Are You Exercising OR Training?

"In this post I will discuss something that will undoubtedly have an impact on; the way you move, the life you have and the years ahead.I have also included two tutorials to help understand this concept that bit better ... to find out more see below.

Oh and one last thing ...

... thank you for taking the time to read this and following my practice, I appreciate you."

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ARE YOU EXERCISING OR TRAINING?

Many of us use these words interchangeably, BUT I believe that there are two very distinct differences. Exercising can be anything you want it to be - walking, running, jumping on the spot, a gym class, WOD etc. You do something because you can. 

But training is different ... the key here is INTENT, what are you TRAINING for?

Any movement we perform is an expression of what the system can do. If we want to be able to do something we need a system that works, that enables us to exercise.

BUT what if the parts don't work, what if an injury occurs or continues to reappear every time you attempt to exercise? It is highly likely there is a form of compensation at play. As "beings" that are primarily water, I find it no coincidence that we try to seek out the easiest path to achieve a task (path of least resistance), even at the expense of injury.

Example - Bob attends a CrossFit class, he throws the barbell above his head BUT his shoulders do not move so his spine takes the majority of the strain. The body has organised itself to achieve a task through compensation. This may not seem like a problem at a light weight but the higher the demand, the greater the need for compensation. If Bob TRAINS to have better shoulders he can start to reduce the risk of injury AND work towards hitting some personal bests.

One of the most misunderstood concepts around why we NEED to train is to have ...

"The ability to thrive as a human being, now & in the future. To have the capacity to exceed the daily demands of life and having plenty in the tank to be ready for anything."

If we orientate our "training" to focus on our weak points, to correct and maintain joint health and the tissues that compliment this then we shift the focus from obsessing over fads and gimmicks to function & resilience. Because something that is truly resilient can; withstand higher levels of stress, adapt quickly and bounce back after setbacks.

Have you ever seen a Cirque Du Soleil performance? What you see on stage is a fraction of what the performer can do, they have a huge buffer zone between what they can really do and what they actually show you on stage. They TRAIN beyond the demands of the performance.

If we think of EXERCISE as the performance and our TRAINING as what allows us to perform then everything that we do to improve this will be worth it.

How can most of us action this?

The truth ... a form of assessment is always recommended, to seek out weak points so that there is no chink in the armour HOWEVER the following will be of use;

1) Note down what you do everyday ... life, work, sport ... can you do this with ease or is it a struggle?

2) Create space, focus on the way the joints move and go slow (to allow the supporting tissue to adapt over time). We must have range in order to be able to express strength!

3) Strengthen the ranges you have ... and for the things you want to do. Start to build the buffer zone!

4) Many of use are hunched over a desk, phone or set of work tools ... and many of the movements in the gym are linear, repetitive and reside within a couple of planes of motion. I haven't met one person yet who has not needed some form of spine training (this is part of my daily practice). Getting all the links moving (segmentation) and starting to extend (the opposite to hunched) is often one of my first "go to's" when working with anyone to be able to unlock a range of other patterns.

(See the videos below for "spine training")

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TRAINING to maintain the body we have now and for the future, is definitely a valid reason to TRAIN. There is nothing wrong with EXERCISE as it is important AND it is expressing what the system can do but it is imperative that the diferences are understood.

If you love running, great, but putting the work in to maintain (and develop) joints and tissues that help you to run is essential, if you want to do this for many years to come without injury.

There is no escaping this, we are all ageing and there are countless studies highlighting how things get weaker with age (atrophy) BUT ... if we are intelligent and maintain the system well we can stay strong and resilient for far longer than we realise!

Input as much as you output and you can exceed your current potential to be able to thrive now and in the future.

Wishing you an incredible month ahead. DT

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