Sometime in 2013 I decided to get more serious about health
and fitness, I had been working out on and off since 2008 in a bid to recover
some mobility I had lost in my right leg due to a car accident. However I
really kicked it up a notch in 2013 and this blog post is testament to that, I
decided from then to improve my workout technique and increase my knowledge on
exercise, diet supplementation and health in general as much as I could.
This does not mean I am in anyway the finished article, I am
still learning and have a lot to learn, I have fallen off the fitness wagon
more times than I care to remember and my diet still has holes in it that I
just don’t want to fill!
Having said all that, I have learnt a bit about fitness and
the human condition and today I would love to share 6 interesting bits of
knowledge that fitness and working out has taught me over the last few years, I
hope you also find them interesting and that the aid you in achieving your
health and fitness goals for this year and beyond.
Thanks and do have a great weekend!
1. THE BODY IS LESS FLEXIBLE EARLY IN THE
MORNING:
To some people this is not new information
but for most people it might come as a surprise. Most of us, myself included do
most of our exercises in the morning, the problem is that your muscles and
connective tissues i.e. tendons and ligaments are not primed to work well early
in the day. As you lie down to sleep horizontally, your muscles, etc. tend to
shorten and tighten up and if you jump straight into exercise early in the day,
your performance will be hindered.
There are two solutions to this; first you
could switch your workout times from early morning to late afternoon/evening
and if that is not conducive, your best bet is to incorporate warm ups into
your routine. Do not confuse warm ups with stretching, stretching a cold muscle
can actually diminish your performance further or lead to injury. If you are
lifting weights, warm up with light sets of few reps and light weights and for
cardio a slow light jog, jumping jacks etc can help improve flexibility and
blood flow to the affected areas.
2. YOUR INABILITY TO SQUAT MIGHT BE DUE TO
STIFF ANKLES:
Squatting is a compound exercise, meaning
it employs more than one joint to execute, It doesn’t matter whether you are a
world class squatter or you do only bodyweight squats, the mechanics of the
exercise remain the same. When I first started squatting, I could barely go
down, and my feet were always all over the place, I had poor balance and I was
always raising my right heel of the ground (this is not good) to compensate. It
turns out I had stiff calves and ankles especially in my injured right leg, to
improve I had include more flexibility and strength exercises in my right ankle
to work it out.
3. PEOPLE WITH SHORTER LIMBS MAKE BETTER
LIFTERS:
Writing this point just makes me envious of
all you short guys! If you are of average or less than average height and have
never thought about lifting weight, please think again. Much to the damage of
my ego, working out in the gym has taught me that the shorter guys with shorter
arms and legs are better weight lifters. Shorter limbs give you a natural
advantage in strength and leverage, which means that you need less force to
lift weights than a guy say, 6 foot tall or more. So if two guys have the same
bicep muscle strength do dumbbell curls for example, the shorter guy will find
it easier than the taller guy due to the shorter distance his arm has to move
from the elbow.
4. YOUR STRENGTH WILL INCREASE QUICKLY WHEN
YOU FIRST START TO WORK OUT:
If only more people knew this we would all
be fitter and stronger! A lot of people shy away from working out because they
have this mental picture of themselves as being weak and puny. This may be true
initially, but it doesn’t last and you can thank your nervous system for that.
When I first started lifting weights, I noticed that my upper strength levels
and ability increased with nearly every workout, after the pain wore out. This
I later found out was came from neural adaptation and thanks to a process
called motor learning.
Basically, as I was doing the same exercise
over and over, I was training my brain to do the exercises more efficiently and
activate the proper muscles and these changes happen very quickly. Sure some
strength gains come from actual changes in your muscle fibers and as you
progress more and more changes come from that.
5. THE SHOULDER JOINT IS THE MOST MOBILE AND
FRAGILE IN THE BODY:
The great thing about your shoulder joint
is that it’s so flexible and can be employed in a wide variety of exercises, I
have also learned the hard way that it is also the most easily injured joint in
the body! The shoulder is a ball and socket joint and has many different
muscles running across it, I have learned after much pain that you must balance
all the different muscles in the shoulder to avoid injury. Your best bet is to
do exercises that work muscles from the front side and rear of the shoulder for
maximum balance and to minimize the risk of injury.
6. LASTLY: THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN YOUR
SUCCESS IS YOUR WILLPOWER:
“Self-efficacy” is a term I have come
across many times in my fitness journey and it could be termed as a person’s
belief in their ability to succeed. I have found out it is the biggest
indicator whether or not you will stick to your fitness regime, in essence; if
you believe you will succeed then you will and if you don’t believe it, failure
and disappointment is guaranteed. It makes sense doesn’t it? if you think you
will build that six pack or lose that last 5kg, then you work like mad and if
you believe its too hard, you will just put in a half assed effort and find
some excuse for failure. No matter your current physical condition, you can
improve, just set realistic goals and put in your best effort, ignore all negative
voices (especially the one in your head) and you will see gains.
Thanks for reading and do have a wonderful
weekend!
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