From time to time in the fitness industry there comes along a simple buzz word or words that people latch onto. They define their every workout by such words without completely knowing why but since the person who said it was in good shape then it must be beneficial to me.
For example, the word ‘core’ came along and revolutionized the fitness industry because we just used to say ‘abs’. Then came kettlebell but then we figured out that kettlebells had been around for thousands of years so we couldn’t really get too excited about that. And then there was my favorite…wait for it…’muscle confusion’.
Muscle What?!?!
Seriously? When did our muscles get brains/minds in the first place in order for us to confuse them? We in the fitness community both coaches and clients alike are always looking for the next big thing in the industry to gain an edge. We have goals and aspirations and discovering or being an early adopter of the latest craze would make you a legend of sorts.
Well, when it comes to ‘muscle confusion’ that is where I draw the line! You want your muscles to be confused? Try coming to the gym to train with me at 4am! Your muscles AND brain will be confused if you’re even awake enough to know what is going on. Yes, there is something to be said for having done something so often that our bodies go into a sort of auto pilot and can just get it done. We create these patterns in our daily lives that our brains and bodies just get used to for better or worse and simply find that comfort zone and get the task done. Nothing wrong with it, it’s just how we are made.
#Truth
As far as training goes we as human beings mostly operate in the SAME simple movement patterns. We push things, we pull things, we squat and we hinge at the hip (lunge/deadlift). You can throw basic anti-extension and anti-rotation core exercises in and you pretty have it summed up. In order to get really good at the aforementioned movement patterns you must complete them on a regular basis. Not only will you be better at them but you will get stronger in the process and who wouldn’t want that.
This is exactly the way we train at Aspire which is not to say that we still don’t need variety. I personally do the same 3 workouts EVERY week for months because my goals call for it. I can easily see and measure my progress and fitness level during any given workout and that works well for me.
But we know that training clients is different so we still add a little secret sauce to the workouts because lets face it, variety is still the spice of life. But even that is done within reason. No need to stand on top of a BOSU ball while performing a hand to hand kettlebell swing with one eye closed.
So the next time that you are at the gym and think to yourself “I know I just did that exercise not too long ago”, you probably have. You have definitely moved in a similar fashion for sure or even done the same exercise. Now we are giving you the opportunity to do it even better this time and hopefully with either more weight, better form/intensity or for more repetitions than you did before. Keeping it simple is the way to go!
