It has been a while since I have gone on a rant, but today I need to. All of our lovely Instagram and facebook influencers have done this.
Soreness is absolutely NOT a good indication of a “workout” being any good. There are also so many factors that affect soreness including hydration status, sleep, load, nutrition, stress, etc. My goal and the goal at ANCHOR isn’t to make you sore. Sure, will there be days that you do have muscular soreness? Absolutely. But, that isn’t what should be measured to determine a good workout.
The first goal of a good program (notice, I don’t really even like to say workout) is to build good movement patterns. Can you properly hinge and do a bodyweight squat before loading both?
Next, it is all about building a good foundation of strength. Building a program that progressively increases (this could be weight, volume, intensity, shorter rests, etc.). At ANCHOR, we are a STRENGTH gym. We build strength to prevent, reverse, and avoid sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and strength). We build strength to maintain and increase bone density. We do this through the fundamental movements: squats (think about being able to get off a toilet), deadlifts (picking up grandchildren) and get-ups (getting off the floor). The goal is to first build these 3 movements (a solid foundation of strength) using a progression that is appropriate for the individual and their health history and goals. Obviously, we are working other movements as well (carrying, pulling and pushing, etc.) but we focus on the basics first. Strength training is just like a sport. Take soccer for example. On day one of a 5 year olds practice, no one is “Bending it Like Beckham” on a free kick. First, they are learning how to dribble using different parts of the foot. Then passing, shooting, etc. This is how we treat strength training.
As a coach, it is so f****** easy to kick your @$$. I could easily make you sweat, sore and exhausted. But, who wants that?! What is the purpose and the goal? You shouldn’t be training like this where you push that hard and then need 5 days off. How can you get consistent with that bull$h*t. So, if soreness is your “scale” of a good workout, you need to rethink this.
Figure out your goal and let’s get going!
If you are ready to build strength so that you can get off the toilet yourself as you age, chase your grandkids around or be able to move the 50# of dog food, independently; then let’s chat.
In Strength,
Charlene
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