9 Things that you should, but probably don’t do to improve your overall fitness
When it comes to fitness there are really 5 types of people:
1 – Athletes
2 – Weight loss focussed
3 – Instagram focussed
4 – Overcoming or working with chronic illness/injury
5 – Fit regular people
Athletes train in a very specific way (or at least they should), not just for their sport, but their role within their team and their own bodies/style of play.
Majority of people have some sort of weight loss focus, and as much as exercise and good training plays a decent part in it. Diet is where you need to put 80% of your focus (be education focussed not instant results focussed. It will change your life)
Instagram is always a crazy one. People bypass what’s good for them to look better on Insta and then most of what they post is staged anyway. I’m a big believer in keeping things real, honest and as beneficial as possible for the people that are consuming what you’re putting out.
The people that are working with or overcoming a chronic illness or injury of some sort, make up a bigger chunk of the population than you think. Again, movement and training will play a big role in their development and in winning their battle. But nutrition will be more important to them and should take up more energy and focus.
As for the fit regular people. You’re the type that fitness is a pretty big part of your day to day life. It’s a stress relief, it’s a place for you to get away from the craziness that surrounds you, it makes you feel good, look good and it helps with your mental health.
However, there are a lot of people in the “Fit regular people” category that are missing a few things that if not done, can become detrimental to their fitness and if done well can send their fitness soaring for years and years to come.
If you’re one of those “Fit regular” people, then you should continue reading. And I hope you don’t just learn, you ask questions, understand, implement and practice what you learn. Because that’s the real secret.
9 Things that you can do to get the most out of your training
1. Work at the right intensity in each workout to get the results you want
It’s not your job to become all knowing in training principles and methodologies. What you do need to know is what intensities get certain results.
So the questions you need to ask yourself (and then your coach) are: What are the results that I want? What is the “best” (not fastest) way to achieve them? Can I do it better?
Training = Creating a stimulus on the body that forces an adaptation that creates a desired result.
That means, when you train, your body sends signals to your brain that force it to make certain changes. If your training sends the wrong signals, you’ll get the wrong results.
One of the major challenges that “Fit Regular” people have is they just want to go all out 110% every training session.
More is not more and less is not less.
Know what you want to achieve, Find a great coach that has the knowledge in what you want and follow their advice.
2. Know the difference between “Exercise”, “Training” & “Competing”
There is a distinct difference between all 3, but the lines can be blurry. And people (probably you), either don’t know they’re there, or don’t care. But just like in point 1, if you don’t use your knowledge, you’ll damage your training and potentially your body.
Exercise – is just the process of moving. It’s really anything outside of being still. It could be going for a walk, playing with your kids, putting the bins out, etc. Anything that really adds to your general day to day movement.
Training – is what I said above. Creating a stimulus on the body that forces an adaptation that creates a desired result. The main difference between exercise and training is the intention. One is general, the other is specific.
Competition – is doing what you have to do or are willing to do, to win.
The question then becomes. Why are you doing what you’re doing? Do you have a goal in mind? Are you training? Or are you competing?
A lot of people blur these lines and they end up competing when they should be training or just going through the motions with no intention.
The problem with that?
If you have a goal in mind or if you actually want to get better in your strength & fitness then you need to provide the best stimulus for your body so that it produces the best results you can get.
And most of the time, that involves slowing down a little.
3. Warm-up/Prepare properly
Regardless of the type of training you do; Running, Swimming, CrossFit, F45, Gym, Bootcamp, etc. a great warm-up is so important for a couple of reasons.
- You reduce the risk of injury
- You increase your bodies responsiveness to training (you’re body will respond better to training)
- Training feels better when you’ve prepared well
And the really important thing about a great warm-up is, it should be specific to the type of training you’re about to do and should include more than just getting sweaty.
Warming up is probably the wrong word, so use preparation.
Prepare your joints, your muscles, your nervous system and your mind for the specific training you’re about to do and everything will feel better.
You’ll train better, you’ll feel better and the results you get will be better
4. Learn & understand great training principles
Training principles are the underlying details and reasons behind the style of training you do.
I don’t mean your goals, I mean the details behind the program, the exercises, the intensity and the volume.
Here is a really simple model of training principles that I use for every program I write.
Start at the bottom and work your way up.
- Function – What is the level of pain or restriction?
- Position – Ability to get into positions pertaining to the desired movements
- Movement – The ability to move well between set positions
- Strength – Ability to move loads through the movements
- Speed – The speed at which you can perform the movement, even under load.
- Skill – Translating the movement into a specific skill
This is a great system for understanding where you’re at, what to focus on, when to stop and how to get to the next stage in your journey.
