It’s a shame, because you actually gain maximum benefit from utilising both of these different styles of progression. The name of this game is motor learning.

Motor Learning 101

The most common definition of motor learning is “the process of improving motor skills resulting from practice or a novel experience, with long-lasting changes in the capability for responding.”

This process of motor learning happens in three stages.

1. Cognitive
2. Associative
3. Autonomous

The basic idea here is that in learning a movement, initially it requires a great deal of focus to complete the task. As you progress into the later stages, the movement requires less and less brain power to perform. Michael Jordan doesn’t have to think his way through a basketball shot anymore.

“Taking an athlete through a progression of skill will yield a better-rounded, better-coordinated athlete.”

However this can be a double-edged sword. We want to achieve mastery (and be autonomous), but we need to constantly challenge our brains and bodies with new stimulus in order to achieve maximum well-rounded growth and potential. So you want to build upon the things you already know and refine the skill of the basic movements while at the same time continuing to challenge yourself with new movements.

Real Life Examples

Let’s take two obvious examples:

1. Add kilos gradually until you can press 100kg dumbbells for reps – the progressive load model
2. Add difficulty by manipulating skill and leverage via gymnastics – progressive skill model

There is value to handling more weight with the most advantageous joint positions. There is huge potential for adaptation and overall strength gains if you can move the greatest amount of weight. There is a reason that picking up a heavy weight off of the ground yields massive benefits to the entire body.

“When the lines of stress are always the same, you overstress some areas and understress others. This lack of balanced loading on joints and tissues is a likely culprit of overuse injuries.”

If your goal is specific, the lion’s share of your training should be practicing that specific skill. No amount of gymnastics training is going to prepare you to have the biggest bench press as well as bench pressing.

Taking an athlete through a progression of skill will yield a better-rounded, better-coordinated athlete. Imagine if along the way to getting strong, the athlete progressed through push ups, dips, handstand walking, handstand push ups, l-sits, tuck planches, planches, and planche push ups. The result would be a highly coordinated, adaptable athlete who would be infinitely more capable of a wider variety of movements whether in a training or competition setting. In summary, there is value to both methods.

Advantages for progressive load:

• Movements are generally easier to teach and implement
• Much more simple and easy progression
• Greater overall load to body (you won’t find a bodyweight-only exercise that compares to a heavy deadlift)

Advantages for skill progression:

• Brain development (staving off brain deterioration)
• Enhanced overall strength in more ranges
• Prevention of overuse injuries

According to Wolff’s law and Davis’ law, your tissue and bone remodel in accordance with lines of stress. When the lines of stress are always the same, you overstress some areas and understress others. This lack of balanced loading on joints and tissues is a likely culprit of overuse injuries.

“Don’t be silly and get married to heavy weights or to gymnastics or street workouts only.”

Imagine you are sanding a board. The goal is to refine the texture and make it nicer. However, if you continue to only sand in one line, that part of the board will get worn down over time. This is another advantage of progressing to more complex skills that have a more well-rounded stress on the joints and tissue.

Strength-Type Cycling

One way to address the differences and reap the benefits of these two roads to strength would be to cycle from one to the other. Because adaptation is highly dependent on frequency, I don’t like to lay off any one type of training for too long, so we are going to alternate workouts between the progressive load model and the progressive skill model.

In the first workout we might do an array of gymnastics movements. For example, this video shows how to progress skill for upper body push movements and upper body pull movements:

For an upper body push movement we could start at an easy wall supported push up, progress to a push up on the floor or rings, then to a ring dip, and eventually to a tucked planche on the rings and beyond.

For an upper body pull movement we could start with an inverted row, progress to pull ups or chin ups, and then onward to skin the cats, muscle ups, and front levers.

Next Steps

In the next workout we would focus on moving the most weight possible:

• Press x 3 x 5
• Deadlift x 3 x 5

• Row x 5 x 5
• Front Squat x 3 x 5

You Can Have Both

By doing both types, we increase our movement base as well as our strength base, giving us all of the benefits of each. Don’t be silly and get married to heavy weights or to gymnastics or street workouts only. Learn how to move your body and smash heavy weights.

More Like This:

• The V-Sit – the Ultimate Movement for Power, Posture, and Strength
• 100 – Your Magic Number for Everyday Strength
• The Most Underrated Principle of Strength is … Balance
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle UK Today

Photo 1 courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

Photo 2 by jasonandkehly via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Balanced Strength: Developing the Ultimate Athlete appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It’s a shame, because you actually gain maximum benefit from utilizing both of these different styles of progression. The name of this game is motor learning.

