Hi Everyone,
It’s Totally Tone Tuesday and it’s the day we talk about strengthening, stretching, and balance.
If you’ve noticed there is a direct correlation between leg/core strength and balance. In other words, people who have strong legs and cores tend to have better balance. But here’s the thing, how do we best develop solid leg and core strength habits?
Strong legs and cores can be achieved through a multitude of ways. For people who have never weight trained before, I usually always recommend machine weights over free weights. Some trainers de-emphasize machine weights because they feel clients will enjoy the latitude of different exercises one can do with free weights over machine weights.
It’s my belief that like most things in life, starting with a solid framework from which to build from is important. In the gym this means, exercising all the major muscle groups in a structured organized way that lets the individual build strength progressively without worrying that he/she is doing the exercise incorrectly- machine weights, once learned correctly, allow for a more structured and progressive strength foundation.
Once an individual has a solid foundation of strength progressively implemented then all the other tools in the gym can be utilized for more variety and difficulty. This is where free weights and cables come into play that offer more variety and difficulty because core and leg strength become central to lifting various weights in a multitude of planes that cannot be derived on the machines.
Up Shot
Like most things in life, skipping important foundation steps decreases the likelihood that an individual will create the necessary habits for long lasting change. In the arena of health and wellness, if we focus on foundational strength training and then progressively adapt to more difficult exercises, not only is our body ready physically but our mind is as well. This mind body balance is the difference between superficial change and real habit change that most of us seek.
What about you? Are you creating the foundation habits for long lasting change?
All My Best,
Kim