If you’re like most people you go to the gym so that something outside of the gym can improve. That could be being able to fit into the clothes in the back of your closet, getting healthier so your doctor can take you off some medications, or being able to keep up with your friends and family when being physically active. Most people in the gym do not have goals to become a bodybuilder, yet it seems like almost every person in the gym trains like a bodybuilder. Doesn’t make sense, does it? Don’t worry I was once guilty of this too because that is all I knew. Clearly it didn’t work out for me too well either because I didn’t even get big like a bodybuilder.
You’re probably wondering, “Well if I shouldn’t train like a bodybuilder, what the hell am I supposed to do?” If you ask me you should train in a way that is going to carry over into your real life, and in a way that helps you get the most bang for your buck. This means training “Movements” instead of “Muscles”.
Movements vs. Muscles.
Movement is defined as the act or process of moving; especially : change of place or position or posture (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/movement), while muscle is defined as a body tissue consisting of long cells that contract when stimulated and produce motion (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muscle). Now muscles create movement of the human body, but we don’t think in terms of muscles when we want to move, we just think about the movement we want to perform and our body does it. So why do we tend to think about muscle when we are working out in the gym? This is not to say no one should think in terms of “muscles” when working out, if you are bodybuilding, than your goal is to grow each and every little muscle so that it pops out on stage and you can win the show then yes you should probably think about working each muscle individually.
The problem with this way of training for everyone who has goals beyond bodybuilding is that our muscles work together to create movement, they don’t work separately, so when we train in the gym we would want all of our muscles to work together the way they would outside of the gym. This will help create carry over from your training into the real world. Training movements will also provide you with the most value of your time spent in the gym. Most people can’t spend 5 or 6 days in the gym for over an hour to target each muscle individually. Which is perfectly fine because you don’t have to unless you are a bodybuilder.
5 Movements
The five movements that everyone should train when they are in the gym are Squat, Hinge, Push, Pull, and Carry. We could add core in here too, but to keep this blog simple I wrote a separate blog on core training you can check out here (/a-better-way-to-train-your-core/) Within each of these movements there are a million and one different variations. Some are easy, others are hard, but I will provide a few for each and you can find one that works best for you within each category.
Squat
Variations:
Goblet Squat
Double Racked Squat
Step Up
Split Squat
Hinge (Hip Hinge)
Variations:
Band Swing
KB Deadlift
Slider SLDL
SLDL
Push
Variations:
Push Up
DB Bench Press
½ Kneeling Landmine Press
KB Overhead Press
Pull
Variations:
TRX Row
½ Kneeling Cable Row
3 Point row
½ Kneeling Band High Row
Carry
Variations:
Farmer Carry
Suitcase Carry
Overhead Carry
So next time you head to the gym pick one of each of these exercises and make it a workout. You can either make it one big circuit alternating between exercises or break it up into 2 or 3 circuits of 2-3 exercises. Just try to alternate between lower body and upper body to allow time to rest.
Coach Pat
