16 Dec Our Favorite Performance Hack
In today’s performance driven society, we all want to perform our best everyday. Unfortunately, this performance driven mentality is often what limits our performance. The desire to perform like a high performer in the gym and everyday life is essential to success, but it often leads to a lack RECOVERY, which is vital to continued success.
Sleeping 7-8 hours a day, drinking sufficient water, avoiding excessive caffeine and eating sufficient calories to fuel your performance is paramount, but something that we’ve discussed in several blogs.
So what’s the most important workout performance hack that you may not be doing?
Following a regular mobility routine.
Think of mobility as stretching 2.0. It not only involves stretches that lengthen tight muscles, but it also increases the strength of weaker muscles whenever possible. This increases the stability of your joints and prevents injuries.
By following a 5-10 minute routine like this 4-7 days a week (at least 1 per workout each week), it can cement postural improvements and improve your performance during training and other athletic activities.
Sounds like a no brainer right?
You’d think so, but we all get busy, so ensuring we have a quick, simple routine that we can perform when it’s convenient is key to consistency.
Let me save you some time 🙂
Below is a great example program that you’ll see in the new 21 Day Posture and Performance Challenge that we’re holding at Faster Fitness in a couple weeks.
You’ll hold each mobilization for 10 breaths, or 1 minute per side. We like to see about 2 seconds breathing in through the nose and 4 seconds breathing through the mouth. For problem areas, you can hold for 20 breaths, or 2 minutes. Perform this at any time EXCEPT pre-workout.Post workout is slightly less effective than doing it away from your normal workout times, but better than not doing it at all.
Here’s a sample routine:
TFL
Hip Flexor
T-Spine
If you have other limiting factors, feel free to swap it out with other stretches, mobilizations or rolling for the time described time.
By following a routine like this, it should lead to continued performance improvements and minimizing the risk of injuries.
Now you have our favorite performance hack, you just need the accountability to follow through.
If you’re a member at FF, make sure to sign up for the 21 Day Posture and Performance Challenge that’s starting soon. Ask a coach for details.
If you don’t have a coach, we’d love to invite you into Faster Fitness to experience what we do. You can click the link below to learn more!