Healthy First, Sexy Second: Part 2
Today we are discussing the first pillar of health - by no means is it the most important, nor is it even the most influential.
However, ladies and gentlemen - movement gets the good goods going. The good goods here being blood, oxygen, muscles, joints, ligaments, tendons and all that jazz.
Just because it isn’t the biggest component of your health does not mean it’s unimportant. To be fair all four of the pillars could be argued to be equally important and that without one, the other three cannot be complete (click HERE to see the previous article where we discuss them all).
Movement is most often seen as the easiest of the pillars to start work on and commitment to movement often yields a positive influence on the other pillars - they really do go hand in hand.
Everybody always asks what the number one form of movement is, what is the cure? Brace yourself- I am about to tell you something life changing about movement.
There is no single best form of movement
Oh. No.
This is where it gets a bit funny - you see there are many forms of movement that are the best for certain things. Want to build strength - gym is the best option. Want to be a better runner - running is the best option. Hate gyms? Gym is probably the worst for you. Hate running? Probably won’t stick to running either.
The best form of movement is the one that you enjoy and that you are able to stick to. MIND.BLOWN.
You could have the one single greatest, most detailed, unbelieeeeevably specific to you training program worth tens of millions of dollars but if you don’t enjoy it and subsequently don’t stick to it, guess what? You won’t get results.
As I become a little older I’ve no choice but to become a little wiser and wisdom has taught me that health is a life time pursuit, in no way is it a sprint finish. Therefore movement is a lifelong endeavour and as such it should be enjoyed but it is completely normal for that enjoyment to change across a variety of mediums- running, gym, gymnastics, cycling and more.
Another consideration with exercise is the “why”. What are you looking to achieve with it?
This is where it can be either quite tedious and deliberate if the goal is to build muscle or rehabilitate an injury or perhaps its repetition in skill acquisition when learning to hand stand, flip or deadlift even.
The discipline with which you approach your movement practice is entirely dependent on the final outcome you’re working towards.
What is important to keep in mind regardless of the final outcome is leaving ego at the door and starting at the very beginning, learning and perfecting the basics before progressing in complexity, intensity and frequency regardless of the form of movement you choose to undertake.
Although there is no set one magic form of movement there are some desired combinations that are fantastic to include in your weekly plan.
In my mind, someone who just wants to be healthy I would confidently recommend a focus on resistance training- minimum of 2-3 times per week, combined with 1-2 aerobic/anaerobic style sessions and at least one mobility/parasympathetic style activity (yoga/meditation/pilates etc). It ticks off all boxes and has the room for enormous results.
At Hybrid we work on a fifty-week training program. Yes, you read that correctly- our programs run for fifty weeks. We set annual goals for our programming, then we break the end result down into four twelve-week blocks with a two-week preparation phase at the beginning of the year and from there we break the twelve-week programs down to three four-week blocks.
Depending on which twelve-week program we are in there will be a mixture of strength, fat loss, HIIT, aerobic, mobility, stability and power variables. For example, the first twelve weeks of the year is general preparation where we work on mobility for the front of the body and strengthen musculature in the back of the body to improve posture (often leads to decrease in aches and pains through back, knees, shoulders etc).
Essentially in this phase of training we are panel beating a broken body to function well before we go into a twelve-week maximal strength routine. Then with new found strength we enter a twelve-week body composition program that combines strength work with conditioning before a final strength maintenance program to finish out the year.
We have found that this system balances out health with performance and then with mobility and finally fat loss. Our aim is to essentially create better function and looking bodies inside and out and so far, our team is enjoying the results.
Regardless of the form of movement that you choose- the key is getting started and making it something you do regularly. Our bodies are designed to move dynamically and to move often- it really is a case of use it, or lose it unfortunately.
At Hybrid we have been fortunate to train people of all ages and if there is one sentiment that comes up time and time again from our more……… lets say, mature members its this:
“I wish I started when I was younger”