Taking another Look

It's about time we went back to take a look at some of the underlying principals of our training philosophy. Why do we train the way we do? How can we make our workouts more efficient?

For the next few Thursdays, I'm going to go back over our 10 Foundations. Starting...now.

Part I: Train your body weight.

Start with body weight. If we can't move our own body weight efficiently through space, what right do we have to be lifting external weight? Become proficient at moving your body through space. Develop, or relearn healthy movement patterns that will decrease your chance of injury and increase your effectiveness in your workout.

If we look at training for athletic performance, you're not going to see a basketball coach worth his salt putting his players on heavy squats before they can handle themselves on the court. Why should the rest of us be any different?

Life demands athletic performance of each of us every day. I guarantee you, if you learn proper body weight squats, body weight rows and pushes, you will progress at substantially higher rate with increased safety over more traditional training. That way, when you get around to lifting the heavier external loads, you'll be using you time much more efficiently and see elevated gains as a result.