Have you been told that strength is everything when it comes to seeing gains from your workouts? If so, you are making the biggest workout mistake you can be making and you’re definitely going to want to watch this video. Here I am going to address the big fat strength lie that is more rampant now than ever before. Now, don’t get me wrong. Strength training is and always will be the cornerstone and the focal point of your workouts. That said, doing this without focusing on the roots of that strength is going to lead you down a troubled path.
So you may have been told that strength is the most important element you want to address in your training. Without it, everything else will suffer and therefore you need to make sure you are maximally strong at all costs. While being strong is crucial, building strength on a weak foundation is one of the biggest workout mistakes that you can make. The key to building true strength is to realize that just like a tree, you’re only as strong as your roots.
In the world of training this means that if there is something that can be impaired that takes your strength away from you, then the strength is not the foundation. Much like a tree may look strong above the ground, if you examined below the surface and saw weak and dying roots that tree is not going to be standing for much longer – no matter how big and strong it may appear.
So what you need to focus on is prefacing your strength progression with a solid base of full flexibility, mobility and stability. Now many people will look at this and say to themselves that they are getting it right because they are doing at least 30 minutes of mobility work and stretching before they work out. That is not necessarily even a good thing. Why? Because if you are just adding additional range of motion to a system that is not stable, then you are going to be even more likely to break down and commit this devastating workout mistake.
Stability is not strength. It is a form of strength that is not measured by the contractile force of a muscle but rather the ability to control the contraction throughout the range of motion (and even at both extreme ends of it). In the example of a squat, a person that is incredibly stable will be able to perform the squat and pause at the bottom of the rep. Beyond that however, they need to be able to return to the top in one piece without desegmentation of the body on the way up. They need to be able to not have their knees drift in or out, or their hips waver side to side at any point.
When one is maximally stable, they are maximally efficient in their bar path during the squat and have no wasted motion. Their rep speed is unhindered or unslowed throughout the entire range of motion. This may mean that you need to drop the weight that you are using a bit in order to realize this level of control. If so, then do so. The goal is not to simply chase numbers at the expense of your stability.
Working on your mobility and flexibility as well are going to be vital to getting through a full range of motion and commanding the true strength you do have along the way. If and only if you do this will you ever realize your true strength without risk of incurring injuries like hip labral tears, low back blowouts and unnecessary hip joint and muscle pain.
If you are looking for a program that overlooks nothing in the way the workouts are put together and puts the science back in strength from the first day to the last, then head to the link below and get the ATHLEAN-X Training System that is best matched to your current goals.
For more videos on how to squat more weight and the best workout to improve strength, be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube and turn on your notifications so you never miss a video and you never again make common workout mistakes like this.
Build Muscle in 90 Days – http://athleanx.com/x/my-workouts
Subscribe to this channel here – http://youtube.com/user/jdcav24
Jeff Cavaliere M.S.P.T, CSCS
Jeff Cavaliere is a Physical Therapist, Strength Coach and creator of the ATHLEAN-X Training Programs and ATHLEAN-Rx Supplements. He has a Masters in Physical Therapy (MSPT) and has worked as Head Physical Therapist for the New York Mets, as well as training many elite professional athletes in Major League Baseball, NFL, MMA and professional wrestling. His programs produce “next level” achievements in muscle size, strength and performance for professional athletes and anyone looking to build a muscular athletic physique.