The Rules of Smart Fitness (Part II)
In part I we talked about the first two rules:
1. The components of wellness: nutrition, physical activity and recovery.
2. The basics of movement.
On this blog post I will cover the next two rules. Here they are:
RULE NUMBER III: We must understand the areas of basic and advanced properties of fitness.
Basic Properties: these are areas that we MUST ALL train. It is the base of the fitness pyramid and each component is essential to develop smart fitness. These areas are:
1. Strength: a strong body is better balanced, functions better and it is less likely to get hurt during everyday activities. Strength is developed through resistance training which includes bodyweight training or using external loads such as dumbells, barbells, kettlebells, bands, medicine balls, etc.
2.Conditioning: developing the card
3. Flexibility: Michael Phelps claims he stretches over 1 hour everyday. He does this because he knows how much flexibiltiy training contributes to better movement and faster recovery. You don’t have to stretch over one hour each day but 10 minutes a day, either after working out or infront of the TV will do the trick. Taking a flexibility class such as yoga is a great way to juumpstart your flexibility training.
4.Mobility: while flexibility refers to connective tissue, mobility training is about the movement on the joints. While mobility and flexibilty are closely related they are two different areas. Refer to rule number II to understand the areas of you body that need mobility training. In future blogs I will talking a lot about mobility. Keep posted to learn more about this not well known fitness property. Mobility training will improve your golf swing, make a better swimmer and lessen your risk for injuries.
Advanced Properties: here are other areas of training after the base is taken care of:
Power, speed, endurance, agility, acceleration, decceleration, coordination, reaction time, visual acuity, rythym, and more.
RULE NUMBER IV: Develop a training program that targets your goals and fits your lifestyle.
Not everyone has the same goals or the same schedule. At the same time a bunch of random workouts are not the best way to accomplish an specific goal. Will you drive to a destination simply by using a compass or would you rather have a GPS navigation system. That is the difference between a program and a random selection of workouts.
Here is a sample of my own program so you can have an idea of what I am talking about:
MAIN OBJECTIVE: Increase athletic performance for fire dancing.
DAy 1 : Resistance workout A: upper body pushing movements, knee dominant lower body and core training.
Day 2: Conditioning session: stair climbing, running or swimming sprints or any other activity that targets the cardiorespiratory system more than the musculoskleletal system.
Day 3: Resistance workout B: upper body pulling, hip dominant lower body and core training.
Day 4: Same as day 2
Day 5: Same as day 1 but with a different selection of exercises.
Day 6: I usually use my weekends to do a lot of fire dancing practice and more flexibility training.
On week 2, I alternate A and B workouts to end up with two B’s and one A. I keep routines and exercise selection fairly similar but seek to progress by:
1. Lifting heavier
2.Increasing the complexity of the exercises.
3.Decreasing rest periods on conditioning sets.
4.Doing more work and incresing quality.
In conclusion, the goal is to plan ahead. Set a goal or goals that you can measure and develop a strategy to achieve them. The plan can be flexible and organic to fit day to day life. Somedays you will feel better and you can work harder. Other days you might have to take it easy and modify the plan. However, your program is your exercise blueprint. It is you GPS system, you might get lost once in a while but you can always come back to it and get back in the game.
So there they are, rules III and IV. So far we have learn about what constitutes wellness, we have explained how the body produces movement, the properties of fitness we must all develop and the importance of having a program. On part III we will cover nutrition and recovery. Keep posted for the last part of the RULES OF SMART FITNESS.
From Miami with Love,
Luis
