- Athletic durability is NOT the same as athletic ability or looking amazing.
- The endless pursuit of bigger, faster, and stronger often leads to creakier, achier, crabbier
- While exercising for improved appearance and performance is well defined, improving and PRESERVING athletic durability is not…until now. Let’s get to it.
Athletic durability as I define it here is pain free movement. If you can do something without pain and in confidence you won’t get hurt, that qualifies. Pain free movement doesn’t result principally from strength (surprised me when I found out.) Getting stronger doesn’t make your more durable (although it will make you perform better). Pain free movement results from great bio-mechanics (think posture, but instead of a snapshot, a video). Great bio-mechanics result from smooth fascia and good muscle memory. Foam rolling, neuromuscular therapy, active release technique, rolfing, are all iterations of positively effecting the fascial web of the body to promote pain free movement through improved bio-mechanics. Of course, I feel my approach is the most user friendly of them all, as I drew from all that expertise.
Bottomline? Once you can deadlift twice your bodyweight, knock off 15 chin ups, and bench your bodyweight for 8 reps you are plenty strong for most anything. Don’t chase big weights in the gym and test your limits or you will find them the old fashioned way…rriiippp! Shift your focus to preserving your durability, rather than finding your breaking point. Most, yes most, badass athletes and bodybuilders traded todays’ muscles for tomorrow joints, not realizing that it would be a problem. To find out how to avoid that outcome, attend my workshop; live or virtual.