In the past couple of years there has been a trend in the fitness field towards “extreme” or “high intensity” exercises. Over the past 10 years it seems we have started to value how “intense” or “extreme” a program is more than the results it can produce. The crazier the class the more appeal these workouts appear to have and often the measurement of the program is pain or complete fatigue.
We are delighted that you are doing cardio, strength, taking classes, etc. It provides you an opportunity to be active everyday and that is our goal – to keep you active and strong. We want you to move every day (as recommended by ACSM) but also want to ensure you choose your activities wisely. Hard work and a little muscle soreness isn’t always a bad thing but there should be some fundamental rules that are always followed.
- Technique is NEVER sacrificed for intensity. Poor technique and horrible form are where injuries happen. Make sure technique is always spot on before increasing the weight.
- Fatigue or soreness shouldn’t be confused with being productive. Yes, you might be sore and tired but it shouldn’t be the focus of your workouts. We don’t adhere to the “No Pain, No Gain” method.
- Recovery should also be a main goal of your training program. “You don’t get better during your training; you get better when you are recovering from it.” The body needs a chance to recover from a high intensity workout to help prevent injury and over-training. Recovery is what makes you stronger. Signs that you might be over-training or not getting adequate recovery time include insomnia, fatigue, HR variability, persistent muscle soreness and lack of concentration. A good example of workout variety is: if you do a strength workout on Monday, a Pilates class or a cardio workout would be a good choice for Tuesday. Then hit the weights again on Wed. and maybe some cardio on Thursday.
- You have to EARN YOUR PROGRESSION! This is one of my favorite adages. We all like new and harder exercises but if you haven’t spent the time to master it at a lower level then you don’t get to progress. Practice and master the exercise – then you can progress to the next level and feel confident that you have earned it. Your risk of injury is also much lower.
- Choose the appropriate exercise and weight. Adding too much weight or crazy exercises doesn’t impress anyone – it just makes you prone to injury and careless. We will help you and coach you through the appropriate exercises for you in order to keep you progressing, feeling good and being safe.
We ask that you make sure your trainer knows if you are participating in classes or other activities so that we can plan a complimentary workout to those activities. We want to help you establish a safe and effective fitness program so that you can meet your health goals, have fun and get stronger each day.
Martin Rooney – “Beast Mode” training;1/26/16