CrossFit, Orange Theory, going on walks, rucking, strongman, and literally any form of exercise can get you “in-shape.”
A strong diet and sleep routine will see to that. But, here’s the thing. “In-shape” is a relative term.
“In-Shape” to the US Government registers as activities that increase one’s health span while catering to the interests of lobbyists.
”In-Shape” to some people is having 6-pack abs.
”In-Shape” to others is can you go up a flight of stairs.
The list can go on and on, but what really matters is your definition of in-shape as that determines whether you feel successful in your training program or not.
For our programming, we view “In-Shape” as having the ability to perform any actions in life that could be asked of you being free of injury.
We measure this with the TYR Board and have the middle of the board as our ideal measurements.
The key to hitting these goals, is keeping a consistent schedule of no less than 3x per week of relatively intense exercise lifting external loads or your body weight through full ranges of motion of the shoulders and hips.
The key thing to seeing the most success in the shortest amount of time is adhering to “relative intensity.”
Relative intensity is the act of listening to your body each day and doing work that pushes the limits just slightly beyond where we are comfortable on any given day.
We program in percentages and have scales to give you a good idea of where to be, but the real measure is this:
Performing at a high relative intensity can be measured when your form begins to break slightly in a single area and you have the ability to fight it back to good form and resist the fault if you focus on it.
Working in this area is where we grow safely. We don’t’ sacrifice form, we just push to where we actually get to work on improving it and can maintain the necessary positions to still lift safely with focus.
In running, this could mean pushing your pace until you can no longer keep your torso up. On the bike, pushing until your lungs or legs tire out. On the deadlift, until your shoulders lose a little retraction and you have to think about it and can fix it.
The list can go on, but the idea I want to get across is this:
If you want to see the most success by the next testing week this Summer:
Focus on being Virtuous in your form and your mentality to give your best effort each day.
Push a little bit beyond and practice being proud of the achievement that is moving well and pushing yourself.
You do that and you’ve got a long road of PRs coming.
Your coaches will of course be there to help the entire way, so if you’re unsure of how things are going, ask them! We are tracking everything and they see you move every day.
To talk with a coach today, click the link found HERE to schedule your No Sweat Intro