Motor Learning 101

The most common definition of motor learning is “the process of improving motor skills resulting from practice or a novel experience, with long-lasting changes in the capability for responding.”

This process of motor learning happens in three stages.

1. Cognitive
2. Associative
3. Autonomous

The basic idea here is that in learning a movement, initially it requires a great deal of focus to complete the task. As you progress into the later stages, the movement requires less and less brain power to perform. Michael Jordan doesn’t have to think his way through a basketball shot anymore.

“Taking an athlete through a progression of skill will yield a better-rounded, better-coordinated athlete.”

However this can be a double-edged sword. We want to achieve mastery (and be autonomous), but we need to constantly challenge our brains and bodies with new stimulus in order to achieve maximum well-rounded growth and potential. So you want to build upon the things you already know and refine the skill of the basic movements while at the same time continuing to challenge yourself with new movements.

Real Life Examples

Let’s take two obvious examples:

1. Add pounds gradually until you can press 200lb dumbbells for reps – the progressive load model
2. Add difficulty by manipulating skill and leverage via gymnastics – progressive skill model

There is value to handling more weight with the most advantageous joint positions. There is huge potential for adaptation and overall strength gains if you can move the greatest amount of weight. There is a reason that picking up a heavy weight off of the ground yields massive benefits to the entire body.

“When the lines of stress are always the same, you overstress some areas and understress others. This lack of balanced loading on joints and tissues is a likely culprit of overuse injuries.”

If your goal is specific, the lion’s share of your training should be practicing that specific skill. No amount of gymnastics training is going to prepare you to have the biggest bench press as well as bench pressing.

Taking an athlete through a progression of skill will yield a better-rounded, better-coordinated athlete. Imagine if along the way to getting strong, the athlete progressed through push ups, dips, handstand walking, handstand push ups, l-sits, tuck planches, planches, and planche push ups. The result would be a highly coordinated, adaptable athlete who would be infinitely more capable of a wider variety of movements whether in a training or competition setting. In summary, there is value to both methods.

Advantages for progressive load:

• Movements are generally easier to teach and implement
• Much more simple and easy progression
• Greater overall load to body (you won’t find a bodyweight-only exercise that compares to a heavy deadlift)

Advantages for skill progression:

• Brain development (staving off brain deterioration)
• Enhanced overall strength in more ranges
• Prevention of overuse injuries

According to Wolff’s law and Davis’ law, your tissue and bone remodel in accordance with lines of stress. When the lines of stress are always the same, you overstress some areas and understress others. This lack of balanced loading on joints and tissues is a likely culprit of overuse injuries.

“Don’t be silly and get married to heavy weights or to gymnastics or street workouts only.”

Imagine you are sanding a board. The goal is to refine the texture and make it nicer. However, if you continue to only sand in one line, that part of the board will get worn down over time. This is another advantage of progressing to more complex skills that have a more well-rounded stress on the joints and tissue.

Strength-Type Cycling

One way to address the differences and reap the benefits of these two roads to strength would be to cycle from one to the other. Because adaptation is highly dependent on frequency, I don’t like to lay off any one type of training for too long, so we are going to alternate workouts between the progressive load model and the progressive skill model.

In the first workout we might do an array of gymnastics movements. For example, this video shows how to progress skill for upper body push movements and upper body pull movements:

For an upper body push movement we could start at an easy wall supported push up, progress to a push up on the floor or rings, then to a ring dip, and eventually to a tucked planche on the rings and beyond.

For an upper body pull movement we could start with an inverted row, progress to pull ups or chin ups, and then onward to skin the cats, muscle ups, and front levers.

Next Steps

In the next workout we would focus on moving the most weight possible:

• Press x 3 x 5
• Deadlift x 3 x 5

• Row x 5 x 5
• Front Squat x 3 x 5

You Can Have Both

By doing both types, we increase our movement base as well as our strength base, giving us all of the benefits of each. Don’t be silly and get married to heavy weights or to gymnastics or street workouts only. Learn how to move your body and smash heavy weights.

