RAISE THE FLOOR

I think many people view recovery only as a way to help sore muscles deal with the hard work you have already put in.  Recovery in the fitness world also means to prepare your body for the work you are going to do.

In The Garage Gym, we preach all around functional fitness, that what you do in the gym should positively affect what you do outside of it.  One of the greatest challenges we face as trainers is protecting people from themselves.  Most of our clients become so dedicated that they want to go hard every day.   At the start of their fitness journey this is not a problem for most, but the more they are around, the more important it is to slow it down here and there.  Adding some of the ‘boring stuff’ is essential to make sure that the big things like the knees, shoulders, hamstrings, lower back and ankles are protected from injury and prepared to handle increased work capacity when the program calls for it.  

If you imagine the peak of your physical fitness as the ceiling and your current fitness level as the floor, you can better understand what I’m getting at. By building up the supporting muscles, keeping ligaments and tendons healthy and functional and joints moving properly, you are going to be able to increase your output on the hard days.  Essentially you be stronger, faster and last longer.   This will in turn raise the floor.   The body is not meant to hang off of the ceiling, meaning you can reach the ceiling but you won’t be able to stay there for long.  

This it is why it is so important to understand what your goals are.  If you are training for one event like a swat try out, a big race, or football combine testing; get after it, get close to the ceiling and put up the best results you can.  In these cases the risk may be worth the reward.  

If your goal is to be fit for the long run, avoid the crash that can happen from falling from the ceiling or jumping to reach it.   Concentrate on raising the floor upon which you stand.