Training is not just about building muscle and having a solid level of strength and conditioning. It's about keeping the joints healthy regardless of what your program is because without flexibility and mobility, what good is your program if you end up hurt? Even for me, I need to remind myself that joint health is just as much a priority as my conditioning if not even more so at times. The joints and bones are the true areas that keep everything together and could make or break you if you get injured quicker or less likely.
In our teens and our 20's, we could almost get away with going hard a bit frequently and recover pretty well if we do it right, but once we hit those mid to late 30's and into our 40's and beyond, priorities change. Some people can get away with it to a degree and we all have different body types, metabolisms and bone health. There are some things we just can't get away with as we get older but it doesn't mean we can't still kick ass and stay healthy.
One of the things that has saved me from many potential injuries is doing some form of stretching and mobility work. I know I need to do this more often and potentially twice a day as the years go on and that's maintaining Joint Loosening workouts and moving the neck around in various directions, not necessarily in the bridge or self resistance although those are still great. Loosening up the joints brings greater flow to the structure of the body and trains your system to be in a calm but energetic manner. It brings great energy to the body's skeletal structure.
Another thing that has saved from potential injuries is Isometrics. Can never truly shut up about Isometrics. If Joint Loosening brings the flow, Isometrics bring the strength and shield that protects them from breaking down easier. Isometrics are the armor for your skeletal system like Wolverine's Adamantium. Mix these types of training systems and you have a much higher chance of living a healthy life injury free than the majority of people at any age.
I first learned about Joint Health from Matt Furey's Combat Stretching videos from back in the day and at the time, I thought they were just another thing as part of training. Didn't really think about the importance of them until I got older. Isometrics was another thing similar but I kept up with them more frequently. It's important to understand what you learn, it's another to truly discover the importance of what they mean. From an outside perspective, loosening the ankles, elbows, shoulders, knees and hips don't look like much and it's just warm up type exercises. Not always the case when it comes down to it. The flow of our bodies tends to change as we age and if we don't maintain a certain level of flow, we can become stiff much quicker and risk injury at a greater capacity. When flow is relaxed yet also strong, we become less stiff and the risk of injury is greatly reduced.
Isometrics can be done in a variety of ways whether it's being very intense for a few seconds or holding a posture for a minute or more, there's a healing property there and developing that shield of armor. From the Wall Sit to Fist Planks, Overcoming Exercises and Horse Stances, there's a variety that will test anyone and it's not always a matter of how long or intense you can go, it's a matter of control and going after the little muscles. It digs right into the very essence of the skeletal structure. You can start the day loosening up and then holding certain postures for a period or do intense Overcoming Isometrics that essentially will not only strengthen you from the inside out but could highly strip fat like butter on a hot pan. Hybrid Isometrics can be done as well but these are so fucking intense that if you can hold let's say a plank for three minutes, you won't last more than a minute most likely using a strap. Hybrids can jack your heart rate up too which has some value in the cardio department. Don't believe me, try the Hybrid Push-up and see what happens.
That first workout of the day can give you great energy to start things out and prepare you for what lies ahead, or it can bring you down and feel like shit all day, which one would you rather have? Thought so.
Be loose but strong, strong with flow and build very strong tendons and ligaments. Keep being amazingly awesome everyone.
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