when do you call it a day?

In the construction world, you are not done working when the work is done. When you use tools and construction materials, you need to take measures of maintenance and management before you are truly done. If you don't, you are hindering your future progress and efficiency.

Envision a wheelbarrow that you may use to mix cement. After attempting to empty it with a shovel or just by dumping it out, it is not completely cleaned. If you fail to clean it out properly, the residual concrete will stick to the surface and start to diminish its effectiveness. You can't clean it out with more cement, but you can with a solid stream of water. The same is true for paint brushes. The brush below worked all day long with thick material and was not properly "flush" with thin water to help remove the debris that will make it difficult to use the next day. It will become stiff and less effective.

Here is how that applies to your training. When you challenge your body during a quality workout, it creates debris in the muscles called "lactic acid." This is just a waste byproduct of the energy that produces motion in your muscles. This is what causes the burning in your muscles. If you do not properly flush it out, you will feel stiff and sore for several days. So let's talk about how to "flush it out."

Just as the water will clean your wheel borrow or brush at the end of the day, a moderate flow of blood through your muscles will flush out the bad stuff... so you will feel better the next day, the day after, and throughout the week. This will allow you to do a quality workout sooner and have more productive training in the days to come. Oh yea, you will feel better too!

How do we do this? Properly cool down by jogging easily for several minutes, even up to a couple of miles is one your assignments. Other "post work" maintenance includes our hurdle mobility drills and our mobility maintenance. These practices are the easy part of the workout that we should not pass up because we are in a hurry.

Going beyond our training, the principals apply to cleaning up after dinner or filing paperwork in an orderly manner or cleaning up the horse stall every morning. So let's not forget to finish up the day's work with the easy maintenance tasks that will positively affect your future.