Strength training is simple, but why do we find it challenging to build strength? Vik shares his thoughts and experience... The notion of being strong appeals to most people, even my grandma 😊. There are many reasons why someone may aspire to grow stronger. Typically, this is because of physique and/or performance aspirations that we have. AKA to look good naked or to optimise how we perform given tasks whether that be in a sporting environment or day-to-day living.Getting strong is simple. So why isn’t everyone walking around a super-strong man or woman?Here’s what I’ve come across are the 7 most common reasons why people aren’t getting stronger:1. Lack of clear intention and unrealistic expectation Saying you want to get strong is a good start but you need to have clear objectives and a plan or method in place to achieve this. Be clear on which movements you wish to gain strength in and in what time frame. Then you can map out other movements which can be worked on to supplement your priority movements.E.g. Wanting 3 pull ups by December 2021 is measurable VS wanting to get stronger in pull ups is not!!Just because you’ve printed a strength program off the internet (I’ve been guilty of this when I was younger) that some jacked up dude has used isn’t going to make you stronger!Have you factored in that you can’t train 10-20 hours each week? Be realistic; you may go away on holiday, work or family life can get in the way. All these variables have to be taken into account to set yourself a realistic expectation of your journey to getting stronger. 2. Moving poorly There could be a number of reasons you’re moving inefficiently; lack of mobility, poor technique/incorrect mechanics or muscle weakness and/or imbalance. This is where 90% of us have trouble! Lots of people get stronger initially by just powering through a movement but there is no hiding from technique in the long run if you want to keep progressing. More importantly, if you don’t address these issues early on you will suffer with muscle imbalance which with increased load and volume over time, results in pain and an injury.E.g. Squats are a great strength builder but majority of people don’t squat correctly. They lack mobility in their ankles and hips and most also have weak glutes which means adding weights or continuing doing just squats is a recipe for disaster!Focus on learning and work on fundamental movements to move freely, strongly and pain-free.“Building strength is more than just training pull-ups, squats, or deadlifts...think more holistically about your training and how your training fits into your everyday life. Consistency is king (or queen!). Have good awareness of your weaknesses, program to those weaknesses and leave your ego in front of the mirror at home.” 3. Doing what you love and not what you need to be doing! Yes…everyone has their favourite movements that they love doing so they tend towards these in the gym. BUT this … [Read more...] about 7 Common Mistakes in Strength Training
Movement Training
Movement training – what is it? Vik shares his thoughts on the fitness industry and on movement training, a core part of our methods at AIM... There are many trends that come and go in fitness industry. Some of which are great and some… well… let’s not get into them! Over the last few years there’s been a buzz about ‘Movement Training’. I’d like to share my thoughts on its origins and as a training approach.We all move!! We have been doing it since the dawn of time to hunt and gather, dance, walk, climb, run, jump, crawl, lift, swim, fight and even breathe! Suffice it to say that movement is essential to express ourselves as individuals and for survival.Think of a young child who progresses naturally over time to crawl, squat, lunge, bend, twist, push, pull, walk, run, jump, climb, throw, carry and thrive. We start developing these movement patterns instinctively in our first year as we learn to move, interact with the environment and play. Our joints are mobile, move in a variety of directions and we develop attributes such as balance, body awareness, coordination, strength and control. Then we start school where we sit still for short periods. However we endure years of sitting in school, then university and work. These stationary periods get longer and longer. Then throw in modern technology, where we spend increasing amounts of time watching, browsing, swiping..I think you get me. You can see the evolution of a human race that moves less and less.How does this sound? We sit for up to 12-18 hours a day in the car, train, bus, ferry, couch and work station and stare at our computer, tablet or mobile phone? It is no surprise the end result are stiff joints, muscles and tendons with diminished coordination, balance, reaction and body awareness.So what do we do?! Ahhh yes…. exercise!! Dedicate 1 to 4 hours a week running or doing strength training to counteract years of sedentary lifestyle and lack of movement. Don’t get me wrong, this is great and a lot of us are doing this at some level. However, the typical fitness industry spin centres on cosmetic motivation. Everyone wants to look good… and why shouldn’t they?!! Unfortunately this drive to purely improve our appearance is physically harming ourselves by moving less.Fortunately there has been a shift in paradigm. Humans are realising that we need more than to exercise for aesthetic purposes. We need to shift the focus back onto learning skills we once knew and moving in a functional way - pure human movement.Cue movement training.Our traditional forms of training are important because after all we are moving, which is what’s essential. I am not recommending you replace or divorce your first love for the barbell, CrossFit, martials arts, favourite class or workout routine. But if you hang onto the belief of one approach or discipline being the best, then you are losing out on a huge opportunity to expand on your physical range and to evolve into a well-rounded … [Read more...] about Movement Training
Lets Talk Mobility
