Functional Strength

What separates man from animals? It is functional strength. Functional strength is the strength that allows human beings to use their hands (and sometimes feet) to manipulate objects or tools in a way no other animal can. It's what allows us to swing a bag, mountain climb, even surf.

It is our ability to use our appendages and lift heavy objects or our own body weight. It's the reason why some say gym strength doesn't always mean the person is strong. Or that big muscles don't = big strength. Functional strength is what makes someone fit, someone healthier, someone burn more calories, and it's something that will never develop with just doing cardio.

When you use machines, they do half the work for you and never force you to use your grip strength. So though you may develop big muscles over time, it will not translate over to sports or overall fitness. It's why a big guy can do a heavy shoulder press yet can't do a hand stand. He can't function.

One of the first things I notice with my beginner clients is their grip strength. Seems their wrist and their grip is always the first thing to tire out so they are not able to do more of the complex exercises that involve free weights. The second thing that usually gives out is the neck (that's for a later post). So that functional strength is one of the first things beginner clients need to work on.

This is another argument for free weights, intensity, body weight exercises, and to start thinking about your own strengths and fitness levels. If what makes us human is our ability to manipulate objects with our hands and feet yet now we have to rely on machines to do that for us, then what are we really good for?

This is what separates athletes from people. This is the knowledge that separates sports trainers from personal trainers.

Super Human Strength

A Word on the Importance of Practice and Repetition

So inside of our bodies are muscles. Inside of muscles are muscle spindles. Inside of those are cells. Our cells are constantly moving, it's what helps us heal, function, and basically live. With enhanced microscopes you can even see cells moving like glow in the dark worms.

When muscles contract, the cells move even more, in a frenzy. Uncoordinated and wild. Now the more that muscle contracts in the same manner, the better the cells move. It moves smoother, carries better signals, creates patterns. This is the scientific act of muscle memory. Something trainers and martial artists always throw out but have no idea what it really boils down to. The more you practice something, the more your cells remember, the more they remember the better they perform. Scientists have been trying to figure out ways to make cells move, especially to help with healing. All they have determined thus far though, is the best way to make cells move is through constant repetition.

If I teach you a punch, will you be knocking someone out in a day? No. But maybe after years of practice you will be knocking people out professionally. If I show you how to bench, you won't go from 130 to 250 bench over night. That will take years. You don't grow more muscle fibers, your cells just move better. This is true for all physical and athletic endeavors. I apply this especially in my martial arts training. The repetition of gross movements and common movement pattern.

There is one other thing that practice and repetition does. It creates more myelin around your synapses. That means faster signals from your brain to your body. That means no matter how fast someone is, or how many fast twitch muscles they have or explosive training they do, they will never be able to compensate with someone who can send a signal from their brain faster. Not only that it also remembers efficient movement and takes the slack out of your moves, makes you perform better, faster, with less effort. Be it a golf swing to a judo throw.

Muscle memory combined with nervous system memory creates perfection in human performance. This is another secret that separates the elite from the regular Joe.




About the Author:

Sam Y. is a Personal Trainer, Coach, Performane Enhancement Specialist, Corrective Enhancement Specialist, and holds multiple certifications. He is also an avid Martial Artist, training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA. He is also the author of the popular fitness blog All Out Effort as well as the popular martial arts blog Inner BJJ. You can find him in the Los Angeles area personal training his clients, or at home annoying his wife, or on Facebook at his personal fitness page.

The Probability of Weight Loss

There is a show I sometimes watch as a guilty pleasure. It is called The Biggest Loser. Yeah that's right, The Biggest Loser. I don't watch it to get inspired or learn anything, I watch it because I find it a very funny and entertaining show. Mainly in how they dramatize weight loss.

The reason I bring this up now is because of a situation that arose on this new season. It was about if a girl was throwing the weigh ins because she didn't lose any weight for 2 weeks. The trainers Bob and Jillian were convinced that she was throwing it. She was emphatic that she was not and it just was not happening. The trainers said that was scientifically impossible...

This is why I'm writing this post. There is an inherent flaw in logic here and if the contestant knew a little bit more she could have stated her case better.

Bob and Jillian made the claim that if you work out hard and eat right there is no way you cannot lose weight based on weight loss science. They said they were 99% sure and how dare she question their knowledge of this science. Oh brother.

Here is what they did not account for in there absolutism and is the reason why you can't have a drug test or book terrorists on a 99% positive ratio. Because lets say in sports, for every 10,000 athletes tested, there will be 100 false positives. For every 100,000 citizens investigated, there will be 1,000 false arrests.

So even though Bob and Jillian were so sure, for every 100 contestants, there will be at least 1 contestant who will sometimes not lose weight. Was this contestant the one? I don't know, but was there a major failure in scientific rationale and logic? Yes.

So let me swing this back to you, the average gym goer. Sometimes you will do everything right and still not lose weight. It's unlikely but it happens. Maybe for every 1,000,000 people working out, it will happen to 10,000 people. That's 99%.

Here is the important part to learn. It happens. THAT'S SCIENCE! But for every time you work out and do it right with all out effort, you exponentially increase your chances of success. For every time you don't go work out, you decrease your chance of success to 0. That is the only guarantee and absolute. Try and eventually you will succeed. Don't try and you will fail. That's 100%.



About the Author:

Sam Y. is a Personal Trainer, Coach, Performane Enhancement Specialist, Corrective Enhancement Specialist, and holds multiple certifications. He is also an avid Martial Artist, training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA. He is also the author of the popular fitness blog All Out Effort as well as the popular martial arts blog Inner BJJ. You can find him in the Los Angeles area personal training his clients, or at home annoying his wife, or on Facebook at his personal fitness page.

Beyond Circuit Training

I always talk about the glass ceiling that separates the out of shape people in the country to our elite athletes. The difference is in their training techniques. Here is another example, beyond gym circuits, there is something called the complex. It's quicker, more intense, more efficient, and more effective. It's hard for beginners and may take some getting used to but the eventual results gained will be huge!

How Long Before I See Results?

This is a question I get asked all the time. How long to reach my goal, how long to see results? It's all very subjective and has a lot of factors involved. A lot of it is determined by you. How you choose to eat, how determined you are in your work outs, your lifestyle, sleep pattern, and activity level. Proper training will get you there, how fast is really up to you. Remember it's a collaboration.

One thing I will tell you though is, it's much quicker to look fit than to be fit. Do you just want to look like you are in shape, or do you want to be in shape? This is one of the first questions you should ask yourself before you start a work out regiment. The clearer your goals are, the easier you will get there. You want the quick journey with superficial results that will go away easily or do you want to change for good?

Athletes look fit and ARE fit. Choose wisely.

Welcome to Euro Training

As funny and incorrect as this video is, admit it, some of you DO work out like this!