In the gym I will glance over at an athlete who is foam rolling or doing some other mobility drill and their mind is a million miles away. They are not paying any attention to what they are doing or feeling.
They are getting minimal return on their investment.
I love to ask them – “Where do you feel that stretch ?” or “What muscles do you feel working when you do that?”
When they say “Uh..I don’t know” – – I want to fall on the floor and cry a little bit.
But it isn’t their fault – – it is MY fault because I have not taught them the importance of focused practice – YET.
So if some of our RevCon athletes do it in the gym with us standing right there, then for sure some of you do it when you are training on your own. It has been a huge focus over in the Shutout Academy this month and those goalies are noticing a big difference.
Why Is It Important To Be Purpose-ful?
You learn what is ‘normal’ for your body – is your right hip tighter than your left? Why?
You learn the difference between a stretch, tightness, pain or a block.
You discover trigger points or knots. Are they normal? Is that a new one? Is it going away with work or getting worse?
You feel which muscles you are using to lift a load and maybe what you are using the most is really a supporting muscle. That could be a compensation pattern.
You will find your weak links. Does your back fatigue before your legs when you deadlift?
You will connect your brain to your body, you will be able to fine tune your machine the way a team of mechanics fine tunes every inch of a Formula One race car.
Try this….
The next time you do mobility at home or go to the gym be mindful; practice with focus.
Ask yourself:
Where do I feel this?
What does it feel like?
Do that for every exercise and you will find that you get better results. You will use better form, lift heavier loads or get a more targeted stretch. You will get more benefit.
I am NOT saying that you are trying to make everything as hard as possible or for you to feel as much sensation as possible by forcing movements, I just want you to note the quality of the movement and where you feel it.
Give it a try and let me know how it goes – you can let me know HERE.
I know it sounds a little woo woo – but trust me 😉
Cheers,
M