Coach assisting male client to improve core strength and mobility with a Turkish Get Up

The fitness industry has spent decades telling us that STRENGTH is the answer.

The truth?

Yes, strength is important.  But strength by itself isn’t enough.  Most people don’t stop doing the things they love because they lose strength.  They stop because they lose capability.

And capability is much bigger than strength alone.

One thing I’ve learned after 35 years of coaching is that most people don’t broaden their focus enough when they think about fitness.  They myopically focus on: 

  • Body weight
  • Calories
  • Strength
  • Cardio

Those things matter.  But when I look at the people who are thriving now, and continue thriving into their 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond, I see something different.

They don’t just possess strength.  They possess capability…

They move well.  They balance well.  They see well.  They breathe well.  They maintain healthy habits.

Their bodies continue supporting the life they want to live.  That’s why we’ve built Athlon around what we call the Five Pillars of Lifelong Athletic Development.

Pillar #1: Move Well

Movement is the foundation of everything.  You can be strong and still struggle if your joints don’t move well or your movement patterns are inefficient.  Strength is just 1 quality of the 9 that we need to be good at: strength, power, speed, accuracy, agility, coordination, flexibility, stamina, and cardiovascular endurance.

Moving well means having a “sufficient” or better level of skill in all nine of these qualities.  That then helps you:

  • Reduce injury risk
  • Improve strength gains
  • Improve sports performance
  • Improve confidence in daily life

Many people try to train strength harder when what they really need is to move better.

Youth athlete practicing vision exercise with a coach
Pillar #2: See Well

This one surprises most people.  Your eyes are the primary way your brain gathers information about the world around you (and hence, its safety).  When the visual system isn’t working efficiently or accurately it will impact:

  • Balance
  • Coordination
  • Reaction time
  • Athletic performance
  • Confidence in movement
  • and pain!

Your eyes don’t just help you see.  They help your body perform.

There are six extraocular muscles around the eyes that make them perform well, or not.  We can train those muscles to be stronger, more athletic, and more accurate!

Female coach testing male clients ankle range of motion and balance.
Pillar #3: Balance Well

Balance is a complicated process involving three different systems in the body:

  1. Proprioception—the sensors in your joints, muscles, and skin.
  2. Vision—the eyes and how your brain interpet them.
  3. Vestibular system—the inner ear that detects where your body is going and how fast.

If you’re not training these systems accurately, balance can start going away.  And unfortunately, most people don’t realize it’s happening until they notice:

  • Reduced confidence
  • More instability
  • Slower reactions
  • Increased injuries and pain!
Female trainer coaching breathing exercises with male business professional
Pillar #4: Breathe Well

Most people think breathing is automatic.

And it is.

But effective breathing is a skill that can be lost in our modern lifestyle of lots of sitting, and high stress.  When breathing patterns become less than optimal, it affects:

  • Recovery
  • Stress
  • Energy
  • Endurance
  • Performance and pain!

The body performs better when blood gases are balanced for the task at hand, and thus the nervous system feels safe.  Proper breathing patterns are one of the fastest ways to influence performance and safety.

Pillar #5: Live Well

No training program can overcome poor lifestyle habits.

  • Weekly exercise habits.
  • Nutrition and supplementation.
  • Sleep, stress management and recovery.

These are the factors that determine whether your body can adapt and improve, or continue to break down.

Fitness doesn’t happen during workouts.  Fitness happens during recovery!

The Goal Isn’t Fitness. It’s Capability.

Most people think fitness is the goal.

We see it differently.

The goal is capability.  The ability to do what you want, when you want, with confidence.

To play.  To compete.  To travel.  To perform.  To explore.  To say “yes” to opportunities because your body is ready.

That’s why we focus on more than strength alone.  The people who perform best, in sports, in recreation, and in life, develop all the qualities that make the body capable:

  • Move Well
  • See Well
  • Balance Well
  • Breathe Well
  • Live Well

When those pillars are strong, performance improves today, and your future becomes much more resilient tomorrow.

That’s what Lifelong Fitness & Performance really means.

At Athlon, we put clients through a 21-point assessment process designed to evaluate these areas and identify where the biggest opportunities for improvement exist.  Learn more here.

Before you can build a roadmap to get where you want to go, you first need to know where you’re starting from.

The goal isn’t simply better workouts.  The goal is lifelong fitness and performance.

Until next time,

Ryan

P.S. Want to see where your skills are within the 5 Pillars of Lifelong Athletic Development?  Request a free Discovery Call here to learn more.