No Substitute for Strength

Dr. Kresimir Jug's picture
on August 28, 2013 - 3:22pm
Move By Design

“There is no short-term solution to a long-term problem. ”

-Dr. Kresimir Jug

I love quoting myself, especially when it’s a good one. But, all fun aside, this is a serious issue that people deal with or fail to deal with on a consistent level.

The topic today is strength.

The first rule of Move By Design is to “Be mobile;” the second is to “Be strong.”

Weakness (a lack of strength) is beyond epidemic in our society.

The largest disconnect here and the only take-away you need from this blog post is that NO MATTER what your goals, getting stronger will (100% of the time) help you achieve them.

Please read correctly:

If you want to:

  • Look good in a bikini
  • Spend more time playing with your grandchildren
  • Be in less pain
  • Sleep better
  • Have better posture
  • Have more energy

… and on and on.

The largest problem is the myths that have been perpetuated regarding strength development:

  1. I don’t want to get bulky
  2. I need to do cardio because my goal is losing weight
  3. I don’t have the time/energy to train like that
  4. I’m too old to train this way
  5. I don’t want to get injured, and it looks dangerous

I understand that you might have various goals and desires and that you might not have trained ‘this way’ ever or in a really long time. However, please re-read the beginning to this blog. Improving strength improves everything you want.

Action Steps:

1) Don’t believe me, and do some research. Find out what you want to achieve and find someone who is doing it at a level at which you want to do it; then ask them if they incorporate some type of strength training or exercise.

2) If you are training at a ‘box gym’ (CrossFit is an example), please ensure that your training sessions are predominately strengthbased. What does this mean? Does your coach or gym use terms like:

“Write this down and compare it with when we do this exercise next week”

“Go for a 3 rep max”

“Know your 1 rep max”

“Add more weight”

“Have good technique”

… there are many other phrases. Another simple strategy is to ask the coach or owner.

If you are training at a place that focuses only on ‘conditioning’ or some type of boot camp, please be aware of the consequences of always doing the same type.

3) Please have patience. A huge mistake people make, especially in the world of training, is that they get lured by the shiny new object and change course.

This takes me full circle.  There is no short-term solution to a long-term problem. Reaching your goals, creating health, and becoming extraordinary (the way you are supposed to be) takes time and effort.

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