Being in physical therapy for the last 9 weeks continues to pound into my head the need for quality over quantity. I think we often times think that more is better. If I do more cardio I’ll get in better shape. If I lift more I’ll get stronger. If I stink at toes to bar I might as well do 10 toes to bar on the minute for 30 minutes….then I’ll be better at toes to bar.
A friend of mine said to me a fair share: More is just more. It’s not always better.
Now, if I lift more I will probably get stronger. Or if I “do cardio” I might get in “better shape.” But what we lose sight of is being able to build a base of strength and stability in order to move quicker or lift heavier. We want to lift heavy barbells. Absolutely. But what if I haven’t spent time on pelvis positioning or learned to recruit my hamstrings, glutes and/or quads when squatting? Chances are, I will have a pretty inefficient lift. And training inefficient lifts over and over and over…I will get injured. It’s like building a house on sand.
There’s a reason that we have days that focus a lot on accessory work – because we need a baseline of strength and stabilization before we can start generating power efficiently and effectively. After my surgery on my meniscus I didn’t walk into physical therapy and they said, “Let’s load you up for a 1 rep max back squat!” We all would have said, you need to find a new PT. Instead, we have done A LOT of single leg work on retraining and recruiting my glutes, hamstrings, adductors, quads…so that my knee joint can function properly WHEN it’s time to back squat or jump or move quickly.
Build the base on a solid foundation. Be patient. Don’t skip the stuff that isn’t as sexy. That’s the stuff that will build longevity and health. We’d love to help you figure out how to do that!