Is Your Fitness Training Plan Flawed…?

There are many areas of fitness to focus on. If you just focus on one area of fitness, your fitness training plan is FLAWED.

Heres how you know if your on the right track. When you go to the gym and other people ask you what the heck your doing, then you know your fitness training plan is headed down the right path.

Are you a body builder type who doesn’t work on conditioning, and functional flexibility & mobility…?

Are you a runner that just focuses on running and forgets endurance strength, power and mobility…?

Are you a triathlete who just swims, runs, rides bike but don’t do anything for functional flexibility or mobility, core stability, strength, or power training…?

Do you do Yoga and Pilates but skip any strength, power, and conditioning workouts…?

To have a complete well rounded fitness plan that focuses on “whole fitness” or holistic fitness you have to incorporate 6 main areas of fitness.

1. Functional Flexibility and Mobility
2. Core Strength and Stability
3. Strength
4. Short & Long Range Power
5. Interval Training – Anaerobic vs. Aerobic
6. Speed
7. Proper Recovery & Nutrition

Old Way Of Working Out - 50% free weights, 50% machines. Do 4 sets of 12,10,8 and rest 2-3 minutes between each set. Workout 3-5 days all in the gym. Each day you work a specific body part like chest and back or just legs. If this is your fitness plan your wasting your time if you actually want to have a high level of fitness. Following this plan makes you one dimensional or a one-trick pony.

New Way Of Working Out - 95% time spend on free weights, 5% machines. Your sets and reps vary all the time. Depending on which workout your doing you may not even rest at end of your sets, especially if your doing Crossfit. If its a strength or power day you may allow more rest between each lift. You may only need 1-2 days in an actual gym and a couple workouts out of the gym. Instead of working specific body parts your working a combination of the 5 categories above. Your targeting your whole body not just body parts.

We want to be generalists in our fitness not specialists.

Outside Magazine gives you some simple tests to see where you are at for each of the 5 main categories above and remedial training if you can’t currently pass each individual performance test.

If your not able to do the basic movements provided in the performance test for each area, add the remedial training exercises into your current fitness training plan.

1. Functional Flexibility

If your tight in the hips or shoulders you should work more on your functional flexibility and core stability before getting really serious about strength training.

Functional Flexibility is your ability to move completely through the range of motion required for a sport or activity.

Any number of factors like, age, jobs where you sit a lot, or watching too much TV make muscles chronically tight, limiting your full power and strength potential and increasing your risk of injury.

Flexibility shouldn’t be an afterthought. It should be one of the most important things you focus on.

Most functional flexibility tests gauge flexibility in your core, which are where the most problems are.

2. CORE Strength and Stability

Doing core exercises aren’t just about making your six pack better. What everyone should be after is core stability, which is achieved when your entire core, from lower back to upper legs is equally strong.

Having a stable core will give you maximum control of your body, make you less likely to get injured and provide you with greater performance and power and strength in all types of sports and activities.

Everyone of your workouts should have at least two of the major Core Stability exercises.

These would include:

• Side Planks, Forearm Planks and Pushup planks
• Inchworms
• Renegade Man Makers
• Wood Chops
• Windshield Wipers

3. Explosive Power & Long Range Power

Power is simply energy production, whether its over a short period (sprints, power lifting) or a long period (1-4 hr. mountain biking ride).

Explosive power is usually in the 1-3 rep range with 85% – 100% max weight.

Typical explosive power training workouts are done with a variety of these main compound exercises:

• Squats
• Cleans
• Deadlifts
• Bench Press

Keep in mind these are also strength exercises but what makes them a power or strength exercise are the reps, rest between each set and the weight used.

Long Range Power Exercises:

• Plyometrics in the 10-20 rep range
• Running Intervals
• Cycling Intervals

If your a tri-athlete, mountain biker or adventure racer your long range power is crucial to your sports.

4. Strength & Strength Endurance

Strength would be considered doing an exercise for 4-6 reps with 75% – 85% of max weight. Strength Endurance is the ability to do a lift for 8-15 reps or more with 65% of your max weight.

Doing exercises to increase your strength will increase your muscle mass, and keep you burning calories all day long with your increased metabolism. To increase your strength and power you should be doing these types of workouts below.

• Bodyweight Workouts
• Strong Man Training
• Kettlebell Training
• Free Weight Power Lifting Exercises
• Ring Training
• Sandbag Training
• Gymnastics Training
• Crossfit Training

5. Interval Training – Anaerobic vs. Aerobic

Long boring aerobic exercise doesn’t make much sense unless you just want to run marathons and have a skinny little body with no muscle…

Efforts at moderate to high power and lasting less than several minutes are anaerobic. Efforts at low power and lasting in excess of several minutes are aerobic. The 100, 200, 400 and 800 Meter Sprints are mostly anaerobic.

Events like 1,500, the mile, 2,000, and 3,000 meters are mostly aerobic. Aerobic exercise shows decreases in muscle mass, strength, speed and power. Aerobic activity also has a pronounced tendency to decrease anaerobic capacity.

Anaerobic exercise is more superior to aerobic exercise for fat loss and also has benefits of cardiovascular function. It also allows you to improve power, speed, strength, and muscle mass. So why would anyone even consider doing anything aerobically…?

You will use anaerobic efforts to develop aerobic condition through “interval training”. With interval training we get all the cardiovascular benefit of endurance work without the loss of strength, speed and power.

6. Speed & Quickness

Speed is the ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement. In this article we’ll refer to this as being able to do your workouts faster and get them finished quicker while still being safe. Speed increases with time as you get better in the 5 main areas of fitness. If you only focus on 1-2 aspects of fitness your speed will be affected.

You can also do specific drills to increase your speed but most people don’t need to focus on this. You can, but it would mainly be for professional athletes who would have a distinct disadvantage if they didn’t practice certain speed drills.

7. Recovery & Nutrition

Much of your training will go to waste if you’re not devoting equal time and effort to your recovery. The physiological gains from exercise take place while you’re at rest. Blood flow into damaged muscles and joints, capillaries expand for improved oxygen delivery, and tissues prepare for the next assault.

After a workout is the perfect time for foods that are high in the glycemic index. Eating foods that have a high GI replenish your glycogen stores.  This is really the only time to eat high GI foods.

If you have questions about the 6 main areas of fitness please submit your question below in the comments box.

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