More Like This:

• The V-Sit – the Ultimate Movement for Power, Posture, and Strength
• Command Your Training – Turn Up the Volume to Reach Your Goals
• The Most Underrated Principle of Strength is … Balance
• What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

Photo 1 courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

Photo 2 by jasonandkehly via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Strength and Skill: How to Become the Ultimate Athlete appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Simplifying is usually good, but not if it is costing you potential benefits. Being able to gain the maximum benefit from different training modalities lies in being able to categorize these movements with broader strokes, independent of the equipment or style of training commonly associated with them.

What Does This Movement Do for Me?

For the sake of this article, and simplifying your life, kettlebell swings are not going to be categorized as a “kettlebell exercise” and deadlifts are not going to be categorized as a “barbell exercise.” These labels are only useful when equipment is limited to those specific objects.

Instead, we want to have a clear understanding of what the exercise does for you. In this instance, both the kettlebell swing and the deadlift would be considered “lower-body pulling exercises.”

Some other categories and examples:

Upper Push:

• Handstand
• Overhead Press
• Push Up
• Bench Press

Upper Pull:

• Pull Up
• Row
• Front Lever
• Reverse Fly

Lower Push:

• Squat
• Lunge
• Single Leg Squat
• Sled Push

Lower Pull:

• Deadlift
• Kettlebell Swing
• Glute Bridge
• Single Leg Deadlift
• Leg Curl

Notice the commonalities between the categorized exercises. This gives us the ability as coaches and athletes to all speak a common language with the same basic building blocks, giving us all a better understanding of how to make progress over the long term.

We can further separate it out:

• Unilateral – Lunge
• Bilateral – Squat
• Horizontal – Row
• Vertical – Pull Up

Using these distinctions, you could easily categorize both a one-arm push up and one-arm bench press as unilateral horizontal upper-body push.

It’s not always helpful to break it down so far, but it can be useful to have this understanding when you are trying to substitute one exercise for another. As a coach, I often get asked, “Can I substitute X for Y?” My answer is going to come from a thought process that stems from the ability to categorize movements. If you learn this system, you can do this for yourself, whether you are a trainer or an athlete.

What Is “Ultimate Athleticism”?

In terms of what gives someone the ultimate athleticism, it is always going to include competence in the categories above along with a few others. This is how my Ultimate Athleticism workout template came about, as a way to check off all the boxes and make sure I’m getting the most benefit for the least amount of time invested.

There is a distinction here between what I consider the “ultimate athlete” and a gold medal-level lifter or gymnast, though. Clearly there is going to be a large disparity between the top gymnast and the top Olympic lifter in terms of general athleticism due to the nature of their specialties.

My goal in terms of programming is to do the most with the least effort and time. If your goal is to be a gold medal-level Olympian, then this template may not be specific enough for you to be successful at a given sport.

The other categories I think are necessary for building well-rounded athleticism are:

• Power
• Grip Strength
• Vision/Coordination/Balance
• Core Strength
• Conditioning
• Mobility

Not only do we want to cover all of our bases with all of the above, we have to do it frequently to get the best results. This has to do with the SAID principle – specific adaptation to imposed demand. This means your body adapts to whatever you do with it all the time. Because your brain is constantly reevaluating what’s important, you need to hit it with the right message as frequently as possible.

Take something like golf, for example. Would you rather practice every day for fifteen minutes or once a week for 105 minutes? You would see significantly better improvement with the daily practice over the weekly practice, though the total time investment is the same. In this way, we can improve our return on investment (ROI) by training more frequently, rather than doing longer durations per session but fewer overall sessions.

Optimize the Cost-Benefit Ratio

Everything you do has a cost, so you want to do the things with the lowest cost and the highest benefit. Obviously, there are a lot of movements that could fall into the categories I outlined above. It could be inefficient to try to do something from each category every single day, so we have to choose movements that satisfy more than one category.

This is what led me to choose the following for what I call the ultimate training plan:

• Sprint (power)

• L-Sit to Handstand (upper push/core)
• Deadlift (lower pull)

• Front Lever (upper pull/core)
• Airborne Lunge (lower push)

Not only do the above movements satisfy almost every single athletic quality, they also inherently address the most common postural, movement, and flexibility issues. On top of that, these exercises have the biggest carryover to other movements, giving you competence in many movements while only practicing a few.

For example, if you can do an L-sit to handstand, no push up, handstand, or military press variation is going to give you any trouble. Similarly, if you can do a front lever, no row, pull up, or anterior core exercise will be anything but a piece of cake.

