First performance, then looks...

The first thing you notice when you walk through any gym is that there are mirrors everywhere. Where there's a wall, there's a mirror. What do you think this tells you? Most people that go to the gym are simply going to look good. Performance and function in the training world take a back seat to being “ripped” and looking good.

Now, functional fitness has been taking a beating lately in the fitness world, but that's because so many people have misconstrued its meaning. Functional fitness is a subjective term and to me, functional fitness isn't juggling medicine balls while balancing on one leg. Functional fitness is the ability to perform better in your chosen sport or martial art and in day to day life. The ability to run faster, jump higher, be stronger, and endure more. If a trainee focuses on performing better, the form will absolutely follow. Set some goals and try to break them. Even going to your limit with push ups and then trying to up that number the next time is a step to the road of performance-based training.

Now, where does one start on their quest for a more performance-based training protocol? Here are a few things you can do:

-Instead of traditional cardio machines, do hill sprints and jump rope intervals
-Instead of isolation exercises (arm curls, leg extensions), do compound exercises (pullups, squats)
-Instead of of splitting your workouts into body parts, work your whole body with kettlebells and sandbags

This is obviously a very general list, but the most important thing to remember is if you train with a purpose and that purpose is to be stronger and last longer, you will look better. This way, instead of focusing on something material, you strive for a goal that's much more worthwhile. What's the point of looking strong without actually being strong? Setting a goal for yourself of a lower body fat percentage and then hitting is fun, but there's nothing like setting a performance-based goal and achieving it.

I set a goal for myself to lower my body fat by 2% in a month. I worked out and ate right, and even with some slip ups along the way, I hit my mark. This was great, but it was almost like it wasn't enough or there was something missing. Months later, I read about the kettlebell US Secret Service Snatch test. The test was developed when the trainees for the secret service were given ten minutes to perform as many snatches as they could with a 53lb kettlebell with 200 being their ultimate goal. A kettlebell snatch, for those who don't know, is an exercise where you swing the kettlebell through your legs and then in one motion, bring it overhead. I decided I wanted to try this out so I tested myself and hit 160. I had some work ahead of me. For the next few weeks I trained for this test and worked hard on beating my last score. After a solid month of kettlebell work, I tested myself again and after ten minutes I had done 209 snatches. The result of my training was a lower body fat, lower weight, and a feeling of pride that I had accomplished something, not to mention my strength gain was through the roof.

The point of this story is to illustrate that performance training a far more efficient way of training. You get stronger and look the part. It's win win. Just remember the next time you go to workout, start with performance and the rest will follow.