The Body's Ability To Shift Gears

Challenging yourself can cause more existing muscle cells to join in and work, yielding more strength early on. Tom joined the group of participants later in the year but executed the same program that other participants did. And his strength gains are indicative of an individual who has had no formal training in weight lifting. Tom improved greatly in his dead lift ability, much more than in any other lift. His improvement in core strength and general spinal stability emerged in that lift. Tom’s shoulder mobility issue also affects his ability to execute squats. He was unable for quite some time to adequately complete a front or back squat, because he could not grasp the bar with proper form. His bench press improved with shoulder mobility work and after strengthening the joint to stabilize heavier lifts. His gradual improvement is encouraging to see, as it is an indicator of improved shoulder stability and strength. Tom didn’t know how his personal health situation might affect his ability to participate, so reading current research and frank recommendations from solid sources helped. Once his doctor cleared him, he was excited to get into a program that was specifically designed to make him stronger. Since he entered StrongPath training later than other members of our test group, he was able to meet people close to his age who were already achieving the kind of gains that he looked forward to achieving.

A Strange Brew

He had some concerns about the balance and mobility issues he was having and was happy that these were assessed and taken into account as his training began. The biggest surprise for Tom was how quickly his strength increased. The first time Cullen had him do this, Tom was doing dumbbell bench presses. Tom did 5 more reps than he had done with lighter weights the prior set. When Tom finished his set, Cullen praised him for doing more, and Tom said, Yeah, but you gave me lighter weights. Tom then looked at the end of one of the weights and was amazed to see that they were heavier. Tom learned about neuromuscular activation and that he didn’t have to grow more muscle to get much stronger at first, because muscles that don’t get used much don’t work efficiently. He began to get in tune with his body’s ability to shift gears, adapt, and do work by focusing and incrementally digging deeper in new ways. What is incredible are all the things this means Tom can do that he could not do before. He has much more energy, ready strength, and the confidence that comes with knowing what he can do. He is getting steadily stronger. Know that there is room for great strength gains in your life, and it can and will happen much quicker than you think.

A Legitimate Viewpoint

With strength will come new confidence and that will bring an overall improvement in your outlook. After completing the initial 4 months of StrongPath training, Tom relocated out of state for professional reasons. He decided against surgery and opted for physical rehabilitation. He realized that if he had not had the experience of working out and growing strong and learning how capable his body was of improving, he would never have had the confidence or the motivation to show up for continued strength training or to work diligently at rehab after his fall. He was no longer a person who retreated from physical activity when a problem arose. He knew about gyms and working out and immediately understood the importance of rehab disciplines after injury. He wanted to do what he could do first, rather than take to his bed and expect a doctor to fix everything. At the time of his accident, he was in a different, stronger mental and physical state than he would have been in before his StrongPath training. As we age, the road ahead will offer us similar challenges. Our ability to bounce back is a critical part of our future prospects. As fate had it, Tom found himself better prepared mentally and physically for an unforeseeable event, just in time. We’re dedicated to making sure you train correctly.

Sentimental Thoughts

We want you to stick with us for the long haul and stay on a healthy path. We’ll explain the science behind muscle health and why it’s important to train all of your muscles. We’ll also give you some essential tips to keep in mind as you begin your program. It takes some humility to overcome this initial human impulse. Objective functional movement and strength assessments will determine what you need to work on. You will discover what weaknesses need special attention in your workouts to bring your strength into balance. You will begin by doing many things you don’t do well and long unused muscles will struggle and complain. Weaknesses that you may have imagined were permanent will be overcome and left behind. How important is all of this to getting squarely on the StrongPath? Your central nervous system is command and control for movement. It learns patterns of movement. Muscles, bones, and nerves grow and strengthen in response to the movement challenges of gravity, balance, and load in real time. Or they all degrade and waste away with disuse. If the last time you tried to get up off the floor you were 50 pounds lighter and stronger than you are now, you need to get in touch with this new reality, and you must relearn and practice safe patterns of movement. This is one of the critical lifelong things you must learn to do right and then keep doing as a habit. Movement health equals ability, the opposite of which is disability. In movement, you find the spirit, feel, and joy of life. Our modern world is becoming movement impoverished. Kids grow up who can’t skip. They never learned how. Their central nervous system has no movement pattern for it. At 85 years old, Fred still skips down a long hallway at his home, partly for the sheer joy of it.