Mobility training: what it is and why it should be a core part of everyone’s program, no matter what your goals... Have you heard or said –“I need to work on my mobility” Or “I am not mobile enough to do that!”Take a minute and genuinely think what the word ‘MOBILITY’ means to you.I’ve seen and heard this word thrown around so loosely by people who are either misinformed, trying to re-enact something they observed or following the latest cool trend but with little to no understanding and effect!I’d like to share my views in the hope it helps you understand a little more on the subject. This is not an in-depth opinion, rather a brief introduction. I could talk for hours on this subject, some of you which may have even had the pleasure of enduring 😊.“Mobility is the ability to actively achieve a range of motion.” This nicely defines mobility as the strength and control you have over your flexibility.Contrary to what people think, flexibility is not the same as mobility because it’s NOT USABLE range of motion. Visualise that lady who bends and twists in a way that make you cringe a little and now that guy who can barely touch his toes; both of these people are not mobile!It doesn’t matter if you’re strong or if you lack range of motion (ROM). No amount of muscle strength or control will power you through that restricted movement, at least not without serious repercussions, for example PAIN. Restricted movements force the body to compensate, creating further dysfunction. Additionally, if a muscle cannot achieve its optimal length it cannot generate sufficient force. Alternatively, if you had amazing flexibility and ROM but no strength and control then movement would be difficult, sloppy at best.Poor mobility means you are leaking energy, power and strength but also compromising your body to an extent where injuries are inevitable!! In short, good mobility is a basic requirement of quality, safe, and efficient human function and performance.I’m thrilled that the masses are becoming aware that restricted mobility causes trouble and are ready to take charge and do something about it. It’s important to know using tools such as foam rollers, lacrosse balls and resistant bands to roll and smash are NOT mobility!Mobility is a skill in itself. It should be treated like any other training protocol as it requires patience, understanding and dedication. It needs to be applied and requires progressions specific to the individual, for you to create a training stimulus and gain results. How we do mobility At AIM we incorporate different methods and systems such as active, weighted, partner, ballistics and stretching as well as movement practices and systems like functional range conditioning (FRC). This enables us to create safe, sustainable and long lasting results to get our TRIBE moving freely, with strength and pain free.The priority of any good mobility work or program should cover:Articular health and longevity; … [Read more...] about Lets Talk Mobility
Hips Don’t Lie
Are you limited in your movement because of your hips? One of the key problematic regions in our bodies are our hips! This is mainly due to our modern-day lifestyles.So many of the AIM TRIBE commenced training with us due to TIGHT, RESTRICTED, UNSTABLE or WEAK HIPS!!Hip issues can cause an array of problems that can affect the most basic day to day movements such as bending, squatting and can often be the underlying cause of lower back pain.Truth be told there is no magic sauce to cure your hip restrictions straight away! This issue of yours didn’t happen overnight and it won’t be going away overnight either!The good news is we’ve had great success in all our clients moving more freely in a short space of time by doing simple mobility drills that can take anywhere between 10-15 minutes to perform.It requires the willingness to understand, implement and being consistent with your practise to progress and start moving your hips.“Whilst I still have a long way to go, my hip mobility and general awareness has increased dramatically. I not only have unlocked lots of movement in my hips, but I now understand how to move them safely, without fear of injury – especially after retraining myself how to engage a strong posterior tilt!My back pain has decreased massively, and I now know how to alleviate and avoid mistakes that lead to the pain.”– Chris PurvesFundamental hip exercises We have decided to share our AIM hip fundamental exercises to help you free your hips. This is the same regime the AIM TRIBE perform before our group sessions or individually, as a part of their own daily practise.If you want and/or need to work on freeing your hips then we have compiled our hip fundamentals in this short video.https://youtu.be/DkoRdShIcyEWe recommend you listen to Shakira as we do and perform these exercises at least 3-5 times a week. 😊To happy hips...Vik Have questions or want us to help you improve your hip mobility? Hit the button below to get in touch and arrange a chat with us.Make an EnquiryFollowFacebookInstagramYoutube … [Read more...] about Hips Don’t Lie
Body Awareness
BODY AWARENESS, OR PROPRIOCEPTION IS YOUR BODY’S ABILITY TO SENSE THE POSITION, LOCATION, ORIENTATION, AND MOVEMENT OF THE BODY AND ITS PARTS. This is the key to successful movement Let me ask you a question – how can a person be ‘good’ if they don’t know what good looks like? If you don’t know what good looks like - or better yet feels like then you don’t have a working model to help guide your behaviour.For example how many time have you heard ‘pull your shoulder back’, ‘chest up’, or (my favourite) ‘switch you core on’! This is often met by with ‘uh... is that it?’ or a blank stare. Pulling the shoulder normally looks like arching from your lower back, chest up normally looks like a shrug and switching the core on often looks like your sitting on the toilet because you’re tensing so much!Some of the best athletes that I have coached have no idea of what ‘good’ looks like and they certainly had no idea of what ‘good’ feels like! So, if you don’t know what to feel, how can you activate, strengthen or perform a movement?LET'S LOOK AT HOW BODY AWARENESS CAN AFFECT OUR MOVEMENT PATTERN As the body moves to perform an intricate movement such as stepping up on a bench, our body will start by working in a way where individual muscles team up to create a kinetic chain, and then these group of muscles work with other groups of muscles and so on till the movement is done. Seems complicated to understand right?! Well we have our brain, in particular the cerebellum to thank for making this happen. The cerebellum is in constant communication with muscles like a circuit, moderating movements using proprioception. When we learn new movements, the cerebellum gets involved - a lot. As movement patterns become more established, our muscles rely less on higher-level intervention and more on memory. Muscle memory. Good patterns or bad patterns, these will be the strategies your body remembers - and uses.During your waking hours, you have two choices: reinforce good habits or reinforce the bad habits. The more aware you are of your body, the better movement quality you’re going to gain for longer period of time which is going to help you out in the real world. It is never too late to teach your muscles how to work together to produce better, more efficient movement patterns. Using poor habits means you are using the wrong muscles at the wrong times to execute a movement. This is how we end up with an unbalanced body and lack to gain any strength, stability, mobility and coordination but actually can end up with joint restrictions, chronic pains and injuries. Take home Over the course of your life, you’ve learned how to move in an astonishing number of ways. Not all of the ways you move are correct, in fact some of your habits are probably downright horrific. But that doesn’t stop you from moving. When you ask your body to do a job, your body doesn’t care what it looks like - it carries out an order using the resources it has available and the habits you … [Read more...] about Body Awareness