Conscious Choice: An Athletic Rebirth

September 2004 | Choice Health: Natural Athlete

An Athletic Rebirth

by Bob Condor

The phrases are familiar to “New Thinkers”: Stay in the moment. Be present. Focus on the now.

Good life lessons there ... it’s good advice for our exercise routines too. Technique is critical in the mind of any savvy personal trainer or sports coach. Do your weightlifting repetitions or stride heel-to-toe, heel-to-toe on your power walk and you will get desired and quicker results. In order to do this, we must stay focused.

Tim Grover, trainer to more than 30 national basketball players and Olympians, emphasizes the basics every summer when his clients begin off-season workouts. “Staying in good form throughout your workout is the goal,” says Grover, based in Chicago as a result of being Michael Jordan’s trainer since 1989. “You want that last movement to be as technically sound as the first one.”

Stop for a moment. Think about how the focus on technique works into your “athletic rebirth” (the goal of this “Natural Athlete” column!). Are you paying attention to good form in your workouts? How does it feel when you perform with proper technique compared to a sloppier version of the same movement?

In the case of professional athletes, most workout sessions are designed to totally exhaust the muscles. So much so that they can’t lift the bar one more time. But what separates the champions from the also-rans is making sure that the last lift that exhausts you is still done with arms and body properly aligned.

Yoga teachers buy into the same philosophy to build your strength and, perhaps most importantly, allow you to breathe unencumbered. They regularly walk around the room during class to move students into proper form during postures. The experienced instructors clearly explain each posture before you start and toss out gentle reminders on even a fundamental movement like the Downward Dog (”Your belly can be soft to allow free breathing,” “Keep the legs strong,” “Create length in the spine by reaching the pelvis away from the hands”).

All of this technique building is a building block for more advanced workouts. Before a student thinks herself ready for the next-level karate class, teachers will test her on skills. Do the same in your own exercise life. Make sure your technique is up to par before deciding to run another mile each workout day or enter a local open-rec tennis tournament.

Proper technique prepares you for more intense workouts, which is the Great Fitness Secret. While public health officials contend any exercise is better than none, the deep-rooted message is we have to push our bodies and mindsets, albeit compassionately, to get in the best condition.

“The first step is to be consistent,” says Gregory Florez, president of FitAdvisor.com, an online personal training and coaching company based in Salt Lake City. “Make time for your activity at least twice a week. Three times is even better.”

Florez recommends adding strength training to your week, even if you are a dedicated runner, cyclist or walker. It leads to more results, especially if your primary goal is weight loss or endurance. Exhaustion, which doesn’t sound fun — but is rewarding in a good fatigue sort of way, is the objective. “That means you complete every repetition with good form, but have no gas left in the tank when you are done,” advises Florez.

There is a hidden benefit in focusing on good form and concentrating on working the muscles to full load. You forget any troubles or problems for those present moments. The stress can fall away like the perspiration in your shirt. You are free. Exercise becomes a New Thinker’s ally.

Bob Condor, editor of Seattle’s Evergreen Monthly, a Dragonfly Media publication, mostly runs for exercise. But he vows to get back into yoga by starting five minutes a day of good form at home.

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