27 Nov MAKE BETTER MOVES
Why choosing different training modalities is a better move for your health and well being ?
MAKE BETTER MOVES
One of the most common question or debate people have is how do they make better moves or which exercise is better for them or wha might be their Better Moves?
Is it weight lifting ? cycling ? cross fit ? or any type of martial arts ?
This debate is as old as times and the biggest problem in debates is that they are most of the time – subjective .
Think about it : if weight lifting helped you – then naturally you will recommend it to friends.
Because hey – it helped you so it should help them too.
Unfortunately the world is not as black and white as you might think and there are things to consider when choosing modality .
Enjoyment
Although this might be the last thing to consider – I put it first .
The reason is because it is way easier to do something you enjoy rather than you must. ( It is true pretty much for anything in life ).
So find which type of activity you like doing and that you are happy with .
( Don’t use it as an excuse though : ‘ i don’t like anything so i will be a couch potato with no moves at all ‘ ) .
Physical condition / Restrictions
Make sure your body is ready.
For example : If you are severely overweight then playing Basketball or Running will not be the smartest choice for you – no matter how much you love it .
If you have back pain or joint pain – then lifting weights without spotting or performing corrective exercise before engaging into that might leave you in pain for a LONG time .
Here is a short story from a client of mine that will emphasis those 2 points :
My client REALLY loved weight lifting BUT he was overweight.
So after couple of month of training , due to lack of joint preparation he injured his knee.
Now he is not able to lift much weight without severe knee pain – so we now focus on restoring the strength and stability of the knee before getting back to weight lifting .
Timing
Obviously you need to consider your lifestyle and how much time can you dedicate to a certain activity .
If you want to do paddling or horse riding ( for an extreme example ) then remember that there is a time element involved to get to the place .
Same goes to specific martial arts training : like boxing , jiu jitsu , Muay Thai ETC which requires a gym with certain equipment – if there no gym in our area : take in consideration the traveling time .
Fitness Goals
The last point I want to cover here is – your goals .
Specifically fitness and health related .
When you know your goals then the physical activities as well split up to more effective / less effective for your goal .
For example : if you want to be a body builder – then practicing PIlates or doing 60 minutes treadmill walk is not the most effective way and you will HAVE TO hit the gym and lift some weight .
On the other lifting heavy weights might not be the best bet to improve flexibility
SO WHAT SHOULD YOU DO TO MAKE BETTER MOVES?
Like i have already mentioned before : there is no direct answer to that question and it is up to you to consider all the variables and chose what suit you best .
I just can share with you my point of view and my experience working with hundreds of clients thought the year .
Taking in consideration all the factors we have discussed above – I always suggest my clients to diversify their physical activity .
I have talked about it in the article about weight loss plateau ( Click HERE to read ) , but from physical perspective it is just make your body stronger ( with solid and better moves training)
Here is why :
Your body is an adaptation machine .
Which means the more you do something – the better you become at that : no surprise there.
HOWEVER this is a double edged sword – because if you become good in a very niche practice : then as soon as there is a deviation from the regular known pattern : your body don’t know what to do – and it might end up in injury or a non sufficient performance .
For example : There might be people that can lift heavy weight and then twist their ankle while walking because they haven’t practiced joint mobility / flexibility OR someone who can run for 2 hours , but when it comes to lifting his kids : he have no energy to do so because his arms are not in condition .
You can also meet people that are overweight and extremely good in boxing but as soon as they required to do ANY tyoe of other activity – they can’t because the body mechanics is just not there .
So this is the main reasons why i suggest multi functional training ( which is also great for ageing people ) :
The Brain
Neuroplasticity – is the brains ability to create new pathways .
Those pathways are created when brain engage in new experiences .
When a person is experiencing different movement modalities and experience different type of workout – the brain literally develops.
This development is correlated to brains health.
The Body
By introducing different better moves modalities – the body gets familiar with them and if finds a way to wive them together and to adopt and utilise certain modality in a specific time .
So for example if you have practiced dancing and suddenly you need to get on your toes or spin ( for whatever reason ) your body knows how to do it .
Or if you have practiced balance training and suddenly the bus you are on suddenly breaks – you can catch your balance and not twist your knees because of foot misplacement .
Many times I have seen people trained in one thing – either getting injured by doing something else or can’t adapt what they have learned to the situation needed ( Even people that do weight lift training with a coach and then don’t know what to do in the gym ) .
So to simply put it :
Let your body experience different types of movement modalities. ( even if you THINK they will not help you or not for you )
Then make a combination of those you like most and that helps you reach your goal.
Trust me you will be happier and healthier that way – simply make better moves!
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