Removing Weakness

There are lots and lots of ways to get distracted from the fundamental process of training.  It's really easy to get lost in percentages of intensity, meters per second, analysis this and movement consideration that.  When we get right down to it though we are all training to remove weakness.  If we pursue the training process from this perspective then the limitations are removed and the goals are achieved in a much smoother manner.

For instance, if an athlete has a weak hip and they want to run a marathon the weakness in their hip is going to be an impediment to their running specific training.  If they blindly pursue training for the marathon without the consideration of the complexity of the energetic systems and musculoskeletal balance they will have considerable difficulty achieving it.  Someone attempting to just run more miles every month with a musculoskeletal system that has biomechanical deficiencies will more than likely run into injuries before they will end up at the finish line of the marathon!

So instead of pursuing the goal through the narrow scope of specificity, what needs to be considered more comprehensively is what are the specific weaknesses that need to be removed in order to allow the individual to achieve their goal?  Are they Oxidative system weaknesses?  Are they Glycolytic system weaknesses?  Are they ATP-CP system weaknesses?  In this specific example, running more miles would not remove the weakness that is already present.  Instead specific hip strengthening needs to be done in order to remove the hip weakness and then the athlete can run with greater capacity as they pursue their goal of running the marathon.

Ultimately, every goal has an energetic matrix attached to it.  All three physiological energy systems must be accounted for in accordance with the goal.  If you have a significant weakness in one of them then you will be pursuing the goal from a limited capacity.  

Achieving all goals requires this consideration!  

If you are gaining capacity in a lopsided manner through just exercising in one or two of the three systems it will not take many years before you discover that it was not a prudent course to take.  You may achieve certain elements of fitness through reductionist pursuits; however, you will discover the holes in your approach as soon as you step outside of your specific competencies.    

However, if you approach your training with the consideration that you can have weaknesses present in all three energetic systems then you could have an easier time improving your fitness and achieving your goals.  If you have the ability to think beyond specificity and approach the problem of removing weakness from a broader perspective you will get there with fewer bumps and bruises.  Attempting to constantly notch higher and higher specific performance plateaus through limited training means is eventually a recipe for greater injury related issues than it is achievement of fitness goals.  

Instead consider that the way to get where you want to go is to remove the barriers to your progress.  If you can carve a hole in the brick wall in front of you then you don't have to risk injury attempting to run through it!  These limitations can come in many forms but ultimately what you are looking for is the lowest hanging fruit that limits your ability to pursue your goal.  

For some people that is flexibility/mobility and for others it is aerobic capacity or strength.  If you approach the process from this perspective then your abilities grow and your limitations diminish without risking injury quite so dramatically.  This is a much smoother approach as opposed to following the short sighted dogmatic battle cries of "just train harder" or "pain is weakness leaving the body".  

In direct contrast to those concepts it is wiser to remove weakness consistently from every energy system, from every movement you make and from every exercise you do.  The fundamentals of progression are always adaptation related.  So in a sense you are either making this process easier by allowing the body to adapt to broader demands or you are making it harder to adapt by giving the body limited capacities to work with.  

Over the long course of time what you learn is that removing weakness is the path worth traveling.  You can do many things over short periods with limited capacity.  However, when you decide to pursue fitness goals from a limitless perspective the process becomes wider and broader.  This allows you to continuously set greater goals and achieve them while risking less.  The reward at the end of this process is that your whole body is capable and you have no weaknesses.  The same can not be said for any other approach.