The art of practice

We are very lucky to live in a country that provides options and opportunities. In this instance, I am identifying the never ending training and exercise  options presented to us. I often find myself complaining about the relentless cycle of new training fads opening everywhere *mostly down the road from the club – Yoga, Pilates (why so many studios), functional fitness gyms, Boxfit spaces, cycling classes, weird made-up hybrid methods – Sorry, joseph Pilates did not wish for Pilates to be coupled with high intensity intervals. All of these options used to annoy me more than they should have *shakes fist angrily at the sky – But, I now think they serve a higher purpose for those that are willing to take the opportunities; it is easy to find what you DO like by doing things you DON’T like…

How many of you reading this have started a fitness routine only to fall off the wagon and never start back up? Only to find yourself trying a new thing a few months later and repeating the same cycle. I can attest that I have done this, and I can even name some current members who fell from grace at our. club only to return better than ever before. You can’t expect everyone to like the same. thing and we know our design means we adapt and enjoy different. forms of exercise practice. Before you blame yourself for your lack of ability to stick to something answer some questions to see how a practice stacks up.

Here is my simple method for finding YOUR practice – Firstly, do you enjoy it? – This is super important because discipline is way easier when you like what you do. Secondly, are you seeinz results? These need to be measurable. Body scans are great, but can you also see strength going up, can you see cardio output improving? Don’t just guess you are improving or confusing results with grunt work during your sessions. Thirdly, can you see yourself doing this for a sustained period? I would say a use the 2-5-10 rule. Will you still be thriving doing this practice in 2 years? Will you have completely changed your physical self in 5 years with consistent training? How does it look in 10 years – is it still the same or similar practices/ with adjusted loads/ intensities to suit your future self? Lastly, is it hitting all the right spots? Strength training is the foundation of all good physical practices (sorry, I love Pilates but the loading becomes pretty redundant quickly) lift heavy and lift well 3-5 times a week. Then, what’s the variation in heart rate throughout the week? We have 5 zones of heart rate that should be touched on each week, depending on age/ goals/ abilities. In addition to these, we should try to stay flexible, train coordination, retain balance and stay springy via jumping variations *side note – A good strength and conditioning program does all of these.

A quality practice is scalable – meaning you can adapt it to an individual at any stage and it translates well. We can progress and regress the stress and still impose a desirable adaption from the body. If you don’t see your current training practice serving you now and not in the future – it may be time to search for a new practice. Follow the above when analysing your training practice and make an educated decision if it is right for you. As we said, you aren’t short of options in a country like Australia.

In full circle, looking to our theme of options we want the same things for the people we influence with our practice. Move more, live better and improve your health. We can seek to live a little longer with less pain and illness to enhance the world around us. Whatever your desired practice – do it well, do it often and do it until you no longer see results. Don’t be afraid to try new things and work out what works for you. Physical practice should be taken as a lifeline journey that always serves the higher purpose of better health, wellness and fitness.

Hope to see you training soon.