Read Page 2 for the Training Template

The Training Template

Now that we have our movements and parameters laid out, we just have to organize our daily training session. The template works like this:

• Skill/Vision

• Power

• Upper Push
• Lower Pull

• Upper Pull
• Lower Push

• Accessory/Core

• Conditioning

Fairly simple. The beauty is you just plug and play the exercises into their respective categories.

This leads us to your workout for the next four weeks:

3 Minutes:

• Single-Leg Balance With Ball Throw and Catch or Juggling

3 Rounds:

• Vertical Jump x 5
• Glute Bridge x 10

Strength Block 1 (15:00)

• L-Sit to Handstand (or L-sit or Handstand) x 5 reps
• Deadlift or Single-Leg Deadlift x 5 reps
• Mobility Drill

Strength Block 2 (15:00)

• Front Lever Progression
• Airborne Lunge or Squat x 5
• Mobility Drill

3 Rounds:

• Push Ups x 10+
• Rows x 10+

5 Rounds:

• Sprints or Kettlebell Swings – Finisher, Interval Style

Perform the above workout three to six times per week. When performing the strength blocks, notice there is no set number of sets. There is a time block of fifteen minutes, which you could increase.

This is not “as many rounds as possible.” This is just a way to organize and be efficient with your time. I suggest you put a mobility drill into each superset to force you to rest adequately before repeating the superset.

One recommendation: If you do single-leg deadlifts, do squats on that day. If you do regular deadlifts, do airborne lunges. This way you always get the benefits of both heavy lifting and single-leg work.

Now You Know the Secret

Rather than give you a fish, I’m going to teach you to fish for the next four weeks. If you stick with the basic template above, you will make progress. You also have the leeway to modify just like a pro by understanding how to organize and categorize your movements.

Understand the cost and benefit of everything you do, choose the things that give you the best ROI, and make sure you have some fun while doing it. This is the key to becoming your best version of the Ultimate Athlete.

The post Max Shank’s Ultimate Athlete Training Template appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It’s hard to select the perfect piece of equipment. Though, I can promise you, the person who has “found” the perfect piece of training equipment is probably going to offer you a great deal to purchase one.

Me using the parallette bars for core work

So, what are the most important factors in determining which piece of equipment is right for you?Efficacy, progression, scalability, freedom, and movement. Given that there are so many options, it makes no sense to hammer a screw into the drywall. Use the right tool for the job, first and foremost.

Efficacy

If you are trying to improve your sprint speed, the best tool is going to be your body. If your goal is to increase your deadlift, it makes sense to have a bar with some plates.

Progression and Scalability

If all other things are equal, you want something that allows you the ability to progress an exercise, or scale it back if necessary. Along with scalability comes learning curve. The ability to implement a tool and have it enhance movement with minimal instruction is extremely useful in group settings or in one-on-one situations where teaching time is limited.

“When in doubt, simpler and more scalable is better.”

This is a large part of why Apple has done so well as a company. They’ve made using their products exceptionally simple, even though there are some instances where a different operating system gives you more functionality.

When in doubt, simpler and more scalable is better. For example, a barbell can be loaded to different weights. Gymnastics rings can be adjusted and the exercises can be modified to change difficulty by altering the leverage.

Freedom

There are a lot of barriers to exercise, and more often than not, it’s important to be able to get a training session without having to always go to the gym. In fact, some of the best training you’ll ever do will be outside. For this, things like a kettlebell, bodyweight, and rings are ideal because they are so nicely portable.

Me performing a Turkish Get Up. One of the many uses of the kettlebell.

Movement

The last and most important thing to consider when you are deciding which piece of equipment you need to get the job done is how you are going to use this to enhance your movement. The most important part of the puzzle is your own body and what kind of stimulus you are trying to impose upon it so it will create a positive change.

“In order to be the best athlete possible, it’s a good idea to be competent along the full spectrum.”

For example, kettlebells are great tools for teaching someone to squat properly and how to use their posterior chain through swings. But for upper body pulling movements, such as pull ups and front levers, kettlebells are somewhat lacking in terms of improving overall movement.

Organizing Your Workout

Let’s look at these determining factors in the way you might when organizing your workout, goals, and equipment.

Look at the freedom a pull up bar and a set of gymnastics rings will give you for upper body pulling exercises. We have front levers, pull ups, skin the cats, hanging leg raises, and a multitude of other movements that can serve everyone from a total beginner at level zero to an Olympic gymnast performing a Victorian.

