How can you become better than you were yesterday?
Get in shape, right? But how do you devise a meaningful plan to “get in better shape?”
Not Just for Professionals
Being “out of shape” really is just a lack of general physical preparedness. It’s not just about athletic ability, though. Benefits of being in shape carry over to living a better life, as well.
Ask yourself: How well can you succeed at work if you're always stressed out, unable to relax and are too tired to think?
No matter what your fitness goals are, the 5 Pillars of General Physical Preparedness (GPP) are the best way to start.
Pillar 1: Learn to Breathe Effectively
You’re probably more familiar with inefficient breathing than efficient breathing.
Try this: take 3-5 breaths, gasping with only your mouth. After a few breaths, you’ll start to feel uncomfortable because this is an inefficient way to breathe. Unfortunately, we default to mouth breathing when we’re stressed out. The same is true for when we are exhausted from an intense workout.
Gasping for air is our body’s subconscious attempt to take in more air as quickly as possible. However, the faster we breathe, the less efficient our lungs can work to exchange carbon dioxide for oxygen through the blood. This triggers the sympathetic nervous system (panic mode) to activate, and our stress levels increase further.
Breathing through the nose slows down the intake of air, while moisturizing and warming of that air, so that it doesn’t dry out our air passages. In addition to pre-conditioning the air before it enters the lungs, nasal breathing also activates the release of nitric oxide into the bloodstream. Nitric oxide causes the muscles surrounding our blood vessels to relax, which subsequently increases the diameter of the blood vessels. The result is an increased flow of oxygen-rich blood to the body’s cells.
Proper breath control benefits athletes and non-athletes alike.
Effective breathing during exercise increases endurance and power output. Muscles get more oxygen, and the onset of soreness at the end of the exercises is delayed.
Strength athletes, who may not be concerned with endurance, also benefit from proper breathing techniques. Manipulation of the breath helps to stabilize the core during heavy lifts. Imagine a whitewater raft. The raft is rigid because of the compression of air inside of it. When lifting heavy weights, strength athletes need to brace their core using core muscles and intra abdominal pressure, which is provided by the breath.
Effective breathing outside the gym enables us to relax under stress, think more clearly and alleviate anxiety to improve our quality of life. As mentioned above, nasal breathing can alleviate stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
Try this: Start breathing only with your nose.
Pillar 2: Strengthen Your core
Without the core, your upper body would flop over like a bobble head toy. Weakness and muscle imbalances in the core can cause chronic pain and even injury.
Core means more than the 6-pack abs. There are several layers of muscles wrapped around your spine, ribs, hips and midsection that enable you to stand upright. These hidden muscles help you rotate, stabilize, bend and brace to keep you upright like the center pole of a circus tent.
The core muscles anchor the spine and ribs to the pelvis and transfer rotational movement from the upper body (like swinging of the arms and rotation of the shoulders) into translational movement (pushing through the feet and pulling of the hip flexors) of the lower body.
Whether you're lifting heavy weights, running a marathon or enduring an 8-hour web conference meeting, having a strong core is key to minimizing the risk of injury and chronic pain.
Try this → Brace your core during your breaths.
Pillar 3: Increase Your Mobility
Imagine standing up from a low couch. Most people lean forward and use momentum.
Now imagine standing at the end of a table and lifting the table top a few inches. Most people would be able to lift the table at least 2 inches.
In general, it’s more difficult to get up from the ground because their muscles are weaker at the bottom of a squat than the top position. Mobility in a joint enables you to generate strength from any point along the range of motion of that joint.
Performing an exercise, like a squat, through the full range of motion ensures that the muscles can produce forces in the fully stretched and fully shortened position. Mobility gained through a full range of motion squat will enable you to run faster, jump higher and lift heavier weights.
In addition to muscle tissue conditioning, mobility also conditions the connective tissue that connects the muscle to the bone (tendons) and those that connect bones together (ligaments) in the affected joint. Coincidentally, most sports injuries occur in the tendons and ligaments, so mobility work can help prevent such injuries.
Try this → Spend one workout a week with slow reps.
Pillar 4: Functional Strength
Functional strength training simply means getting stronger at what you are already doing on a regular basis. Exercises don’t have to be super athletic or difficult in nature to be functionally beneficial.
Majority of situations can be functionally improved by simply doing traditional weight training exercises to add muscle mass and strength to the movement.
On the other hand, when it comes to activities that require multi-planar movement (i.e. turning, twisting, swinging, spinning), functional training mimics the specialized movement while adding a more challenging element (resistance bands, medicine balls, kettle bells, etc.)
Try this → Walk around with a heavy (20-35lbs) backpack once a week for 10-15 minutes.
Pillar 5: Increase Your Endurance
Up your ability to do work for a longer period of time. Endurance determines the difference between giving up and going the distance. Endurance training also allows you to exert appropriate force during exercise without risking injury due to poor form.
For athletes, this translates into being able to play for longer periods of time and maintain a high level of performance, as well as being able to play multiple games in a single day without diminishing performance.
Carrying my toddler around during a week-long Disney vacation was about the most endurance-heavy activity I’ve ever done, and I’ve fought in kickboxing tournaments.
Try this → Spend 2 workouts per month lifting 5-10 lbs less weight during your exercise, but increase the reps by 50%
Always Start with GPP
GPP is the cornerstone of any fitness journey. No matter what your goals may be, whether it's to build strength, lose weight, increase athleticism or just become a healthier version of yourself, mastering the 5 Pillars of GPP is the most basic step.
Through consistency, discipline and determination you can reach any goal you set for yourself, no matter how impossible it may seem. Even if competitive sports are not the end goal, just focusing on GPP will keep you strong for life.
These are just baby steps, but baby steps lead to big strides.
I get it. There's limited time to train, so why not cover all of these points at the start of the week and get that time back?
To get the most out of that valuable time, join the RMF Sunday Workout where we cover all of the 5 Pillars of GPP.
Click the link below to learn more.
I hope this blog was helpful! If you're committed to reaching your high performance goals, Ronin Monster Factory is here to guide you. Click here to book a strategy call!
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