The majority of the people I work with are over 40 so I am not going to devote that much time talking about the past. My mistakes combined with the mistakes of others should teach you a few things today.
Every discussion needs to start off with goals. When I was in high school the only reason I picked up a weight
was to prove that coach wrong who cut me. How dare he call me weak! When I realized I could care less about the sport and I enjoyed working out my goals shifted to.......
1.Looking good
2. Become strong enough to Pick up a volkswagon
So there is absolutely no substance from about 16 to 30 which is why I plan to get through 14 years in a few paragraphs. Mistakes I made, lessons I learned...
Run, because..?????- I did the running thing for a
bit because everyone else did it. Yeah, that was the only reason I did it. I did not enjoy long distance running and I have no shame in saying it. Am I trashing running??..NO!NO! and NO! Quite a few people get in their running zone and all their problems go away. If you fall into this category then do it!!
Because I was getting my kinesiology/exercise science degree (go VCU!) I was able to understand that the connection between running and looking better was, nothing.
And for overall health there is a much better way!! After years of doing this and observing others do it I noticed a stronger correlation between running and getting injured(myself and others) than getting leaner.
The average person thinks burn calories through exercise and lose weight! It's way more complicated than that! Copy someone smaller (who has an advantage at running) to get smaller is like me copying a basketball player to become taller....way more
complicated!!
These people only knew one way of improving aerobic fitness and cardiovascular health because Dr. Kenneth Cooper "proved it." The fitness industry made it popular in an effort to make money. We can put 200 treadmills in a room and charge people to use them, while not hiring staff to supervise it. A business. Running is the foundation for businesses....running shoes, races, clothing, and many more.
REPEAT=> I am
not, in any way, trashing running!! I am saying there is a much better way to improve cardiovascular health. A way that is more time efficient and improves overall health MUCH better. While not getting hurt. More fun also!! ....I love working with runners to prevent injuries, improve times, and add years to their running career!!
workout, with the end goal , to become better at working out!-We must set goals in regards to our workouts and continue to
challenge ourselves. We must always do this in order to make progress!! But I have to admit working out was the end goal back then. When you think about it, that is not always healthy. Life is more than how much you can bench press or taking a cool workout selfie. Becoming consistent with an exercise routine improves your life(length and quality). Becoming obsessed with it could potentially take away from your life.
No regret at all. none. Not a single one.
Sometimes you have to become unbalanced during certain phases to find balance later. I learned a lot from the people I met during the powerlifting years. The coaches who coached me and held me accountable with diets. All of the people I have trained since 2001 have taught me a ton also!!!!
so the next 20 years of exercise for me?--It's starts with goals so for me it's ......
*feel good
*not get injured=part of feeling
good
*overall health
*I can't lie...we all want to look better right?
*energy levels
*stress management
*don't lose the ability to do the things I can currently do
*use It to help with focus, mental health
*enjoy the other 900 million benefits that exercise can provide
*continue to use it as a way to change lives
*.......and of course I still have
specific goals related to specific exercises
I can't believe I just typed those words! I think my testosterone levels dropped and 5 grey hairs grew in the past 2 minutes. Below are a few specific changes I made to my training over the past 2 to 3 years. The goal being to train injury free for as long as possible. Success only comes if your routine can be sustained over time. Those that train with us will notice a few of them...
The most common
injuries I see (or have experienced) are......shoulders, low back, and knees. Goal number one for me is to prevent injuries. An injury is the only thing that will prevent me from training.
For knees that pretty much went away for me when I stopped the running thing. For the people I work with after we correct their technique, help them lose fat, and then make sure they are not pounding the knee over and over again it usually gets much better! Even during the powerlifting
days lifting over 400lbs was nothing compared to beating my knees up with running. Programming power and plyometric work intelligently will also help.
For low back
*increase work for hip mobility
*Loading my lower body with more single leg work
*less barbell work
*soft tissue work/massage/foam roller for areas around the low back
*more variety with lower body
work
*for the people I work with=> technique and teaching them how to use abs/brace
*less isolation work and more exercises treating the body as one piece
*make sure I am not sitting down all the time
for shoulders I had to.........
*switch to dumbells in place of barbells
*more landmine presses compared to overhead pressing
*I still do overhead pressing, but less
volume
*tons of rows and upper back work
*less pushing, compared to rows
*more rowing movements compared to pull-ups(harder to explain)
*watch posture while I am typing this article
*for people I work with=> programming and technique
*more mobility and flexibility work...(people ignore this for upper body!)
*soft tissue work
*improve thoracic spine
mobility
for programming I have had to......
*plan the high/hard days with less frequency
*use higher reps(10 to 15) for most exercises
*use joint friendly exercises
*pay more attention to sleep, overall lifestyle
*do more for stress management
*pay more attention to recovery !!!!!!!!!!!!!
*address mindset
Most
important ==> Gratitude!!! Be thankful for all the things I(you) can still do. The perspective the last 20 years has given me! All the amazing people who have given me an opportunity to change their lives. All the amazing people who have changed my life. thank you!!!
The beginning,
Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM EP-C
http://resultsperformancetraining.com/
P.S.-- Check out the site above and HIT REPLY to schedule your free one on one success session to learn more!!! If you enjoyed
this article then check out my personal blog=> http://www.detricsmith.com/blog/
