Tips for Sustainable Strength Training

The secret to making progress is twofold:

First, and importantly: Find training that you can stick with, so your body has time to actually make adaptations that result in progress, and

Secondly, and potentially more importantly: Redefining progress. Training can be about more than harder, heavier, faster, or more complex (though these metrics are actually good measures of progress once you have a solid foundation).

We are big fans of training in a way that is enjoyable and sustainable. Can you imagine a workout that:

-        Is actually fun?

-        Doesn’t hurt – either during the session or afterward?

-        Leaves you feeling energized?

-        Makes your joints and muscles feel better?

-        Is something that you look forward to and can do every day?

-        Helps you feel better doing things you have to do every day?

Moving in a way that ticks these boxes lets you build a solid foundation. It helps you get and stay good at daily life things like carrying the groceries in from the car. And it will help you if you want to keep training to lift heavier, run faster, and master more complex movements.

When thinking of making progress with exercise, there are a few things that usually indicate we’re getting better:

-        How much (more) weight can you move

-        How fast – or how much faster – can you do it

-        How fancy (or advanced or complex or intense) are your moves

For many people, progress basically means surviving through training that is harder, faster, or more intense. And the “common knowledge” is that if you want to make progress, you have to push yourself every session to be harder, faster, or more intense.

For most of us, this approach is not sustainable. It’s also not overly enjoyable. Most people quit well before they make progress as listed above. This is especially true if they are coming back to movement or getting started for the first time. And no wonder, smashing yourself daily isn’t delightful.

We work hard to build our programs and our gym culture around these concepts that foster sustainable strength training. Our programs are easily modified so that you can work as hard as you feel like on a given day, and still feel good, refreshed, and ready to come back tomorrow. And if any given day you don’t feel like doing much of anything, come and hang out anyway. The coffee machine is always ready to go.