Chris Judd: Train your weaknesses to get stronger

It’s human nature to gravitate towards the things we’re good at it. After all, who doesn’t want to feel accomplished? Still, when it comes to training, we also need to develop in areas where we are not as strong.

If you strive for what’s comfortable and familiar all the time, you’re not going to see the improvements that you want. While pursuing your strengths might make you feel satisfied, the temporary discomfort of training your weaknesses is going to lead to far more benefits in the long term than training within the limits of what you know.

Often, discomfort is a useful tool for identifying where your focus should be; where you will potentially see your biggest improvements over time. For example, if you absolutely hate running, it’s probably a good sign that you’d benefit from some aerobic training. If you’re used to weightlifting, it might be time for some flexibility challenges. If swimming is your main form of exercise, you might want to think about hitting the gym.

There is a cost to mixing it up: maybe you won’t feel you’re executing these unfamiliar routines as well as the other people around you. But you need to put that ego aside. Ultimately, the health benefits are worth a little discomfort. Trying something new should be enjoyable as well as therapeutic.

Your weaknesses have a funny way of appearing and costing you. That's the same in football and in life: people prefer to avoid their weaknesses, but the key is to find a balance.

In a footballing sense, you don't want people to obsess over the negatives and have that be their main focus, necessarily. They'll have their strengths, too, and those are the reasons they got drafted in the first place. You have to make sure your super power stays a super power (and grows as well). Otherwise, you're not that much use to the team.

I spent 75 per cent of my time as an athlete making sure that my strengths were real strengths – but then I've also done enough work on my weaknesses to ensure they weren't weighing on me. Usually, people will only get their weaknesses up to a reasonable level. It's rare that in a professional sporting sense, somebody's weakness goes on to become their strength.

When I got drafted, there was a view that I wasn't a very good kicker of the football. I disagreed with that belief, but I resolved to work on it. And I actually told people during the recruiting process that kicking was where I wanted to get better. I think that played a role in changing people's beliefs. I also spent hours and hours of practice with an assistant coach – a huge amount of time making sure that weakness was addressed.

I think what helped me was deciding, ‘This is what I want to do.’ It’s a real positive if you’re constantly reviewing your strengths and weaknesses, pinpointing where you can get better, and planning out ways to achieve that.

Former Australian Rules footballer Chris Judd is familiar with how to get your heart rate up and push yourself physically. Twice winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal, Chris is an honoured sportsman and father to four children, Oscar, Billie, Tom and Darcy. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.