Progression & Regression: The Secret to Fitness Results
April 17, 2024|Elemental movement, Fitness, Functional Movement, Health, Modification, Movement, Progression
In the ever-changing realm of fitness and exercise, progression and regression are essential for optimal results. This article delves into the connection between modifications and effective fitness training, providing tips on advancing and simplifying workouts for both beginners and experienced exercisers.
Progress: Moving closer to achieving fitness objectives:
Advancing in fitness requires slowly raising the level of difficulty, length, or intricacy of workouts to push the body and encourage additional advancements. Beginners must grasp the concepts of progression to establish a solid base and gain confidence in their fitness pursuits.
Slowly escalating in strength:
The phrase “slow down to speed up” should resonate. Often when we rush or advance too quickly, we end up either frustrated or injured or both! Novices can begin by doing exercises with their own body weight and then advance to utilizing resistance bands, free weights, or machines as they develop strength and confidence. Including compound exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups work multiple muscle groups at once, will aid in overall strength improvement, muscle coordination and kinesthetic awareness.
Variation and cycling through different training phases:
Adding diversity to exercise routines keeps them interesting and staves off monotony, all the while engaging various muscle groups and movements. Periodization enables newbies to organize their workout plan into distinct stages, concentrating on developing basic strength before progressing to more challenging movements.
Establishing Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.
Creating SMART goals gives newbies and veteran exercisers alike, a clear path for improvement and boosts their motivation. Beginners can achieve their fitness goals by setting realistic objectives, monitoring their progress, celebrating milestones, and adjusting their training program when necessary.
Regression: Adapting to Obstacles and Restrictions
While it’s vital for beginners to grasp the idea of regression and adjust exercises to fit their current abilities and restrictions, progression is also significant for enhancing strength and fitness.
Similarly, advanced athletes and even professional athletes should adjust their workouts and movements accordingly, based on injury profile and/or seasonal competition or event schedules.
Listening to Your Body:
All movers are wise to their bodies and pay attention to any signs of discomfort or fatigue during exercise.
If an exercise causes pain or discomfort, it’s important to modify or regress the movement to prevent injury and promote safe, effective training. While discomfort is expected as a person adapts to the effort of pushing oneself physically, it is equally important to note the mental and even emotional adaptations taking place. Muscle fatigue, breathlessness and exhilaration are all-encompassing experiences in discovering how to challenge yourself, and when to dial back intensity.
Modifying Exercises:
Modifying exercises allows beginners to reduce the intensity or complexity of movements while still reaping the benefits of strength training.
For example, beginners can perform modified push-ups on their knees or against a wall to build upper body strength without putting undue stress on their joints.
From a mental perspective, this is where we revisit the phrase “slow down to speed up” – letting go of the notion that a modification equates to “weakness”. The No Pain No Gain philosophy often leads to further injury and a longer road to recovery. Teach both your body and brain that modifications are smart, sensible and beneficial!
Elemental Movement
As with all critical movement concepts, the theory put into practice is the tough part. Class formats and planned workouts that take progression and regression options into account make the effectiveness and execution of any exercise session easier for the practitioner, and more successful for the participant.
One such approach that take these into consideration exceedingly well is MSINGI™– the world’s first Afrocentric functional movement practice. MSINGI™ is inherently designed with progression and regression woven into the structure of each and every class. Being of “elemental movement” MSINGI™ is inspired by the elements of earth, wind and fire; with earth representing movements that are grounded and stable, wind representing movements that are rotational and/or unstable, and fire representing movements that are quicker and more dynamic in nature. Through this clear elemental paradigm, fitness leaders and participants can structure and follow different levels of intensity with greater understanding and success.
Progression & Regression In Action:
Regardless of the workout or training modality, putting principles of progression and regression into action, will not only enhance physical performance, but will also promote overall health and well-being. Particularly for beginners embarking on their fitness journey, understanding the steps of steady progression and how to modify movements through regression, is essential for building a solid foundation and achieving long-term fitness goals. By embracing these concepts and listening to your body, you can unlock your full potential and embark on a path towards greater strength, mobility, and vitality.