The problem that most people have that train regularly is that all they want to focus on is the Strength, Speed & Skill, because it makes them feel as if they’re progressing faster.
The challenge here, is that you will progress for a little while, and then your progress will stop, because your movement patterns are poor, you haven’t improved the restrictions that were limiting you before or you have pain and you’ve been fighting through it.
Having a system like this gives you a much better view of your current position and what to focus on to get better long term results.
5. Know the difference between – Strength, Power & Endurance
It doesn’t matter what you’re training for. Resistance training is imperative to your success.
Do you want to run faster? Do resistance training.
Do you want move better? Do resistance training.
Do you want to feel stronger? Do resistance training.
The list is endless.
What changes though, is the type of resistance training you do and the effects that it has on your body (the stimulus you create).
Depending on what type of results you are after will determine, the type, the volume, the frequency and the intensity of your resistance training.
Strength is the greatest amount of weight you can move in a single effort (most of the time known as your 1RM or 1 Repetition Max)
Power is the greatest amount of force you can produce in a single effort (Mass x Acceleration or KG’s x Meters per second squared)
Endurance is the ability to continuously produce effort over a longer period of time, reps, sets, etc. With little to no rest.
By understanding these basics, you’ll get a better idea, or at least better understand where to focus your training and the type of resistance training to add to your program to get better results.
6. Challenge yourself
This point may seem a little contradictory to the first 5.
But if you want to improve, you need to challenge yourself.
A great training program is built on 3 foundations; 1 – Is it safe? 2 – Does it have progression built in? 3 – Is it fun, exciting and have variety?
Safety, makes things boring, but obviously, it makes things safe.
Progression and variety is where the challenges lie.
In order to progress you need to repeat things enough times and for long enough that your body adapts to it. Once you’ve reached the point that you no longer need to grow in any way, you’ll plateau. So make it harder, make it heavier, increase the sets or reps or intensity, change the movement, etc. Just as long as it is taking you towards your goals.
Variety keeps things exciting.
We established this at the beginning. You’re not an athlete. You’re a regular person who loves to train and be fit and you want keep getting better. You have a job, a family, and other things that take up your time and energy and you don’t get paid to do this.
So keeping things spicy and fun is just as important as keeping things boring and monotonous. Play with new movements, train in different ways, try new things and stay excited.
As long as you keep it safe, you stick to your principles and what you’re changing still takes you where you want to go. Then go for it.
7. Track your numbers
This is simple.
You won’t know how much you have grown if you don’t know where you started or where you’re at now.
Whether it’s doing park run, squatting or doing a bootcamp workout that you have done a few times before.
Keep track of your scores and your numbers and use them to develop the best program to move you forward.
8. Find a great coach
You are a regular guy or girl. You might be extremely fit or you might be just starting out. Regardless you don’t do this for a living. You do this because you love it, because it helps you escape, it makes you feel good and you love to challenge yourself.
Don’t worry if you don’t know everything. And also understand and accept that you don’t know everything.
And by everything, I mean, the best way for you to train and move forward. The best program, class, style of training that is best suited to your body, your current physical state and your goals.
There are a lot of terrible coaches and there are a lot of great coaches. The only way you’ll know who is who, is by questioning them, researching and asking multiple great coaches.
Once you have someone that passes your test, then listen, learn and grow.
A last little point. A lot of PT’s are great sales people, let your critical thinking brain help you make the right decision, not your emotional one.
9. Play the long game and take the pressure off yourself (Raise your standards, manage your expectations).
This is probably the most important of all.
We have have goals and things that we want/need to achieve. What’s important is that we play the long game.
Regardless of whether or not it fits in our ideal timeline. If it does, great. If it doesn’t, that’s ok. Adaptations to your body take time, especially if you’re doing it correctly.
We want long lasting change that has a positive impact on our lives as a whole, helps us achieve our goals and challenges us all the time.
Results that you gain quickly are easily taken away (Rapid weight loss results in rapid weight gain, too much resistance training without the right recovery results in injury, etc.).
Do it well, do it right, work hard, challenge yourself and take your time.
Unless you’re going to die tomorrow if you don’t achieve it, then it’s probably fine that it doesn’t come for another 6 months.
The great thing is, if you keep doing it and you’re consistent, it will happen.
How do you use these tips to get the most out of training?
Research them and implement them.
Don’t just train blindly, have a plan that helps you progress.
Find a coach that can help you and will guide you on the best path.
Train at different intensities regularly, not always at the same.
Recover well.
Challenge yourself by keeping training exciting and fun and be ok with changes happening over a longer period of time.
Enjoy your training,
Train well,
Train hard,
Train often
And have fun 😀
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