But those rings aren’t going to do you any favors for building leg strength.

Jumping, sprinting, and lifting heavy weights with a barbell is going to be the most efficient and effective for the legs, while also giving you the added benefit of that total body strength and coordination along a huge amount of muscles.

But that barbell isn’t going to be the best tool for improving flexibility.

When it comes to flexibility, your body, things you can hang from, and small weights or bands are much more effective.

A sandbag is an awesome tool for building serious strength and it’s probably the best piece of equipment for many different variations of carries, like Zercher and bear hug. If you get a good one, you can also throw it around, which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing with yourself or with a barbell.

“The most important part of the puzzle is your own body and what kind of stimulus you are trying to impose upon it so it will create a positive change.”

Kettlebell swings are fantastic. There are few things better for getting someone to be explosive through the hips in that middle range of the strength speed continuum. On one end, you have sprints and on the other you have deadlifts. In order to be the best athlete possible, it’s a good idea to be competent along the full spectrum.

Become the best all-around athlete.

My Favorite Pieces of Equipment

As you can see, there is a time and a place for many pieces of equipment. The only place it gets a little dodgy is when you start marrying yourself to one single thing. You miss out on so many potential benefits by closing off your mind to other tools.

Understand and respect the advantages and disadvantages of each piece of equipment and approach that evaluation with a clear and emotion-free mind.

Here are a couple of my favorites and when I use them:

Upper body work:

• Pull up bar or rings (hanging variations)
• Handstands

Lower body work:

• Barbells (deadlift)
• Kettlebells or sandbags for goblet and Zercher squats respectively
• Sled pushes

Power:

• Sprints and jumps
• Kettlebell swings

Core:

• Medicine ball or sandbag throws
• Pull up bar or rings (hanging variations)
• Sandbags (loaded carries)

Me demonstrating a front lever.

My personal go-to tools and equipment for specific goals:

Power:

• Jumps

Strength Block One:

• L-Sit to handstands
• Deadlifts

Strength Block Two:

• Front levers
• Sled push

Core:

• Sandbag carries or hanging leg raises

Endurance:

• One-arm kettlebell swing intervals

“The only place it gets a little dodgy is when you start marrying yourself to one single thing.”

Summary

The above are just examples of my favorite, biggest bang-for-your-buck tools and movements. The most important thing is to have fun and stay healthy while getting better every day. If you hate using barbells, you don’t need to use them.

My personal goal is to always find the best and easiest solution that will also deliver the most benefit. This is what allows you to be able to do basically everything, without having to practice everything. This ability to adapt and “do it all” is what I consider the cornerstone of being the Ultimate Athlete.

In short, don’t screw yourself over by always using a hammer. #toolpun

Take a look at these related articles:

• Integrated Strength: The Right Tool at the Right Time for the Right Person
• The Right Tool for the Right Job: Kettlebell, Dumbbell, or Barbell?
• Kettlebells as a Cardio Tool: Yay or Nay?
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle UK Today

The post Be the Ultimate Athlete: Match Your Tool to Your Goal appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

It’s hard to select the perfect piece of equipment. Though, I can promise you, the person who has “found” the perfect piece of training equipment is probably going to offer you a great deal to purchase one.

Me using the parallette bars for core work

So, what are the most important factors in determining which piece of equipment is right for you? Efficacy, progression, scalability, freedom, and movement. Given that there are so many options, it makes no sense to hammer a screw into the drywall. Use the right tool for the job, first and foremost.

Efficacy

If you are trying to improve your sprint speed, the best tool is going to be your body. If your goal is to increase your deadlift, it makes sense to have a bar with some plates.

Progression and Scalability

If all other things are equal, you want something that allows you the ability to progress an exercise, or scale it back if necessary. Along with scalability comes learning curve. The ability to implement a tool and have it enhance movement with minimal instruction is extremely useful in group settings or in one-on-one situations where teaching time is limited.

“When in doubt, simpler and more scalable is better.”

This is a large part of why Apple has done so well as a company. They’ve made using their products exceptionally simple, even though there are some instances where a different operating system gives you more functionality.

When in doubt, simpler and more scalable is better. For example, a barbell can be loaded to different weights. Gymnastics rings can be adjusted and the exercises can be modified to change difficulty by altering the leverage.

