As most know, Education is a core value at Breakthrough Fitness. Every week, Matt and I discuss different educational topics to "sharpen the saw," so to speak. In the last few weeks, we've spent a lot of time talking about the core High Intensity Training principles and how we can apply them to our training sessions. The common theme that we came across that I wanted to share with you is that you can manipulate your training in many different ways, but you NEED to follow the following principles:
Controlled movement speed - regardless of whether you use a lighter weight and move at a 10-10 speed or slightly heavier weight and use a 2-4 cadence, you always NEED to be in control of the weight. If you lose control of the weight, your chance of injury increases, and the exercise's effectiveness decreases. Moving controlled will keep force on the muscle and reduce the force on the joint (i.e., it will be more effective and safer - it's a no-brainer).
Full-body strength training is key - since we specialize in working with injuries, we see A LOT of muscle imbalances which create even more problems than the major one that brings people in. If your knee hurts and we only work your muscles around the knee that hurts, we might miss out on a movement pattern that could be causing that knee pain or a movement pattern that is causing a new problem. Regardless of the severity of the injury, you need to train your full body to balance your strength and reduce the risk of further injury.
Consistency is key - you can change up your program a million times or do the same program for years, but nothing will work if you don't show up consistently. This means that you need to follow the program even when you don't feel like it when you have a new ache or pain, when you've missed a session and dread going back when you're stressed, and ALL the other reasons (excuses) why you should skip. If you show up 95% of the time, even if you don't have a personal best, you're going to continue to improve overall.
You have to give it your best. I just mentioned that just showing up is key to continuing your progress, but if you only go through the motions of your workout, you aren't maximizing your results. Once you start your workout, take a moment to prepare to give it you're all for that day mentally. Instead of giving up after 10 reps because it's feeling difficult, see if you can go for that 11th rep. If you show up and put in the effort for every workout, you're going to get better.
Those are the 4 keys that we talk about the most. We can argue the nuances of the workout details for each person, but if we ever have issues with someone not getting results, at least one of these is missing. We feel passionately about providing these 4 principles for each of our clients in a personalized way. If you're struggling with one or more of these, let's talk about it at your next session!
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