One Easy Way to Improve Your Workouts (Spoiler: Its not what you think)
So what is this magical idea that once you understand it, your workouts will improve exponentially?
SLOW DOWN!
I can already hear the doubtful questions concerning “toning and sweating”…
First let’s talk about the origin of this mindset. Most often this idea of moving fast from exercise to exercise comes from the notion that sweating is directly correlated to how many calories you burn. If you take too many breaks, you don’t sweat as much, meaning I DIDN’T BURN CALORIES! This concept is simply not true.
The second culprit that perpetuates this idea is timed exercise most often found in group classes. We’ve all been there. Your coach puts 60s on the clock and you are supposed to do as many pull ups as possible. The problem with this set up, is it rewards cheating reps, conserving energy, and holding as little tension as possible.
SWEATING HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH INTENSITY
This is a concept that 90% of group fitness participants struggle with. While it is awesome to get a good sweat, it does not mean you got the best workout in. When it comes to the science of exercise, Intensity is directly correlated to force production. Yes… a 1 Rep Max Squat that lasts 6 seconds is considered far higher intensity than a 45 minute treadmill sesh that burned 600 calories. That single 6 second rep drains almost all of the muscle glycogen out of your immediate energy stores and releases vitally important hormones. Building muscle requires Intensity. Without it, there is not enough stimulus to actually cause muscle growth. Takeaway: finding the happy medium between intensity and volume is the key to a general fitness program that will produce the greatest results.
Quality over Quantity
This a concept that you hear in every facet of life. It is especially true when it comes to resistance training.
Tension applied to a muscle is the only way to cause growth. As a general rule of thumb, the eccentric portion (phase of a movement where the muscle is lengthening) of a motion should be 2-3 seconds long, and the concentric portion (contraction/shortening/working phase) should be about 1 second long. A person who knocks out 8 reps with the timeframe recommended above puts 24 seconds of tension on their muscles. Someone who rushes through 15 push ups at 1 second per push up only got 15 total seconds of tension. Slow down, and bring that time under tension up to build stronger, leaner muscles.
The above scenario also assumes you can even get tension on the muscle. Have you ever done a bunch of ab work and the only thing you feel is your back? Or the front of the hip? How about a bunch of push ups and the only muscle that dies out is the front of your shoulders? If so, your body is simply not recruiting muscles in the right patterns and your biomechanics are probably off. This is potentially the most common problem I see. People doing exercises, and not even getting the correct tension on the muscle. Guess how you fix the problem? SLOW DOWN and actually think about what you are doing. Perfect, and refine the movement, and then squeeeeeeeze those muscles as you work. Takeaway: Get tension on the right muscles! Do 10 perfect reps instead of 15 mediocre ones! Sometimes resting an extra 30 seconds is worth it if you get a better set out of your exercise!
Mistakes are made when we rush
We say it all the time. We find the first and the last rep are the most common times to get injured. Why? People rushing to start or end their set, and not bracing correctly. All it takes to injure yourself is 1 rep where you lose focus. Like we have said 100’s of times in class: EVERY REP SHOULD BE AS FOCUSSED AS A ONE REP MAX.
movement pattern > Movement
This is pervasive in the fitness industry. Set up some fun music and then have the class jump/dance/flail around as fast as they can. Yes, they will sweat. Yes, heart rates will skyrocket. Yes, it will be entertaining.
But, what are you building if you are not building good movement patterns? BAD MOVEMENT PATTERNS. By not slowing down and focusing on doing those lunges/step ups/jumps/etc. correctly you are perpetuating and solidifying bad movement patterns that eventually lead to all the chronic joint breakdown that everyone is trying to avoid. To really cap it all off, after building poor movement patterns over the course of dozens of classes, your body will begin recruiting those same learned patterns in regular life. In essence, creating a scenario where your exercise is working against your joints, rather than to protect them.
Takeaway: Don’t aimlessly move. Take the time to understand movement patterns, even if it means moving slower than the person next to you. Speed should always come after learning to do a movement correctly!
