Guys, let me level with you for a second…
How you worked out in high school and college is not helping you now if you are in your 40s or beyond.
I know you want to feel strong and athletic again, like you can do anything at any time, but the number one thing that will stop you from doing that is getting injured.
Not injured like you are feeling achy and sore, but injured like, “Holy crap I need to go to the doctor.”
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Unfortunately, the way you worked out as a teenager and in your early 20s is likely setting you up for injury, but the good news is there is one easy switch you can make with your workouts to change that.
And this one switch doesn’t even have to do with the exercises you are doing or the weight you are using, but rather how you view your workouts.
This one switch, once you start implementing it consistently, will make all the difference in not only how your body feels while you are working out, but how your body responds to your workouts, too, both in terms of how quickly you are able to recover from your workouts and the results you are able to get.
Want to know what it is?
Instead of having your workouts be something that Use your body, frame them as something that is (Re)Building your body.
In practice, there are three characteristics of workouts that Use your body that are distinctly different than workouts that (Re)Build your body, and these are the keys to feeling and functioning great for years to come.
First, workouts that Use your body are focused on markers outside of your body during the workout. For example, when you run, you may be focused on your time or distance. When you lift weights you may be focused on the number of reps you are doing or how much weight you are using.
Compare that to workouts that (Re)Build your body, where the only thing that is being focused on is what is happening within your body, specifically on squeezing your muscles. When you lift weights, the focus is on squeezing the muscles you are working. When you do cardio, the focus is on connecting with your muscles and feeling them working.
Second, workouts that Use your body have a goal that is outside of your body. You may be trying to run for a specific amount of time or for a specific distance. You may be trying to do a specific number of push-ups or lift a specific amount of weight. Whatever it is, the reason for doing the exercise is to accomplish something that is outside of your body.
With workouts that (Re)Build your body, the only goal you have is to improve the health and function of your body. It does not matter whether you run faster or slower than last time. It does not matter whether you lift more or less weight than last time. The only thing that matters is you leave your workout healthier and functioning better than you started it.
Third, workouts that Use your body have some type of relative comparison built into them, whether it is where you are ranking on the class leaderboard, how much weight you lifted compared to last week, or how many points you scored versus the other team. There is always some type of comparison involved.
However, with workouts that (Re)Build your body, you drop all relative comparisons. Again, the time, the distance, the speed, the weight, the reps do not matter today versus another time or you versus somebody else. The only thing that matters is your workouts build the health and function of your body and you do that by focusing on squeezing your muscles.
So, if there is one shift that needs to happen with your workouts in order to help you continue to build your strength without injury, start focusing on doing workouts that are (Re)Building your body instead of doing workouts that are Using your body.
A key component of this is our four Exercise For Life Principles. In my new eBook, I break down what these are and how you can implement them into every workout you do.
You can get a copy of this eBook for free by clicking here.
Read it, implement the principles, and watch as your body and your workouts completely transform for the better.
Here’s to health,
Charlie
