The importance of incorporating a balanced approach to training

The importance of incorporating a balanced approach to training.

We all tend to focus on things we are good at rather than targeting our weaknesses. It gives us a sense of satisfaction and keeps us safe and reassured in our ability. Once we find something we are strong at, we often stick with it because it works for us and gives us a sense of stability. 

But what happens when we over-focus on one thing? Why wouldn’t we constantly focus on that if that makes us feel good? The simple fact is that overdoing any one area can, over time, have a detrimental effect on our bodies. 

• The wear and tear of the same movements over time can lead to poor posture, injury or chronic pain. 
• Overdoing high-intensity exercise can lead to heightened cortisol levels and increased risk of adrenal dysfunction, leaving us drained and impacting our immune system. 
• Excessive back bends six days a week in yoga classes can start to impact spine health and put us at risk of disc injuries. 
• Overtraining speed and power can lead to muscle tears, tendonitis, and potential tendon ruptures.

None of these training modalities are bad, and all have their place in improving our physical and mental performance. The problem is there is a cost to each of them, and to get the most out of our body over time, we need to balance our training out so that we can do what we love for longer, rather than it being what breaks us.

How to balance? The first thing when trying to build balance is to look at your current training and understand what you do most of the time. Are you focused predominantly on cardio/conditioning-based workouts? Running, spinning, rowing etc, or are you more strength focused? Maybe you’re more focused on bodyweight movements and strength modalities like yoga and pilates. Or maybe you love high-intensity strength/conditioning classes. For each of these areas, there is a complimentary workout on the other side of the coin. How do we judge what that is?

Let’s look at intensity and, more specifically, heart rate in your sessions. It’s important for balanced health and long-term progression to challenge your heart rate to work in different zones. We tend to get stuck training in zones where we feel good without mixing it up enough. Some people love high intensity; some people like slow and low intensity. You probably need to add something that is the opposite of wherever you spend the most time.

What are the key areas to include? Essentially if I want to balance my training out, I need to make sure I’m hitting a few key areas:

1. MOVEMENT – Training to challenge and improve your movement patterns. Consistent mobility, flexibility and balance drills are part of your training routine.
2. STRENGTH – Both bodyweight and lifting/shifting external load. Both are equally important, especially as we age; if you are over 40 and not lifting, then it’s time to start ASAP.
3. HR VARIABILITY – Training cardio is great but we need to target different heart rate zones and work/rest ratios. HIIT Interval training has become very popular, but it isn’t interval training if there is no heart rate variation. It is HISS training, which means high-intensity steady state. There is nothing wrong with training at this intensity, but we should be training at that level no more than a couple of times a week to get the most out of it. Lower-intensity cardio training or mid-intensity endurance sessions are equally important, so don’t feel every session, you need to thrash yourself for it to be beneficial.
4. SKILL BASED – What exercise do you do that the outcome is mastery of a skill, sport or recreational pursuit? With this option, the goal is to improve and compete at the skill, and fitness is secondary or complimentary to that pursuit. It could be martial arts, it could be learning a dance routine, it could be team or individual sports. 

How I balance my training

Personally I aim for a minimum of 3 strength sessions per week and 2-3 conditioning sessions as well. My conditioning sessions are often part of the sport I play, so if I’m playing sports twice a week, I’ll probably only incorporate one other conditioning session. Playing sports also gives me that skill-based activity which is important for my physical and mental state (unless I play badly, of course!) 

Within my strength sessions, I’m very focused on including good amounts of mobility, flexibility, and balance drills. At 44, my focus is to be strong and resilient to keep doing the things I love for a long time, rather than being purely focused on lifting huge amounts and setting personal bests in the gym.

Matt, 

Strength In Motion