Training can often be associated with pain and discomfort, but it doesn't have to be that way. By following these 5 principles of pain-free training, you can make every aspect of your life better through movement and exercise.
1 Never skip the warm-up.
It's important to never skip the warm-up before any type of physical activity. A warm-up serves to gradually increase your heart rate, blood flow, and body temperature, which helps to prepare your muscles and joints for the demands of the workout. Skipping the warm-up can increase your risk of injury and make your workout less effective.
A good warm up should consist of dynamic stretches and movements that mimic the exercises you will be doing during your workout. For example, if you are about to do a strength training workout, you might start with bodyweight squats, lunges, and push-ups to get your muscles and joints moving.
2 Train all 6 movement patterns.
There are 6 basic movement patterns that our bodies are designed to perform: push, pull, hinge, squat, lunge, and carry. It's important to include exercises that cover all of these movement patterns in your training program to ensure that you are well-rounded and balanced.
For example, push exercises include press ups, bench press, and dips, while pull exercises include rows, pull ups, and chin ups. Hinge exercises include deadlifts, kettlebell swings, and Romanian deadlifts, while squat exercises include squats, lunges, and split squats. Lunge exercises include lunges, split squats, and step ups, while carry exercises include farmer's carries, kettlebell walks, and suitcase carries.
By training all of these movement patterns, you will be able to build functional strength and improve your overall physical performance.
3 Develop all physical traits for life.
In order to live a healthy and active life, it's important to develop all of your physical traits. This includes strength, endurance, flexibility, mobility, balance, and coordination.
By focusing on these different physical traits, you can improve your overall physical capacity and reduce your risk of injury. For example, by improving your flexibility, you will be able to move more freely and comfortably, while improving your balance will help you to stay steady on your feet.
To develop all of your physical traits, it's important to incorporate a variety of exercises into your training program. This might include strength training, cardiovascular exercise, stretching, and balance and coordination drills.
4 Prioritise progressive strength.
Progressive strength training is the process of gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts over time to continue making progress. This might involve increasing the weight you are lifting, the number of repetitions you are performing, or the number of sets you are completing.
Progressive strength training is important because it helps to ensure that you are continually challenging your muscles and making progress. Without progressive strength training, your muscles will quickly adapt to the demands of your workouts and progress will stall.
To ensure that you are engaging in progressive strength training, it's important to track your workouts and make small increases in intensity as you get stronger. You should also mix up your workouts every four to six weeks by including different exercises and training modalities to keep things interesting and challenging.
5 Empower lives through movement.
The ultimate goal of training should be to empower people's lives through movement. This means using exercise and movement as a tool to improve overall health and well-being, rather than just as a means to an end (such as weight loss or muscle building).
By focusing on the holistic benefits of movement and exercise, you can use training as a way to improve your overall quality of life. This might include things like increased energy levels, better sleep, improved mental health, and a stronger immune system.
To empower your life through movement, it's important to find activities that you enjoy and that fit into your lifestyle. This might include things like going for a walk or run in the morning, joining a sports team, or even swimming. The key is to make movement a regular part of your life and to find ways to incorporate it into your daily routine.
In summary, the 5 principles of pain-free training are:
1 Never skip the warm-up
2 Train all 6 movement patterns
3 Develop all physical traits for life
4 Prioritise progressive strength
5 Empower your life through movement
By following these principles, you can make every aspect of your life better through movement and exercise. Remember to focus on the holistic benefits of training and to find activities that you enjoy, so that you can make movement a regular part of your life.
Please send us a message here at The Edge Strength and Conditioning if you wish to get Fit and Strong and more importantly be Pain FREE
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