Weekly Newsletter In This Edition: Coach Caleb’s Corner & Our FREE Event “The Way you Move Matters!”
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Coach Caleb’s Corner – Better Movement = Better Results in Your Training!
At Breakthrough Strength & Fitness, we love teaching movement, and strength. Healthy movement skills, successfully reinforced and patterned with functional strength training can breathe new life into a body with some hard miles on it. We believe this to be much more valuable than limiting fitness to the realm of mere “entertainment” or so-called “training” that just adds more hard milage to the body through the stroking of one’s own ego; spending too much time under inappropriate loads; often lifted with dubious technique. To paraphrase the great Gray Cook; if the start position, or the end position of a movement is not good, then there isn’t much good going on in between. Truly owning the start and finish positions of an athletic movement, on every rep, can be both a humbling and empowering condition for training. If the start and end positions are good, then the movement in between is likely healthy and good as well. This is a simple (but not easy) way to learn how to move better. Learning or re-learning to truly move well, should be a priority.
In the iron game, we somehow find enjoyment in testing our lifting mettle against daunting loads and challenging rep schemes. Athleticism is all about testing and pushing our perceived physical limitations. This is what makes all this excessive moving around so exciting! Setting goals, smashing them, and setting new ones; it’s a satisfying cycle. In the excitement of reaching higher levels of athletic accomplishment, however, we often play the game pretty close to the razor’s edge; taking more risks to achieve those loftier goals and risking movement quality to achieve performance. Similarly, we might find ourselves gravitating toward a lifestyle or profession that beats up the body a bit, and we say, “bring it on, I can take it!” In so doing, it’s easy to lose sight of our longer term athletic goals. A long life of moving well and living well, especially in our later years, is not usually given much consideration when our youthful exuberance demands that we… fill in the blank with your favorite feat, career or tough sport. As our friend and Master SFG Instructor, Brett Jones, would say, “We’ve all got milage.”
If only there was a way to re-implement that original software; the blank slate we were born with, the skills we taught ourselves as we learned to walk, run, climb and lift things, before we racked up all that “milage.” Well, there is! With movement screening, corrective exercise and effective programming, we can indeed revive, maintain or even redesign our original athletic selves! Movement is life. Moving well leads to improved quality of life. This is where we get back to the idea of integrity in the start and finish positions of a movement. Having the patience and discipline to really practice perfect posture at the bottom and top of every lift; now that’s a path to greater strength, longer athletic life and better general health. Yes, we sometimes take risks to get the job done. It is part of sports and part of life. But for the most part, “training” should be where we minimize the risks and perfect the technique of athletic skill. This will not only keep us healthier and safer, but will ultimately yield much greater performance. A movement worth doing, is certainly worth doing well.
As we move into the final push to prepare for the upcoming Tactical Strength Challenge, I’ve noticed our trainees are paying extra attention to the integrity of their posture in the start and finish of all lifts. The increase we’re already seeing in skill, strength and performance is so inspiring and we can’t wait to see what they will achieve on the 31st!
Free Event: “The Way You Move Matters!”
– “The Way You Move Matters!” – Saturday October 10, 2015 – 12:30pm to 2:00pm – 20855 Ventura Blvd., Suite 8 Woodland Hills, CA 91364
What if there was a way to make your workouts more effective, get better results in your athletic and recreational activities, and reduce your risk of injury? Good news – there is!
Here at Breakthrough, we use Functional Movement Systems as the foundation for our clients’ programs, and we are the ONLY gym in the west San Fernando Valley with Certified FMS Trainers! We want to share this powerful tool with as many people as we can, so this FREE event is open not only to our current members, but to absolutely EVERYONE interested in moving and feeling better! Come discover why FMS is being used by professional and university sports teams, the US military, as well as hospitals and rehab centers.
Bring a friend, and learn how to unlock movement restrictions, enhance performance, and keep your workouts safe and effective!
Join us and you will: – Participate in a Functional Movement Screen that will show you any movement restrictions or asymmetric that might be limiting you – Learn a couple of exercises you can practice at home, based on your Movement Screen – Get detailed information about how FMS works and how it can be used to predict injury risk so you stay safe and pain free in your movements. – Contact us for more information!