Today we’re going to stick with the theme of workouts and specifically things I am learning and reminding myself during my venture into a virtual workout program.
Being a coach involves a lot of question-asking and listening. A great coach will talk less and listen more.
One of the main questions I will ask our Superheros after a specific exercise is “What did you feel going on there?” Or “Where did you feel that?”.
It is a simple question to help me know they are staying in a good position but also understand what part of their body they’re working on and how this specific exercise is helping them.
For example, if we just crushed some squat I might ask them, and usually, I will get the response that their quads are burning. And if we are doing a hip raise most people will just grab their hamstrings (Or I can see them trying to stretch out a charlie horse before I even ask).
If I don’t get that response and people feel it somewhere else that just helps me understand we can practice a few more things.
However, feeling specific muscle might start to get a little tougher as the weight you use gets heavier and heavier.
Just this week one of our superstars Dawn was deadlifting 100lbs with a great slow 4-second pace. She was moving in a perfect position and was working hard.
It was obvious she had good weight in her hand and it was very challenging.
It made me stop for a second and talk to the whole class about this feeling you may get when the weight gets heavier.
As the weight increases your entire body is going to have to work a little more, your abs will have to turn on more to keep you back happy, your forearms are going to scream because it’s hard to hold the weight, and you might feel your heart beating out of your chest more and more.
With all of this going on chances are you might not feel your hamstrings as much but is that a bad thing?
Absolutely not!!
There is just so much more going on that your body doesn’t only feel your hamstrings, it feels everything!
You kind of get that feeling of simply “Holy **** that is heavy!”
This is such a wonderful feeling that at some point in your workouts you should feel. It’s not going to happen on day 1 and it shouldn’t happen each workout! You should always make sure you have the fundamentals down before making the weight heavier. You wouldn’t try to run before learning how to walk right?
Don’t hold yourself back in going up in weight, just because you might lose a little “feeling” in certain parts of your body.
Keep in mind that your form always trumps what you feel. If you end up in a funky position that is not a good thing. However, don’t think you are doing anything wrong if you just start feeling new things.
