The Ultimate New Year’s Resolution Checklist
The Ultimate New Year’s Resolution Checklist Dr. Joel Seedman, Ph.D. Introduction ultimate New Year’s Resolution Checklist+Click to Enlarge When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, you’re likely to see quite a few goals that involve weight loss, body composition targets, and PR’s on various compound lifts. While there’s nothing wrong with these objectives, I want to provide 23 alternative New Year’s resolution goals, specifically ones that involve more subtle yet undervalued training components for advanced lifters, athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and general populations. 1. Maximize Covid, Home, & Bodyweight Workouts If 2022 taught us one thing about fitness and training for 2023 it’s that we don’t always need to have access to a full-scale commercial gym to get a great workout and reach our fitness goals. In fact, even with just a few basic training tools like a pair of dumbbells, kettlebells, water jugs, or even just properly performed bodyweight drills, everyone from beginners to advanced athletes can make physiological improvements. The key is learning how to adapt and progress your workouts by focusing on elements other than weight and total load lifted. Performing just bodyweight exercises or movements with very light loads while focusing purely on form, quality of movement, full body tension, and muscle mind connection can do wonders not only for cleaning up your body mechanics but also for improving strength and muscle. Learn more about bodyweight training and maximize your workouts with limited or no equipment with our Bodyweight Training Redefined program. 2. Avoid Injuries and Train Pain Free If you’re truly looking to optimize your health, performance, fitness, physique, and overall physiological function, the goal for any lifter and athlete moving into 2023 should be to avoid injuries and train in a pain free manner. Recent research on pain science and body mechanics suggests that a majority of the musculoskeletal pain, discomfort and injuries we experience is directly related to our body mechanics. Read more about pain science and body mechanics here. With that said, nothing brings your training progress to a halt faster than injuries, pain, tweaks, and joint trauma. Yes, the goal of minimizing pain and injuries is easier said than done particularly if you train under high intensity and high load conditions, however, there are various steps that can be taken to ensure success. Daily Member workouts here. 3. Improve your Technique, Body Mechanics, and Muscle Function Improving your body mechanics, eliminating dysfunction, and cleaning up your movement patterns is probably the single most effective training strategy you can have not only for maximizing joint health and injury prevention but also for optimizing your physique, strength, muscularity, and performance. That’s because proper mechanics allow the individual to properly target their muscles and stimulate functional strength and size with each and every repetition rather than using garbage reps which destroy the joints. Read more about maximizing your reps here and about improving body mechanics and muscle function in my book Movement Redefined. 4. Eliminate Asymmetries and Imbalances Similar to the previously mentioned goals, eliminating asymmetries and imbalances is another critical component for maximizing progress in the gym while avoiding injuries, pain, and training stagnation. While achieving perfect symmetry and balance is impossible, the presence of significant imbalances in the body inevitably leads to further degradation of body mechanics and various compensation patterns that over time can trigger a number of musculoskeletal and physiological repercussions. One of the best ways to prevent this is to slow your movements down by incorporating eccentric isometrics into unilateral exercise variations (i.e. single arm and single leg exercises) which brings me to my next point. 5. Train with Eccentric Isometrics I’ve been in this industry for over 18 years and I can honestly say beyond a shadow of a doubt that eccentric isometrics are the single most effective training method in existence. Here are two of my NFL athletes demonstrating a proper eccentric isometric single leg squat. The reason eccentric isometrics are so effective is due to the emphasis on the slow and controlled eccentric phase (as well as the pause in the stretched position) that optimizes sensory feedback from muscles spindles and other proprioceptive mechanisms. This maximizes kinesthetic awareness and sense of feel such that the lifter is able to fine-tune their mechanics and master their movement. As a result not only is greater stress placed on the targeted musculature but, injuries, inflammation, and joint trauma are minimized as the body learns the most efficient way to move and these improved movement patterns are incorporated into both strength training and everyday life. Read more about mastering your movement with eccentric isometrics in my new book Movement Redefined. 6. Master The Big 7 Foundational Movement Patterns Learning to master foundational movement patterns such as the “BIG 7” which include the squat, hinge, lunge, horizontal pull, horizontal push, vertical pull, and vertical push will do more for your training than focusing on any other exercises. Becoming efficient at foundational movement patterns will not only allow you to gain an incredible amount of functional strength and size, your body will also be ready for any physical task, sport, activity, or challenge your throw at it. And yes mastering the “Big 7” is most effectively accomplished by employing eccentric isometrics. Read more about Mastering the “Big 7” here. 7. Train Full Body More Frequently Another critical component for mastering one’s movement revolves around repeatedly practicing and frequently training the foundational movement patterns. In other words, perfect practice makes perfect. However, ensuring your body doesn’t break down as a result of such frequent implementation of compound movements requires the incorporation of eccentric isometrics into one’s training as this allows the lifter to train at a higher frequency while maximizing recovery and minimizing joint stress. As an added bonus, recent research suggests that higher frequency training involving full body routines may provide superior results to split routines in terms of muscle growth, strength gains, and body composition as well as hormonal changes. Read more about training frequency, periodization, programming, and more here. 8. Become