Training is what the body needs to adapt and develop. Consider that without sunlight plants struggle to grow, similarly, without training our bodies will not develop and grow much.
Your body needs training as a stimulus to take it outside of its normal comfort zone, which ultimately means the body has to make changes to develop. You may only be able to do a bodyweight squat at the start of your training, but after the body is exposed to training consistently and repeatedly it will get stronger and you might be squatting with a barbell on your back after several weeks.
So training is the stimulus for our bodies to change, but how do we know how successful we are with our training (and nutrition)? Well success could simply be defined by 1) how lean you are, 2) how much muscle you have or 3) how strong you are. Those are three great indicators of a successful program, and most people are looking to improve those areas too!
But whether you are training already or never trained before, you need to have these 3 cornerstones nailed down:
● Mastering the Basics
● Consistency is King
● Focus on the End Game
What are the Basics and Their Importance
Training is like learning a new language in many respects, you always start with the basics. With a language, you might start learning common words and numbers, with training its learning common movement patterns, and we should all learn how to squat, hinge, lunge, push and pull properly.
If you were to start with advanced methods first, it would be like jumping in the deep end at the pool without any swimming experience, you would not be ready to cope with the demands, it wouldn’t be beneficial or intelligent.
Starting with the basics builds the foundation, and as we advance we can go onto other methods. With your training focus on squats, chin-ups, and behind the neck presses. These have a great return on investment. If you cannot do these for whatever reason then look to split squats, hack squats, pendulum squats, lat pulldowns, dumbbell shoulder presses, etc…
Why consistency is king
Consistency works because your body needs to be repeatedly exposed to a stimulus so that it changes and adapts over the long term.
If you wanted to change something in your life, would you want to follow a good plan 100% of the time…or a perfect plan 50% of the time? The latter would yield more results.
To help stay consistent, keep things simple and find what helps your adherence to a plan. Maybe you improve adherence by training both days on the weekend, or maybe it is during lunch between work. Find what suits you.
Stick with a plan for 3-6 weeks, make sure to measure how you are doing, then after you have completed one phase take time to reassess and implement any changes, then repeat. Changing one thing at a time and measuring the effect of each change is far superior to swapping multiple things often. Pick something, execute it, measure, reassess, repeat.
The End Game
Look to improve over a longer period of time with sustainable and gradual progress. The results won’t come in a matter of days, it takes consistent work at the basics to reach your goals, over the weeks and months the changes and adaptations will be significant.
Plus, the longer we can adhere to consistent and sustainable training, eating, and recovery the healthier we are going to be throughout our lifetime. Not to mention that it will greatly benefit our lifestyles.
This foundation series of articles will continue to provide essential information to maximise your health. Going forward they will progress to wider topics and more advanced material.
For now with your training, simply focus on the above points, Further advice can be sought after with consultation. This gives you the opportunity to get clarity on how you pursue your best health, if you have questions or want to get specific and more individual advice, this is a great investment of your time.
Disclaimer
Always speak with your physician or other healthcare professionals before making any nutritional & lifestyle changes or before taking any nutritional supplement. For more information, please view our terms & conditions.
