Why Choose Skill-Related Fitness Goals Over Aesthetic Goals?
What Is Skill-Related Fitness?
This is a style of training dedicated to improving one’s agility, balance, power, speed, coordination, and reaction time. Oftentimes, this can be associated with those involved in sports. However, this does not have to pertain solely to athletes; this can also apply to the general population. These are very important skills for anyone to continue to develop to avoid injury.
Training for Skills vs. Training for Aesthetics
A common misconception is that training for aesthetics improves overall athleticism. There is definitely an overlap, however, better aesthetics does not equal better skill. There are numerical benchmarks for various training skills; such as weight, repetition count, or time. Progress is black and white; you either accomplished a skill in less time or not. There is a way to improve and the improvements are, not only tangible, but obvious for everyone to follow.
Aesthetic training is very subjective. Progress can be unpredictable. The main goal of this style of training is to look better. Many people are stuck on this style. There is a notion that if you have a six-pack, then you are clearly a healthy individual. This is far from the truth. Body dysmorphia is a huge problem. But let’s not get too off topic. I always challenge my clients with this question…what’s the point of having visible abs if you can’t even protect your back on a lift?
Why Choose Skill-Related Fitness Goals Over Aesthetic Goals?
Skill-related fitness goals are objective. We’ve worked with many clients who have had strictly aesthetic goals. Often they say, ‘I want to lose weight. I’ve tried everything.’ It can be a frustrating process when the goal is to look a certain way. How we look at ourselves changes constantly. What if you were sick or injured or you’re on your period!? There are so many variables to consider. But we’ve successfully shifted the focus to specific exercises. Say you can squat 50lbs. How are we going to get you to 100lbs? We first have to 55lbs, 60lbs, and so on. Clients get excited when they break into a new weight lifted and want more. No one ever said that they were lifting too much and it was a problem. Not only that, but the body goals through its own array of changes as we focus on strengthening skills. As our skills improve, so does our overall health.
It Removes The Pressure
Often, people put this unnecessary amount of pressure on themselves to go to the gym to use all the pieces of cardio equipment, all the crunches and eat salad to lose a certain amount of weight or fit into their summer clothes better. After a few weeks, the habits that they were trying to build fall apart and you feel like a failure. It’s hard to break free from these tendencies. There is no need for this pressure to look a certain way in a short period of time. Turning your attention to being able to successfully finish a 14er this summer or go for a walk 3 times a week are great goals to build towards and complete. And I’d imagine that these are easier and more enjoyable goals to achieve.
It's More Motivating
In a gym setting, where you are working on lifting related goals, you’re very likely to join the community of similarly minded people. Here, you may need someone to help you with a lift or asked to help someone. And whether you fail, struggle or succeed, you’ll be encouraged. This can be used to inspire you to keep improving on your lifting and focus on those numbers. Moreover, there are days where you will come into the gym and everything will move well and you might lift a new weight. If that doesn’t feel good, I don’t know what to tell you!
Better Results
Remember, that changing your lifestyle for aesthetic purposes does not guarantee a healthier lifestyle. You could be cutting out important sources of nutrients from your diet, or become more irritable because you’ve convinced yourself that eating a hot dog on the 4th of July will ruin everything you’ve worked towards. Why put yourself through that struggle when you can focus on being able to carry all the camping gear from the car to the campsite in one trip or stay on your paddleboard with no falls!
Training At Thor Strength Gym
I tell everyone that walks in our doors that we are a strength training facility. Our goal is to help you get stronger. We don’t give dietary plans, we’re not certified dietitians. We strive to make your life less painful and more successful. We write up personalized programs and hand it to each personal training client so that they can see for themselves the progress. And more often than not, over time, each client strives to increase the weight on each lift, when it’s possible. There are no weight loss plans, but many of our clients see and feel their body transform as they get stronger.
