In a world full of information, videos and social media it can get tempting to want to compare yourself to others, or want to do what "THAT" person is doing or believe what "THEY" said.
Who are they anyway :/ . IDK.
While some information or people can be great motivators and examples, the amount of information AND mis-information can leave us CONFUSED, MISGUIDED and going in circles trying to reach goals that are not tailored to our specific needs and desires. Instead of getting help that is directed at us we piece information together many times and many times we overdo things. This can lead to injury, disappointment and wasted time and energy.
Our human nature is competitive and often arrogant. We think we can do things we have not done in 20 years or we try to lift as much weight as the iron man. Any time we are extreme we put ourselves at risk for injury. Preparation is always key. That is why your coach makes you go to practice several weeks before the game. That is why you learn information over time and then take a test. Our bodies and minds need time to build capacity.
Here are what we believe are the greatest Keys to success :
1. Be Consistent:
It is important to keep showing up for yourself in all areas of life. For us, as it relates to injury, this means showing up to your Physical Therapy sessions and doing the work between sessions. But this also includes how you take care of your whole body, your workouts, how you eat, how you rest and recover. You have to commit to taking care of you and be consistent with it. If you are not a breakdown will occur somewhere over time. If you want to get strong, you need to consistently go to the gym and work out 3-4 times a week. If you want to lose weight you need to consistently consume healthy foods. Consistency is KEY.
2. Master the Basics:
The basics matter. They are the foundation. Consistently touch on the basics. Stop trying to do all these crazy exercises and things you are not prepared to do. Getting back to the “basics” is always effective. When done right, the basics can very difficult. A simple example is in Ballet Classes. Basic combinations can be hard and make your muscles burn and expose your weaknesses. You don't have fast transitions or flare with the arms to help you through. The basics are great because they can be a barometer to check in on where we are at. Step 5 will not look or feel great if step 1 is weak or sloppy in technique.
3. Stay goal oriented
You gotta keep your eyes on the prize! Whatever you do don't lose sight of your goals. We see a lot of Physical Therapists, Strength Coaches & personal trainers taking their clients through crazy, complicated exercises and they do not even know why they are doing them. Yes exercises can be fun and creative but what is the goal? Are you a runner? What movements do you need to be strong for? What muscles are you not working in your runs that need to be strengthened? What exercises are going to improve your overall performance? What do you need to be better at for sport that needs to be trained in your programming? We have to stay focused on the goal. Goals matter. Don't lose sight of them as you are developing your program.
4. Get Help when you need it
Lastly...you gotta know when it is time to ask for help. Sometimes you just need some guidance and direction. We can't know everything and DIY sometimes gets us into more trouble (hence why we don't let our hubbies handle the plumbing leaks at our houses) ...lol. We have all had times where we took a class to learn a technique to help our patients with when we needed or wanted to master something because we needed help. It is worth it. Invest in yourself.
If you can do these 4 things then you will be successful.
We are always here to help!
Yours in Strength,
Dr. Brown, Dr. P & Dr. Bay
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