Why strength should be your number one priority

Strength is arguably the most important skill. It's the very foundation that allows you to perform both day-to-day activities and in the training sessions in the gym. Strength determines how well you perform and what your risk of injury is.

How does strength decrease your risk of injury? Well, strength is your capacity. The more capacity you have, the more you can do. The more capacity you have, the more you can get away with. When the load surpasses your capacity, that's when your risk of injury increases.

Injury comes in two forms: immediate (also called acute) or overuse (also called chronic) Acute injuries occur quickly while overuse injuries develop over time. How is this possible? The ratio of capacity and load.

Capacity is not only strength but also your ability to recover. Things like sleep, mindfulness, and nutrition. Load is another way of saying stress. This can include things like work, lack of sleep, poor nutrition and yes, exercise.

When your capacity is greater than the load, nothing bad happens. When the load is greater than your capacity… dun, dun, duuuuuuuun. Injury.

Now, don't get me wrong. The second the load surpasses your capacity, you don't end up injured. That's what the different types of injury indicate.

If the load greatly, and I mean massively, surpasses your capacity, then you can suffer an acute or immediate injury. Example: breaking a bone. The force at one instant was so great that the capacity of your bone was unable to cope. Broken. If the load surpasses your capacity consistently, over a period of time, then you can develop an overuse injury.

Why is it so important? The more capacity you have, the more you can withstand. This is true for all the tissues in the human body. Stronger bones take more force to break. Stronger tendons take more force to tear. Stronger muscles take more force to tear. If you can back squat 200kg, then you squatting just your bodyweight on a day to day basis is no sweat. If you can deadlift 200kg, then you bending over and picking up your 10kg kiddo ain’t nothin’ but a peanut. I think you get the idea. The more weight you can move in the gym, the less you need to worry about outside of it.

Why is it a skill? YOU DONT WAKE UP STRONG. YOU DONT JUST MAGICALLY BECOME STRONG. I wish it wasn’t true, believe me. Last time I check Amazon.com isn't selling the magic pill to become strong AF. Strength is something you work at. By ‘work at’ I mean years of consistency and determination with solid programming. Not to mention consistent recovery by means of sleep and nutrition. Oh! You also can’t have too much other stress in your life cause well that decreases gains. And by years of hard work I mean your whole life……. I think what I’m trying to say is that strength is something you WORK for. Strength is earned, not given. Strength is a skill because you have to become an expert of your body in order to push it to its limit. Strength training is the method by which you learn and grow both physically and mentally.

How do you become strong AF? Coaching. There is a delicate balance, a science if you will, to finding the right programming and exercise selection that forces your body to the point of adaptation, not injury. Your body must be pushed further than before, consistently over time, in order for it to change. If you push too far, you increase your risk of injury. It takes someone that is an expert in movement that is able to identify dysfunction and correct it, using exercise programming that promotes progress, not injury.

If you’re ready to take your training to the next level, click here to book a session. I’d love to help you revitalize your current training with a focus on getting you stronger than ever before AND decrease your risk of injury.

Dr. Cory Myers, The Practical Physio

Helping the #EverydayAthlete increase performance and recover from injury so they can train hard and stay injury free.