When we hear the word foundations, it can sound as though we’re talking about the very beginning.
Learn the basics. Get them right. Then move on to the more advanced stuff.
But movement and strength don’t really work like that.
Whether you’re picking up a dumbbell for the first time or you’ve been exercising for years, those foundations are still there. In fact, as we get stronger and ask more of our bodies, they can become even more important.
Sometimes progress isn’t about adding more weight or another exercise.
Sometimes it’s about going back and looking at how we’re doing what we’re already doing.
What are our foundations?
Think about a squat.
It’s an exercise we might perform in a gym, but it’s also a movement we use throughout everyday life – getting up from a chair, sitting down, picking something up or lowering ourselves towards the floor.
There isn’t one perfect squat that everybody needs to achieve.
Our proportions are different. Our mobility is different. Our previous injuries, health, confidence and experience are different.
So before worrying about how much weight we’re holding, we can look at the foundations underneath the movement.
Where are our feet?
Can we feel the floor beneath them?
How are our knees and hips moving?
Can we control the movement down as well as up?
Are we breathing, or have we inadvertently held our breath while concentrating?
Do we feel stable?
Those things might sound basic.
They’re not.
They’re the things that allow us to build.
More isn’t the only way to progress
Strength training does need challenge. If we want our muscles to become stronger, we need to give them a reason to adapt.
But increasing the weight isn’t our only option..
- We might slow an exercise down.
- Improve our range of movement.
- Work on control.
- Change our position.
- Add another repetition.
- Improve our balance.
- Or become more confident with a movement that previously felt uncertain.
Sometimes we might even reduce the weight so we can concentrate on technique before building it back up again.
That’s still progress. And it’s something experienced exercisers do too.
Our foundations can change
This becomes particularly relevant through midlife and beyond because our bodies and circumstances don’t stay exactly the same.
Hormonal changes can affect muscle and bone. An injury might change how we move for a while. Illness, surgery or medical treatment may mean we need to rebuild. A busy or stressful period can affect our energy and recovery.
Sometimes we simply haven’t done a particular movement for a long time.
That doesn’t mean everything we’ve done previously has disappeared.
It means we check where we are now.
This is also important when returning to exercise following illness, maybe cancer treatment, or when exercising during treatment where appropriate. The starting point may need to change according to treatment, fatigue, surgery, mobility, balance or how someone is feeling that day.
The principles remain the same: understand what is there, establish strong foundations and build appropriately from them.
Strength needs more than muscle
When we’re thinking about our foundations, we’re not only thinking about the muscles doing the work.
Mobility gives us options for movement.
Balance helps us control our position.
Coordination allows different parts of the body to work together.
Breathing can help us manage effort and pressure.
And recovery gives our bodies the opportunity to adapt to what we’ve asked them to do.
They’re interconnected.
It’s one of the reasons I don’t see strength training as simply picking up increasingly heavy things – although I am very much in favour of women picking up heavy things!
The bigger picture is about creating a body that is capable, adaptable and confident in movement.
Build from where you are
Next week I’m starting my new small-group Strength & Progress class, and the word progress was chosen deliberately.
We’re not labelling people as beginners or advanced.
Everyone has a starting point. Everyone has things they’re confident with and things they can work on. And everyone benefits from revisiting their foundations.
That’s true whether we’re exercising in a class, training independently, returning after some time away or simply wanting everyday movement to feel easier.
So this week, rather than automatically asking yourself:
How can I do more?
Try asking:
What could I do better?
Maybe it’s your squat. Perhaps it’s your balance, your breathing, your range of movement or the way you control a weight.
Find one thing.
Give it some attention.
Then build from there.
Because strong foundations aren’t something we leave behind as we progress.
They’re what allow us to keep progressing.
Let me know what you work on 👊🏼
Caroline