Why Do we Train?

Good morning, everyone! 

I hope everyone had a great week, we certainly did at the gym! Megan has started bringing in new clients and they are all loving her! I was able to see one of her group sessions and they were having a great time, jamming out and dancing between sets while staying focused and getting a good sweat at the same time. It was fun to see! 

Zach has made it through another week with his 4:30am crew and all I can say is, God bless him. Those boys all get in there, bring a ton of energy, and get after it. Then they all, including Zach,  start their virtual school day. Shew! He has also expanded and brought in another group of Cape Football players that come in at 8pm during the week and then early on the weekends. That team is putting in WORK this offseason and I love to see it!

As for me, I started with several new clients. I started some days with one of my lacrosse players from West OC coming up at 6 am, and then immediately following I would work with the father of one of my Saltwater players. Both have a ton of potential and I can’t wait to see their progress.  

Why do we train?

To someone like me, the answer seems so simple. There are so many benefits to strength training—so many that I would bore you if I tried to list them all. Obviously, we know it builds lean muscle mass so we can look good on the beach, but what about all of the other benefits? Here I try to break it down, pick some of the most important reasons, including the biggest one that no one talks about. 

Heart Health

The most important benefit we get from strength training is the overall improvement of our cardiovascular health which ultimately lowers our risk of heart related problems. Have you ever heard someone say, “gotta get the blood pumpin”? Well, it’s not just a throw away statement. We need good blood circulation in order to get oxygen and other important nutrients throughout the body. With regular strength training we can increase our body’s lean muscle mass and give our cardiovascular system a place to send the blood being pumped. This means less pressure on our arteries which reduces our chances for heart related problems like a heart attack or stroke. 

Reduce Risk of Injury

At Incontrera Strength and Conditioning, we train a ton of athletes and although we want to make you stronger to dominate your competition, we also want to train in order to lower your risk of injury! Domination strength comes from years of training and slowly building muscle, but we can start working to make you “bulletproof” from day one. Strength training provides a dynamic load on the joints, creating physiological changes to the bones, muscles and tendons/ligaments. During competition the bones, muscles, tendons and ligaments are at high risk to get injured with the complex, dynamic movements we do on the field or court. Training helps strengthen muscle and tendons while increasing the flexibility of the ligaments. Muscles, tendons and ligaments are the support system of every joint, so as we strength train and progressively introduce and overload these movements, we decrease the risk of one becoming strained or torn.

Mentally Tough!

To me, this is the most important, and most gratifying, part of training. When I get a beginner in the gym, there always comes a day when they’re under the bar, it gets a little tough, they look at me, give up, and then I help them rack it. This is when we have the talk. The talk about how up until this point we’ve been moving weight relatively easily, learning the technique and getting the movements smooth. We’ve gone up in weight but that’s mainly because we started so low. We gradually get heavier to learn your strengths and start the real work from there. This “real work” comes when the exercise gets hard. When we have to actually push our limits and really work for our reps. When we’re under the bar and it doesn’t move so smoothly, that’s when we have to make the choice—give up and get help, or focus and grind. I tell my clients I am here to help, and I am, but you have to try! We need that mindset, that attitude, that when things get tough, we are able to rise to the challenge. We ask for help when we need it but not without giving it everything we got. 9 out of 10 times after this talk, we refocus and try that same weight, and they get it for the reps they were shooting for. It’s not a strength thing, it’s a mental thing. 

We need that grit, that mentality that when something looks tough - we say, “I am going to conquer it”. When we see a big, strong, and scary defender that’s marking us, we’re going to outwork him and beat him. When the cards are stacked up against us at work, we’re going to figure out a way to get it done. We’re not in there playing. We’re in there grinding. Getting bigger, faster, and stronger. We are getting the edge on our competition both mentally and physically. That is one of the biggest wins for me in the gym. At Incontrera Strength and Conditioning, we not only work to get you physically stronger but also work to make you a strong leader and mentally tough!

Hard Work Pays Off Client spotlight!

So this new section that we’re going to post every other week, spotlighting someone that comes to Incontrera Strength and Conditioning and represents what we stand for in and out of the gym. This week, our inaugural spotlight is Darby Moore. Darby is a junior at Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, MD and has been consistently coming to the gym 3 days a week since last fall. She has made major strides here, improving her strength and speed and last week she committed to Queens University in Charlotte, NC to play lacrosse! She has been working for this moment her entire life, on and off the field she has done everything she can to earn a scholarship to play lacrosse in college. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA, she trains with me, practices on her own, and has helped the 2022 Lady Blue Crabs lacrosse club rank number 14 nationally for their age group! This girl is determined and deserves all the great things that are coming to her. I’m very proud to have her represent my gym and I look forward to seeing her continue to dominate the competition in college! Hard Work Pays Off!