6 Misconceptions Of Athletic Performance Training

There are 6 really prevalent approaches to training for athletic performance that simply do not work.

Misconception 1: More Muscle = More Athleticism And More Strength

Truth: a lot of people with big muscles actually have weaker structures, more fragility, and are less capable of transmitting power than children.

A cow can crush a cat by sitting on it, solely because of its relative weight to the cat - but the cow is definitely not more athletic than the cat, and it’s certainly not as efficient the cat.

To be strong, the solution isn’t as simplistic as having bigger muscles.

How strong your body is can be assessed at this basic level: your ability to hold your own weight, with ease, in positions that are necessary for natural and athletic activity.

Misconception 2: Muscle Activation

Truth: you can’t turn isolated muscles on or off. Isolation of any kind is a myth.

The body works as one muscle. The only question is, whether or not you are balanced enough as a whole for your whole system to function the way it’s meant to.

Misconception 3: Applying Force Into The Ground

Truth: any attempt to consciously apply force into the ground is a total waste of effort.

Movement is an application of bodyweight, not muscle effort. Your job is to apply your bodyweight to move in any way. Due to gravity, any force deliberately applied into the ground is already taken care of.

Learn to use gravity to your advantage.

Misconception 4: More Training Is Better

Truth: when you train properly, less is required.

Most athletes and trainers don’t understand diminishing returns, quality over quantity, addition by subtraction, and, most importantly, engineering vs. exercising.

To improve the performance of any machine, you don’t work the machine more and harder - you deliberately engineer (or re-engineer) it to function smoother and better.

There is a way to apply this concept to training the human body, shifting focus from exercising to engineering, to produce superior results.

Misconception 5: Stretching Muscles For Flexibility

Truth: muscles don’t stretch, they only contract and relax.

Muscles are not designed to stretch. Muscles achieve their greatest length in their most relaxed state.

When a part of the body is, it’s perceived as resistance in the muscle, which causes it to tense. To increase flexibility, you have to become strong and stable enough to relax in the positions you want to attain.

Stretching muscles is just the wrong approach. The term comes from the idea that you’re stretching the body into different positions, which makes sense, but the application is wrong.

Misconception 6: Cardio (Or Conditioning) Is King

Truth: efficiency is king.

The body gets better with use; however, it is also a highly complex, adaptable system, not a dumb machine.

How it’s used is more important than how much it’s used.

The more the body is used incorrectly, the more out of balance it gets, and the more it breaks down and gets damaged.

The more the body is used properly, the better it works.

Conclusion

These are just a few misconceptions that we run into on a regular basis with athletes, which they’ve been taught by gym teachers, coaches, trainers, or social media. Based on our 30+ years of experience training (ourselves and other people of all ages), they mislead people. And basing a training plan on them frequently leads to a career-ending injury.

If you’re an athlete interested in coaching from us, on how to improve your athleticism, strength, coordination, flexibility, and movement efficiency, you can apply for personal coaching.

If you are a coach or trainer, and are interested in a consultation on how to improve how you train your athletes, feel free to reach out through our consulting form.

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