Stupid is as stupid does!

By now we all have probably seen at least part of the movie Forrest Gump. I love to quote parts of he movie, such as the part when Forrest is in the army and Bubba tells him about all of the different shrimp variations. Except I like to make it about squats, I will say things like pistol squats, front squats and so on! Of course I try to mimic a southern accent( not very well though).

My title for today’s post comes from the part when our main character is on a park bench and is speaking to a few different people and one person asks him- “boy are you stupid”? and Forrest’s reply is “My mama says stupid is as stupid does”. Isn’t that so true; don’t we judge people by their actions. I know in a world of political correctness we aren’t supposed to judge, however I realize it a part of our nature. I also feel it is appropriate if it is an observed truth! (You may feel free to disagree now)

Now, once again you may ask what these random thoughts on life have to do with training?. I will say it is simple, (training and life have so many correlations ) just people do dumb stuff like spend more than they earn, and live recklessly. Some people train the same way, they over reach too much and train without thought and well… dumbly!

Before you get all defensive please allow me to further elaborate on my point. Often times we do dumb stuff just because we don’t know any better for example when we were teenagers, we did (or least I did) all kinds of dumb things for no other reason then we just didn’t really know any better. Can you relate to me on this?  So the goal of this post is to drop a few nuggets to help you make continual progress in your training without burning out and reducing your injury rate a bit.

Mistake 1- Not doing resistance training or not enough resistance-
Science has taught us that strength training is awesome for so many different things. such as but not limited to: fat burning, muscle mass building, bone density as we age  and many more. ( I feel like a salesman):p So a lot of us are beginning to train with loads without proper instruction and the result is lots of ugly reps being done in our gyms. Ugly are not only that ugly, but they are also dangerous. Now don’t get me wrong we are not looking for perfection because we all can improve. what I am talking about is the poor execution of a move that it is definitely going to cause injury. Here is an example-

This guy will need a doctor in the future! All for the sake of trying to do a load he hasn’t earned to do yet! So here is a lesson; PROGRESS WISELY! It is better to do a few less pounds and really own the weight than to cheat the move, any true power lifter will agree with me on this point!  Also don’t be wimpy for the sake of “functional exercise” you need to overload your body in order to change anything otherwise your body sees it as rest. So keep a log and track your loads and increase them when needed and back off when needed.( about every 2 to 3 weeks) In other words be smart!

Mistake 2- Training for too long and or doing too much cardio.
Not it is thought that because all of the health benefits of training that more is better. So we have people spend way too much time at the gym. I remember when I worked at a “big box gym” there were a few people who train for way too long too frequently. These particular people would spend 1 to 2 hours on the treadmill or stair climber and then do some weights afterward.They always looked horrible in appearance they were weak and lacked energy and happiness. How many know that is a sickness?
These particular people don’t have even a basic understanding of the amount of stress that is placed on the body and it’s need to recover. They are headed towards a serious breakdown in health or a ugly injury. it is simply called over training,and it is not going to get you to their goals of better health and or a certain look. Instead they should workout more intensely less time to optimize the hormones that cause change in our physiques and eat less!  Keep in mind stress and remember working out should make your life better, not worse!                                                           There is a lot more I can say on this subject and maybe I will in future posts. However for now suffice it to say you need to use your head in your training as a moral obligation not just for your but for your family and friends too. If you have gone too far rest! Take as long as you need to recover and you will come back stronger then before. Then make sure that you are using your head and waving loads and resting. Stay active, just don’t be dumb, and keep repeating the same cycle, get off the roller coaster and enjoy life! Happy trails friends!