Training Like an Athlete?

(Photo courtesy of Tableatny)

One of the common themes we focus on here at IFAST is the concept of training like an athlete.

Which leads to an obvious question:

What if I’m not an athlete?

It’s a great question, and one that I’d love to focus on here today.

In my opinion, everyone is an athlete. Whether you’re 18 or 85, whether you play competitive sports or not, all of this is irrelevant.

You are an athlete in the game of life.

Maybe you want to move around pain-free.

Maybe you want to be able to play with your kids or grandkids.

Or maybe you just need a little “functional training” to make you more efficient at everyday tasks.

The cool thing about being an athlete is you’re not focused on one “style” of training. Instead, it’s far more balanced and holistic in nature.

When I think of the qualities that define a good athlete, here are just a few that come to mind:

• Athletes need mobility and flexibility so that they can stay healthy and injury-free.
• Athletes need to be strong, powerful and explosive.
• And athletes need to be well conditioned so that they can outlast the competition.

Instead of simply focusing on one physical quality or trait, we’re emphasizing all of them.

Now I know this sounds eerily similar to some of the other training programs out there, but the difference is that you have to know when to focus on one quality versus the other. You may see some success early-on in your programming by doing everything, but over the long-haul, you’re going to either get burned out, injured, or both.

When developing an athlete, we’re really focused on building you up like a pyramid. The base of the pyramid, or your movement foundation, is critical.

If you can’t do basic things well like move your shoulders, or hips, or do a push-up or lunge, we need to fix that first. Failure to do so would be like building your dream home on a foundation of quicksand – it may look pretty but it won’t be standing long!

Once you’ve developed that movement foundation, the sky is the limit. Even if your end-goal is fat or weight loss, putting the primary emphasis on becoming more athletic makes the training far more fun.

At the end of the day if we can focus on becoming more athletic, not only will your training be more fun, but I guarantee you’re more likely to achieve your end goal in the process.

All the best

MR

P.S. If you’d like to learn more about IFAST, please call or e-mail us ASAP to set up your initial consultation. We’d love to show you how IFAST can help you achieve your goals!

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 317.578.0998