Strength
- power to resist force : capacity for exertion or endurance.
If you look at most highly skilled athletes, you’ll notice that their movements just look smooth. They can sense and are in tune with their body. They have the mobility to accomplish their movement task. They coordinate through a well rehearsed rhythm.
We consider these characteristics to be a foundation in which strength is built upon. Without them, it’s easy to plateau, or worse get injured. Here’s the beautiful part. All of these things can be trained no matter where you’re at in your fitness journey.
Regardless of your current skill set, if you can gain better body awareness, mobility and coordination, you will produce an environment primed for increased strength outputs.
This month we will focus on helping you build strength and break this down into 3 simple categories:
Sensory | Mobility | Coordination
Sensory
What do most people think of when they say they do sensory work? Foam roll. Throw on an ice pack or heating pad. Get a massage or grab your massage gun. Scraping. Cupping. Taping. Wearing pressure cuffs of varying kinds. That’s what we think of too! We believe these are all wonderful tools when used appropriately, and you’ve probably been told that there are certain reasons for doing certain techniques in certain instances. And you’d be right!
Here’s what you might not have known: when it comes to your ability to put force into something - i.e. lift, push or pull, you need all of your sensors giving you the green light. Like getting your car maintenanced on a regular basis, it is very important for you to do sensory work often & in every way to maintain accurate system function. Next time you engage in physical activity - bring along multiple sensory tools and prime your motor to turn on all your green lights!
Mobility
To us, mobility is having full control of a movement. That means if you’re doing a hip mobility drill and have to use your arms to pull yourself further into position than your hip muscles can take you, you’re missing a significant opportunity. If your goal is to increase strength, don’t cheat yourself. Remember, jammed joints = weak muscles. When you use your arms to pull yourself past active range you’re turning off the very muscles that you intended to turn on. Mobility is the active capacity to achieve movement through a joint range. When you create better active motor control you will generate better force outputs.
Coordination
You know what this looks like, and you can tell when it’s done poorly. The most common way people try to improve their coordination is to practice the same thing over and over. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work and leaves you feeling like there’s something wrong with you. Good news, there’s a better way! We believe that nothing changes if nothing changes. If you are feeling frustrated because a cue is just not clicking, try changing it up! Use an external cue (push the balloon to the ceiling) instead of always using internal cues (focus on the muscle).
Rhythm also dramatically changes your coordination abilities. Adding a metronome and trying to sync to the beat can create space to flow better (and it activates areas of your brain that create your motor plans, helping them do their job better). Don’t waste reps on poor quality for the sake of doing more reps if your goal is to get stronger. Every rep you do should advance you, so make every single one count!
We’ve covered what we consider to be the 3 pillars in which strength is built upon. Have questions? Reach out to one of our elite trainers!
Want to learn another easy strength hack? Scroll down to the bottom of the page and subscribe to our newsletter to receive extra bonus tips to unlock your full capacity!