Sometimes the Best Step is Backwards

As I have preached on this blog previously, fat loss is all about progression.  What I have failed to mention, however, is that sometimes the best next step is not forward, but rather backward.  Sometimes achieving fat loss quickly and efficiently can require a person to swallow their pride and regress in regard to their movements/exercises.  I like to tell all of my athletes this…  before you start this program…  “Check your ego at the door”. 

One thing that always blows my mind is the amount of people who try and perform certain exercises until extreme fatigue sets in, particularly even in cases where they can’t properly perform even one technically perfect rep.  Take a push up for example.  The king of all upper body pushing exercises might be the one-arm push up.  You would not believe how many “tough guys” I have seen in the gym over the years who are in the corner blasting out just technically awful one-arm push ups.  It hurts my soul on a number of levels, yet I am no longer baffled by the sight. 

Back to reality.  If you cannot perform a technically sound, standard two arm push up for reps, then regress.  Take a step back, be true to yourself and give yourself an easier, better yet safer version of the exercise.  Put your hands on a bench, do them from your knees, or ever angled against a wall.  There is no shame in this.  Remember, we want to build fitness on top of function, not the other way around.  Imagine if you would have skipped algebra and went straight to calculus in school… you would have missed out on a lot of valuable teaching and concepts by forgoing the algebra class, and probably would have failed miserably in calculus. 

The same concept can be used in respect to training.  You have to learn to crawl before you can walk.  I think we can probably attribute the majority of this “gym ignorance” to muscle magazines, since these publications usually only show what professional athletes are doing for performance enhancement, or demonstrating the latest crazy drills that can take your “fitness” to the next level.  Word to the wise, you don’t need most of these exercises and they probably don’t give you much return for your investment anyways. 

The take home message is this.  Analyze and assess yourself.  The truth can be hard to swallow sometimes, but people need to face the truth more while in the gym.  Realize that someday you are going to be able to work into more complex training modalities, but not until the basics and fundamentals have been properly mastered first.  I speak from first hand experience.  You cannot start from point A, skip B, and then expect to arrive quickly and safely at point C.  Don’t be afraid to take a step backwards with moments like these…

 

 

Until Next Time…  Train Smart.