Freedom

There are a lot of barriers to exercise, and more often than not, it’s important to be able to get a training session without having to always go to the gym. In fact, some of the best training you’ll ever do will be outside. For this, things like a kettlebell, bodyweight, and rings are ideal because they are so nicely portable.

Me performing a Turkish Get Up. One of the many uses of the kettlebell.

Movement

The last and most important thing to consider when you are deciding which piece of equipment you need to get the job done is how you are going to use this to enhance your movement. The most important part of the puzzle is your own body and what kind of stimulus you are trying to impose upon it so it will create a positive change.

“In order to be the best athlete possible, it’s a good idea to be competent along the full spectrum.”

For example, kettlebells are great tools for teaching someone to squat properly and how to use their posterior chain through swings. But for upper body pulling movements, such as pull ups and front levers, kettlebells are somewhat lacking in terms of improving overall movement.

Organizing Your Workout

Let’s look at these determining factors in the way you might when organizing your workout, goals, and equipment.

Look at the freedom a pull up bar and a set of gymnastics rings will give you for upper body pulling exercises. We have front levers, pull ups, skin the cats, hanging leg raises, and a multitude of other movements that can serve everyone from a total beginner at level zero to an Olympic gymnast performing a Victorian.

But those rings aren’t going to do you any favors for building leg strength.

Jumping, sprinting, and lifting heavy weights with a barbell is going to be the most efficient and effective for the legs, while also giving you the added benefit of that total body strength and coordination along a huge amount of muscles.

But that barbell isn’t going to be the best tool for improving flexibility.

When it comes to flexibility, your body, things you can hang from, and small weights or bands are much more effective.

A sandbag is an awesome tool for building serious strength and it’s probably the best piece of equipment for many different variations of carries, like Zercher and bear hug. If you get a good one, you can also throw it around, which I wouldn’t necessarily recommend doing with yourself or with a barbell.

“The most important part of the puzzle is your own body and what kind of stimulus you are trying to impose upon it so it will create a positive change.”

Kettlebell swings are fantastic. There are few things better for getting someone to be explosive through the hips in that middle range of the strength speed continuum. On one end, you have sprints and on the other you have deadlifts. In order to be the best athlete possible, it’s a good idea to be competent along the full spectrum.

Become the best all-around athlete.

My Favorite Pieces of Equipment

As you can see, there is a time and a place for many pieces of equipment. The only place it gets a little dodgy is when you start marrying yourself to one single thing. You miss out on so many potential benefits by closing off your mind to other tools.

Understand and respect the advantages and disadvantages of each piece of equipment and approach that evaluation with a clear and emotion-free mind.

Here are a couple of my favorites and when I use them:

Upper body work:

• Pull up bar or rings (hanging variations)
• Handstands

Lower body work:

• Barbells (deadlift)
• Kettlebells or sandbags for goblet and Zercher squats respectively
• Sled pushes

Power:

• Sprints and jumps
• Kettlebell swings

Core:

• Medicine ball or sandbag throws
• Pull up bar or rings (hanging variations)
• Sandbags (loaded carries)

Me demonstrating a front lever.

My personal go-to tools and equipment for specific goals:

Power:

• Jumps

Strength Block One:

• L-Sit to handstands
• Deadlifts

Strength Block Two:

• Front levers
• Sled push

Core:

• Sandbag carries or hanging leg raises

Endurance:

• One-arm kettlebell swing intervals

“The only place it gets a little dodgy is when you start marrying yourself to one single thing.”

Summary

The above are just examples of my favorite, biggest bang-for-your-buck tools and movements. The most important thing is to have fun and stay healthy while getting better every day. If you hate using barbells, you don’t need to use them.

My personal goal is to always find the best and easiest solution that will also deliver the most benefit. This is what allows you to be able to do basically everything, without having to practice everything. This ability to adapt and “do it all” is what I consider the cornerstone of being the Ultimate Athlete.

In short, don’t screw yourself over by always using a hammer. #toolpun

Take a look at these related articles:

• An Economic Approach to Becoming the Ultimate Athlete
• The Right Tool for the Right Job: Kettlebell, Dumbbell, or Barbell?
• Kettlebells as a Cardio Tool: Yay or Nay?
• What’s New on Breaking Muscle Today

The post Be Able to Do Everything: Match Your Tool to Your Goal appeared first on Breaking Muscle.