The 3 Key Principles Of Exercise

The 3 Key Principles Of Physical Exercise

We all know that one of the major keys to living a healthier lifestyle is through engaging in physical activities. There seems to be countless options these days such as lifting weights, cardio workouts, playing sports, aerobic activities, and trying out the newest workout trends. But how do we know which is the best exercise approach that will give you the most substantial and life changing results?

This is the technical definition of exercise: “Exercise refers to a voluntary vigorous muscular exertion, performed with the intent of making a deep inroad in the body’s functional abilities in order to trigger a physiological adaptation within the system” – Prescribed Exercise by Brian D. Johnston

Understanding the actual definition of exercise, helps us to rationalize what is required to gain physical benefits from it. Most people make the mistake even before engaging in any physical activities by missing the point of understanding the fundamental basics of exercise. These elements that I describe below are the starting point and need to be taken into consideration before you start anything with the intention to become fitter and healthier.

Three key elements for productive exercise:

Safety

Safety is the most important factor to be considered in exercise application. Flawless technique is the number one priority during every set and rep performed, performing the movements in a deliberate slow fashion is key to optimize muscle tension. Muscle tension leads to a deeper inroad in your muscular capabilities and better workouts. Also, a proper form will prevent you to run into any injury. Eliminate momentum, high speed movements, and sudden jerks – by applying these simple adjustments you can increase the quality of your performance, reduce the unnecessary force on the joints and decrease the likelihood of potential injuries to your muscles, tendons, or ligaments.

Efficiency

Exercise, unlike recreational activities and sports, needs to be efficient in order to achieve positive mental and physical results. Intense muscular tension is what makes your workouts productive.

The percentage of muscular effort exerted per unit of time is the number one factor to consider when you want to efficiently develop more muscle mass, feel more energized, be more resilient, and slow down the aging process.

Recreational activities can be considered the opposite of meaningful exercise. Playing soccer, for instance, while neglecting strength training, increases the likelihood of injuries due to uncontrolled and ballistic movements. Everyone would benefit to incorporate a weight training program in their schedule 2 to 3 times per week for 30 to 45 minutes. Although, with a qualified personal trainer, a workout can be done in as short as 20 minutes.

Intentionality

Finally, it is fundamental to understand what type of exercise program is going to give you tangible and specific results. Exercise needs to be purposeful and intentional – lifting a weight from A to B, is very different from moving the weight against the resistance by contracting your muscle fibers. Consciously thinking about the movement you perform and understanding the WHY behind it, will give you a completely different perspective. Intentional exercise is NOT about jerking a weight up and letting it go down at a faster speed, as you can generally see at the gym. You can’t expect that you will magically reap the benefits from such a mindless approach, it is useless and highly counterproductive.

The real meaning of exercise is to create a deep inroad (muscle damage) in the current body’s functional abilities by stressing the muscles under a considerable and meaningful resistance. If enough time is allowed in between the workouts, proper recovery will follow and an adaptation within the whole system (muscles included) will occur.

High Intensity Strength Training is one of the most productive and efficient ways of exercise for everyone. Nowadays, the process of building dense muscle and strong bones is highly underestimated in our society, but is essential to keeping ourselves functional and living a fulfilled life. Make the most out of your life, it’s never too late to start exercise and becoming stronger.