Sunday, January 27, 2013

The little bits that change your workout.

We focus quite a bit on the practice of getting to the gym and fighting for results. Though weight lifting, interval training and cardio exercise can be each rather important, it is paramount to understand that exercise and nutrition are based on one's own personal bio-individuality. I believe that this principle applies in exercise as well as nutrition, for the different types of benefits each diet and each workout genre espouse. Now the question is usually, "which one is right for me?" You'd want the answer from a professional standpoint, and a professional will surely give thorough, educated, profound guidance. Thing is though, the truest answer will come from within your being.

Getting the right balance of these pieces in are going to be a top priority. For the strength gains I've made, and the variety of challenging exercises I use, I've built a lot of muscle that I'm very proud of. I just have one problem: when people lift for strength, they get strong. Now I need to lift to get lean, and that's not always as fun, and sometimes feels like it's cutting into my strength training. Sure, they could all be done on different days, and actually, that would probably help a lot. Or one could train in phases: an endurance phase, strength phase, power, and integration, then start over. I do all of this with a kettlebell or two. For now, long and slow cardio, 45 min to an hour, 2 hours minimum per week. This will definitely change.

Now I haven't even gotten to the meat of why I referred to the little bits in the title. This is because the little bits are the parts that get lost in a workout schedule, the bits that ultimately provide far more benefit at times than the actual fitness routine itself. They are: foam rolling, rubber ball rolling, proprioceptive training, glute activation, holistic chiropractic care, and inversion. I think I'll start a new page and begin with the ice cream of the dessert world: foam rolling. Stay tuned.

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