‘The Bigger the Foundation, The Higher the Peak’
We often get asked at Compello,
‘Why don’t we do more 1 rep max attempts..?’
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Well firstly – our clients safety comes first and 1RM’s aren’t for everyone at all for this reason. Does your average office worker really need to know he can Bench Press 100kg? Does Doris the housewife need a max. effort Deadlift? I don’t think I need to answer that do I?
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Secondly, the place turns into a dick swinging contest and people start to adding all sorts of weight and the next thing you know, you’ll have people curtseying instead of squatting….
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We like to build people up using the absolute basics first, this gives clients a much bigger and stronger foundation.
As the very first line says ‘The Bigger the Foundation, The Higher the Peak’ – thats the exact view we have to our coaching and training of clients.
We want our clients to smash every goal they set when they come to see us and this is the single best way to do it.
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If you want to run a marathon, do you just go out and run 26.2-miles? No, of course you don’t.
You will build yourself up over a long period of time, perhaps starting as small as 1-mile. From here its just a slow accumulation of running technique and training time. Being able to know how to pace yourself and when your energy slump comes.
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It’s exactly the same in the gym, if you want a 100kg Back Squat, you don’t try and do that straight away having never done it before…
You set yourself a plan and slowly build to get there – starting with high rep work to build core control and motor control, trying to learn and know the movement so you know what a good rep is apposed to a ‘dodgey rep’.
This way, if/when you relapse and have a while away from training you’ll have a much better chance of getting back in the groove of things when you start.
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We take the long term view as it’s the best way to do it…
If you get results in the short-term, you’re most likely to lose those results in the short-term as well.
Want longevity in your training, don’t take the shortcut and ‘build yourself a bigger base‘ – it’s the most important thing you can do.
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Chris
PS – Especially if you’re recovering from injury!