Functional Bodybuilding
Quality weight training has everything to do with your ability to create a connection.
Identifying where you move comfortably within an exercise. And how you can best create strength and power within that muscular contraction.
There are two options when weight training that stand above the rest:
you can move fluidly, pumping blood, contracting the muscle OR
you can engage and drive powerfully through the contraction of that muscle.
Staying in a personally activated range you’ll drive muscle development and fortify your joints!
This is HUGE!
I’m mentally connected to my shoulder blades, pulling through them.
The body is full of muscular imbalances
We will prioritize them.
Build the best version of you by attaining the benefits of overcoming your weaknesses.
Everyones needs are different.
Everyone moves a little differently
What is natural for some people isn’t natural for others.
How do we mitigate that fact that there are so many unique variables between individuals. We overcome them by identifying individual muscles and working within our personal optimal ranges of motion.
Each individual will also have their own movement preferences to best identify with a muscle.
I have a torn labrum in my left shoulder.
My left shoulder is weaker than my right, my left bicep is weaker than my right and my left leg is weaker than my right leg..
I’m constantly looking to implement strategies to best overcome these issues.
By focusing on my left shoulder during overhead exercises; or performing additional left arm bicep curls, to starting with my left leg during bulgarian split squats.
I’m focused on developing my weak points,
My boy, Shawn
It’s about your intention within the movement.
Gain the way you train.
Marathon runners vs sprinters
When comparing training styles, we should look first to intensity. Marathon runners are submitting their bodies to low level of stress over a long period of time. This engages the type 1 slow twitch muscle fibers. Sprinters are maximizing their type 2 fast twitch muscle fibers.
”Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.”
-Bruce Lee
My sister Hayley and I
Specificity
Adaptations to training are specific to the training.
This is particularly true at high intensities - maximal effort sets of 6 or less reps.
What's mostly happening:
You’re mechanically more aware through specification.
You’ve become more coordinated at performing that particular movement working with the higher intensities.
Due to specificity - lifting heavy has limited benefit outside of getting good at that particular lift.
I could deadlift 600# fairly easily -- how did this translate to athletics?
It was highly detrimental to general athletics.
I became really good at lifting a barbell explosively off the floor. That’s it.
I didn’t grow a vertical jump or add hardly any muscle.
It was also very stressful on my central nervous system and joints.
I weighed 178 pounds and would suffer from joint soreness and lack mobility for days.
*This is not how you transfer strength to athletics.
178# Bodyweight
600# Deadlift
Your objective will determine how to train.
Grow a solid foundation.
Are you working on stability or targeting a weak area?
Use higher rep counts 15-50 reps with lighter resistance and short rest periods.
(30 seconds - 1.5 mins)
Are you working strength and power through an area of confidence?
Use lower rep counts 5-15 reps with heavier weight and long rest periods.
(2 mins - 8 mins)
Use the movement pattern that works best for your body, moving in a connected range where you can consciously feel the targeted fibers stretching and contracting. Always establish your groove, your personal alignment as the top priority for your first rep.
It’s about your ability to drive blood, nutrients and all your attention into the fibers you’re working.
The Big LIE
“Full range of motion is better.“
This comes from applying the requirements of Powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting, which require the athlete to complete a compound movement through a specific range of motion. This applies a tremendous amount of unnecessary stress on the joints.
This is one of the ways the general population has been misguided by the weight training community.
Why emphasize the posterior chain?
The posterior chain refers to the muscles on the backside of the body.
This emphasis leads to underrepresented health benefits.
Preventing injuries by counteracting unexpected forces on muscles, upgrading athletic performance, increasing power in explosive movements and added bonuses like deterring lower back pain and improved posture.
The kinetic chain is the notion that these joints and segments have an effect on one another during movement. When one is in motion, it creates a chain of events that affect the movement of neighboring joints and segments.
Like a chain, you can only be as strong as your weakest link.
With a posterior chain focus we’re aiming towards creating the most functional you.
The posterior chain includes the biggest and strongest muscles in the body.
This focus nearly ensures the health and stability around each joint.
We’re building a stronger foundation.