Every sport or fitness program’s aim is to improve your fitness level, durability or performance. However, if you’re thinking of pushing yourself beyond what your body is used to, you should always approach it with caution, especially if you’re working things out for yourself.

Regardless of your fitness level and abilities, I’d advise to always adapt the exercises and regress if needed, so that you are able to perform them with correct form. And then add progression gradually over time, once the body adapts to new stimuli. Building up a solid foundation of good movement patterns, posture and strength will allow you to improve your performance, get fitter, stronger while keeping the risk of injuries to a minimum.

Start with, and then nurture the quality of movement and correct posture.

So, how to get fit enough to be able to push the limits, safely? The first step would be movement competency.

Movement competency

For anyone who wishes to seriously improve their existing fitness, or who has a specific fitness/sport goal in mind, regardless of discipline, the movement competency is the stop No.1. In order to improve movement competency we might need to add mobility and stability drills to our existing exercise regime. If you are looking to help yourself to recover from or prevent injuries, increase efficacy of the training, boost the performance and subsequently get the results you want, improving your movement and posture should be at the top of your list.

Good form, mobile and strong body not only makes training safer, but also more efficient, less laborious and more enjoyable. It also can contribute to quicker and better recovery, which in turn allows you to show up and smash it at each session. Being able to perform well and consistently = progress.  As a result you get stronger, faster and fitter, from week to week. And you get the results you’re after.

It is really worth re-evaluating your movement and fitness from time to time. This takes all the guess work out of planning a training program and helps you to focus on the type of exercise drills that really matter, and can make a difference, to you and your goals.

Strength training

Strength training improves our ability to combat fatigue, and helps us to become more efficient and more robust athlete.

Based on the outcome of your movement and posture evaluation, you can then decide on which mobility and strength exercises to incorporate into the training schedule. These should be relevant to the sport or discipline we are involved in, and considerate of our strengths and weaknesses. With the appropriate mobility and strength exercises we can correct body imbalances, strengthen the bones and stabilise the joints.

What this could look like in practice?

Let’s take running for example. 

For a runner, cardio and endurance sessions will make up for most of the training programme. However, scheduling some time for a weekly mobility, stability, activation and strength drills can help prevent common injuries, e.g. knee injuries, Achilles tendonitis, hamstring injuries etc., it can alleviate existing, associated with running pains and aches, and improve the efficiency and power of running. While mobilisation, stretching or endurance training might seem obvious for runners, strength training would not be everyone’s first choice.

There are many benefits of strength training for runners, I’ll name only few;

·      Improvements in how the brain recruits the muscles, which translate into improved running economy.

·      More efficient stride through “stiffer” and “springier” tendons.

·      Reduced risk of overuse injury.

Strength training is vital in pretty much any type of sport or physical activity.

NOTE!! IT’S NOT POSSIBLE TO GET STRONGER THROUGH JUST RUNNING.

Recovery

Your next stop on the way to get fitter and up your game is recovery. Let’s make one thing clear here. You don’t build muscles or get stronger during the workout. During the training sessions we put our bodies under the physical and mental stress. Intense exercise causes micro-trauma in our muscle tissues and challenges our nervous system. If we allow the body to properly recover from this stress, neuromuscular adaptations take place and we are ready for another hard session. Lack of adequate rest and overtraining will cause further breakdown of the muscle tissue, which will prevent muscle growth. So if you want to get fitter and stronger you need to get better at resting. If you’re into body and muscle building for instance, and you’re in the gym almost every day, it would be a good idea to rotate the exercise selections, type of training or intensities so that you don’t stress the same muscle group every day.

Mobility exercises, walking, low intensity cardio like jogging, cycling or swimming, meditation, myofascial release like foam rolling or massage, sleep and adequate nutrient intake, are all great recovery practises. Chose the ones that complement your main training and help you relax most.

OVERTRAINING = UNDERPERFORMANCE

Nutrition

And lastly, but actually most importantly: adequate nutrition. Nutrition is part of the recovery process and the right type and amount of food can make you a champion or, break you. Good nutrition fuels your workouts and then helps to repair the body after. The type of activity or sport will dictate the composition and the quality of the food on your plate. When it comes to workout nutrition, it might differ depending on fitness goals.

Here are a few general tips on how to time your meals to enhance the performance and recovery;

Pre-workout: all athletes, recreational exercisers;

• eat normally, drink water regularly.

During workout:

• all athletes, exercisers- drink 0.5-1L of water per hour of activity
• for little extra recovery boost and more advanced exercisers looking to lose fat and maintain muscle, strength sport athletes (e.g. powerlifting) people training fasted - add Essential Amino Acids during activity
• people who want to gain mass, endurance or intermittent sport athletes or people with better carbohydrate tolerance- add a protein+ carbohydrate drink during training session.
• athletes/ exercisers in extremely hot and dehydrating conditions - consider adding an electrolyte solution

Post workout:

All athletes / exercisers;

• Eat normally within 1-2 hours after training.
• Make sure to include carbohydrates, preferably an appropriate amount based on needs and goals.
• Drink about 0.5-1liter of water after training, and 0.25-0.5 liters at other meals.
• If you are doing multiple events in one day, consider consuming a protein+ carbohydrate drink within 30 minutes of completing activity

These methods could give that extra edge and help you to level up your fitness, providing they come on top of a well-balanced and nutrient dense diet, good sleep hygiene and hydration.  Like with everything, before tweaking things up, make sure you nail the fundamentals.

Remember, don’t get too hang up on these details though. For most active people, a balanced meal of whole foods; lean proteins, veg and fruit, complex carbohydrates like whole grains, legumes or starchy veg and healthy fats, 2 hours before and within 2 hours after the workout + water, will be more than enough. Just make sure you’re consistent with your healthy eating and resting habits.

CONSISTENCY TRUMPS ALL