How Do You Put Great Fitness Programs Together
2023-01-8
Coming out with anything new in DVRT can be a challenge for us, not because we are limited on our ideas (I think that is clearly not the case), but because there is SO much we put out in the past 20 years how do you know what to do? More options usually don’t result in people feeling empowered, more times than not it leads to people feeling overwhelmed and I get it!
With our new Myofascial Integrated Movement program (MIM) probably didn’t help you NOT feel overwhelmed, but I thought it would also be a perfect opportunity to explain how we can start putting everything that we offer together into thoughtful and programs that don’t make your brain hurt!
To be honest, our goal is to make your life easier, not MORE stressful than it really is and so blogs like today may really help. Let’s make a few rather small assumptions for today though. The most foundational is that you have about 60 minutes to train (if you have less then we can modify some of these time frames). We are also going to assume that most have good but rather generic goals of “being in better shape”, “getting leaner”, “becoming stronger”, etc. Those aren’t bad goals, it actually is very common and make this conversation easier (we would recommend you try to be as specific in your goals as possible if you really want to achieve some that is more specific to you).
The last assumption here is that you don’t have any major health issues we would need to address, so if you do, always check with your doctor as well!
If you were going to come to train with Jess or myself, how would we likely plot out the training. We can start with a general outline like the following for a great fitness program.
-10 minutes: some of our MIM movements
-10:15 minutes: specific Restoration exercises
-25:30 minute: circuit of DVRT functional movements that try to balance the 7 movement patterns
-5:10 minutes of specific metabolic work
-5 minutes of MIM breathing and stretching
Wait, does that equal 60 minutes? Well, it depends on goals, needs, and so forth. For example, you may start with 10 minutes of MIM, 10 minutes of Restoration exercises, 25 minutes (you can do less) of a DVRT circuit (that doesn’t mean just Ultimate Sandbags, but exercises based on our concepts in a fitness program), and 5 minutes of specific metabolic work. So, of course you can tweak some of these ideas based upon your needs and goals.
I will warn you, trying to up your main circuit training and not using the other aspects is NOT something we recommend. For one, almost everyone NEEDS these other aspects of your training and just spending time training harder and harder is almost NEVER the way to achieve better results. Let’s look at why…
MIM session:
Why is the Myofasical Integrated Movement side important? From a very obvious perspective, doing more integrated stretching will help increase one’s mobility, but there is far more going on here. Part of MIM is to calm the nervous system which is important because if our CNS is in overdrive then we will more than likely have more movement guarding in play, there will be a greater release of catabolic hormones like cortisol, and our recovery from training will be lower (after all, recovery from training is where we get the benefits).
View this post on Instagram
Restoration Session:
Once we have started prepping both the body and mind for training, we can start to make sure the body is learning to use the right muscles at the right time in coordinating movement. When we talk about motor control being one of the most important aspects of improving strength, movement, and performance, it begins with learning how to use the right muscles during movement and how to get them to work together.
View this post on Instagram
The DVRT Focused Functional Strength Session:
This is making up the biggest aspect of our fitness program because the benefits will come in so many different ways. The reason we train this way is that we can increase strength, help promote body fat loss, improve lean muscle, teach how to move better, and reduce our potential for injury. There are SO many ways to do this, it largely depends on your specific goals, background, and needs, but this is a great example by Greg Perlaki.
View this post on Instagram
Specific Metabolic Session:
Now, our circuit will have a HUGE metabolic effect, but sometimes because people are learning new exercises and other reasons, they aren’t going to achieve the “afterburner” that interval training can offer. That is why we can (don’t always have to) incorporate a specific conditioning session of intervals on something that doesn’t require a ton of technique.
We don’t want to use a very technique heavy exercise because we are going to have fatigue and we want people to go hard on the training without risk of hurting themselves. This often includes things like cardio equipment (air dynes are a popular choice, but can be jump rope, or a host of things), sleds, and even battle ropes.
View this post on Instagram
Strength Coaches, Robert Dos Remedios and Joel Gunterman give a great example with heavy jump ropes.
Final MIM breathing and stretching:
Once the more intense aspects of training are done, we want to calm down the nervous system and the body. That is where specific breathing exercises and slower more stretching drills can come in really handy. There are MIM drills that are really great for such things as you see below.
Putting together a great fitness program shouldn’t be the hardest thing you do and it should even be fun and diverse because what the body needs to be strong and healthy is not just beating yourself up. People that often try to follow the “more pain the better” route end up fizzling out really fast, battle chronic aches/pains, and struggle enjoying what fitness should offer us both physically and mentally. That’s why we offer such different DVRT programs to address all the various aspects so you not only achieve great fitness, but health as well.
This week we have a great opportunity to try and learn our programs. We have Ultimate Sandbags/Water Bags 25% off along with our online courses and DVRT workout programs with code “winter” HERE
Featured in
© 2024 Ultimate Sandbag Training. Site by Jennifer Web Design.