Get Ready. Get Set. GO BEYOND!
Everything you need to know to get ready to go Beyond Lifting!
Beyond Lifting Challenge
Learn from Academy Director, CJ Gotcher, as he outlines the next three weeks with insights into the hows and whys of success in these different goals
There is no question that getting stronger will help you be healthier, fitter, and more capable.
Whether your goal is to keep kicking around longer, enjoy adventures with friends and family, or win in sport, mission, and life, strength will help with that.
But health goes beyond lifting, and because a healthy body adapts better to the stresses of strength training, the verdict is in:
Being stronger makes you fitter, and being fit makes you stronger.
During the three weeks of this challenge, you’ll commit to making changes in three major areas outside the iron:
- Nutrition
- Conditioning, and
- Daily Activity
Combined with strength training, good food and quality movement can change your life, and we hope you’ll stay with us to see just how effective they can be for you.
Conditioning Targets
Conditioning TargetsHistorically, lifters have a hate-hate relationship with cardio. Many people choose strength training because it means they don’t have to run.
This is unfortunate because conditioning is a powerful tool to improve both general health and a lifter’s ability to get stronger. Over time, fitter, more active lifters adapt better to training stress.
It’s also unfortunate because it means many lifters are out of the habit of doing cardio of any kind, and with a little experimentation, you can almost certainly find conditioning exercises that you actively enjoy.
Let’s Go Beyond, Together
We know whether you crush it or find the targets challenging, it often helps to have others share the journey with you. For the month of January, our Facebook Group – the Strength Coaches’ Learning Corner – will be dedicated to everyone attempting the Beyond Lifting Challenge – feel free to join us there!
Step Counts
Step CountsAlthough conditioning is an efficient way to develop aerobic fitness, research and experience show that the human body is built to move, and getting in some time running or biking might not be enough to balance the harm done by hours and hours in a car commute or in an office chair staring at a screen.
One way to help track and encourage this movement is to count steps.
Step counts aren’t perfect for measuring activity, and the tools we have to track step counts aren’t perfectly accurate, but most are good enough to help us get clarity on our habits and encourage us to move a little more each day.
For many people, step counts seem intimidating because of the cost, but you don’t necessarily need to put down a chunk of money on fit-bling. In today’s video, we’ll break down the tools you can use to successfully navigate this challenge and beyond:
- Fitwatches
- Phone Pedometers
- Timed Walks
Choosing Your Nutrition Habits
Choosing Your Nutrition HabitsNutrition is the fuel of every other physical goal, and what goes in your mouth will come out in your results. Nutrition is also built around habits. So, for this challenge, we are focusing on building one great habit.
We’re giving you three habits to pick from:
- Keep a food journal
- Reduce added sugars
- Drink your water
Pick one to master during this three-week challenge.
No matter what habit you choose, you’ll start off easy in Week 1 and increase the difficulty (and efficacy) of that habit each week. Think of this like a linear progression for one key part of your nutrition. By the end of the challenge, you will have nailed it and will be ready to move on to a new habit, if you so choose.
Which you choose is up to you, but you should try to pick a habit that is challenging and not something you are already doing on a regular basis.
Beyond Lifting Workbook
To help you get going and stay on track, you’ll have access to our free Beyond Lifting workbook. With weekly goals and daily entries, it’s an indispensable tool for tracking your progress.