|
||
|
There’s just no other way around it. If you want results, then you have to put a little hustle in your muscle. Through the end of May, I am running a promotional offer of 10 personal training sessions for $400, for new clients only. To make an appointment, fill out the contact form or see contact information below.
To demonstrate this, consider what happens when you navigate down a steep hill. As gravity accelerates your body mass down the slope, your instinctual and immediate reaction will be to push your hips back, sitting into the hill, to control the rate of your descent. Your feet will now land in front of your body’s center of gravity (COG), essentially putting on the brakes. How does this relate to running on a flat surface, though? After all, regardless of how you run, even if you’re pushing your hips back and your feet are landing in front of your COG, you’re still moving forward and getting exercise, right? Well, that’s true. You can also accelerate your vehicle while simultaneously applying the brake, but that doesn’t mean you should do it. So, let’s go over a couple of good reasons to examine your running technique. Part 1 highlighted the need to develop a plan for making progress with properly chosen exercises that will help you build strength effectively and efficiently. Part 2 will deal with the importance of training volume and training intensity. As you’ll see, it’s hard to separate one topic from the other, as intensity is one factor in determining total training volume. Exercise duration and training frequency also contribute to total volume, and they will both receive a brief mention as they are intrinsic to a discussion on training volume and intensity. Please keep in mind that I am presenting general guidelines, as it will be impossible to cover every possible scenario in a single article. 3) Volume Most weightlifters in almost every commercial gym are doing bodybuilder-styled routines with the requisite volume in training. Performing 5-10 exercises for 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps to failure on 4-6 days per week would probably cover the range of programs typically being followed. Even if bodybuilding is your goal, and I’m not suggesting that it should be otherwise, you would still benefit from building a solid base of strength and work capacity before copying the high volume routine of a professional bodybuilder. On a side note, if your desire is to stay natural, then don’t expect much success from following the routines of lifters who are taking drugs. I’m not being cynical about the sport of bodybuilding, or skeptical of anyone’s natural potential. I’m just being realistic. |
|
|
|
| ||
|
Are you an uphill runner, or a downhill runner? No, I’m not conducting a survey on orographic preference. I’m referring to your running technique. Even on completely level ground, many runners adopt a style that would be more suitable for running downhill. Their biomechanical brake lights are on, as indicated by the position of their hips and feet. How do you know if this describes your running form? Well, do your feet spend more time in contact with the ground than in the air? Can you see your feet when you run, even if only in your peripheral vision? Do your feet land in front of your hips? Have you been running for months, or years, without making any improvement in performance? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you may be running with the brake light on.