Greasing the Groove

February 19, 2013 by Thrive Fitness 1 Comment

 

This funny thing happens as you get older. I can’t explain it fully and I don’t think that you do it on purpose…but it just happens, whether you want it to or not. It’s almost a paradigm shift of sorts in your life structure. You go from having all kinds of free will, energy, and lack of responsibility to having no free will, no energy and full of responsibility….almost over night.

 

Sometimes life just gets in the way of working out!!

 

And that’s when you have to accept that the days of going in and setting a PR every time you workout just isn’t in the cards any more. But at the same time, you don’t have to accept that there is no time to workout at all…this is when you fall into the trap. The trap that will take you years to crawl out of. I see it every day, people who were great athletes in the there “glory days” but don’t have time to train any more. Suddenly they’re fat, out of shape and have high blood pressure. Welcome to your Grease the Groove workouts.

 

Admittedly, I didn’t come come up with this workout concept. I pulled this out of a  book written by Dan John and Pavel Tsatsouline, Easy Strength. The theory behind the Grease the Groove workout is pretty simple. On those days that you don’t feel like you’re ready to hit your next deadlift max or feel like hitting 8 different exercises, come in and move around. In my mind, come in and move around means a couple of different things. Here are some options:

 

OPTION 1: Perfecting the Movements

 

The basic human movements should be trained regularly. Sadly enough this isn’t the case for most people, and instead people opt for the basic mirror muscle movements. The deadlift, for example, is a basic human movement, the hip hinge. Dumbbell curls, on the other hand, is a mirror muscle movement…..look in the mirror, see it, train it. I digress….if you are one the few who are regularly training true movement patterns (and everybody should be) then this option is for you. This is the day that you work on technique, perfecting the movements and making yourself as efficient as possible. After all, as you become more experienced in the weight room, gains are going to start to come more and more from perfecting technique.

 

OPTION 2: Mobility and Dynamic Warmup 

 

OK, this stuff should be done every day regardless. I don’t care if you’re a powerlifter, bodybuilder, gym rat or just average Joe, mobility work and warmup should be a part of every bodies routine. And, no, I don’t mean a few arm swings and toe touches.  This day is when you feel a little stiff, achy or just lazy in general. This day you spend most, if not all of your time getting yourself recovered from the day, the week, the month by a little self-myofascial release and some dynamic warmup. Everybody should have a foam roller. This is one of the cheapest ways to help keep yourself from ending up immobile and can also reduce the risk of knee and lumbar spine issues if used correctly.

 

OPTION 3: Complete Randomness

 

Sadly enough, this defines most peoples workouts any way. That way they’re called workouts and not programs. A program gives you a plan or general outline of what you will be doing of the course of a time period. A workout is  going in and picking things to do as you go. I digress again….for those of you that have a plan, this day can be for you. Your mind can’t always be ready for whatever it is you have planned that day. Maybe your day was too long or maybe it’s the end of the week and you simply don’t feel like hitting all your weights today. Instead you pick randomly. Maybe you start with some Kettlebell swings, then move to some farmer’s walks, on to Goblet squats, some chins next….you get the point, no rhyme or reason to it. By the end of the day, maybe you get in a great workout anyway.

 

Just remember that you don’t always have to have a knock down, drag out workout. Those days feel great, sure, and should be done when you feel up to them. But, sometimes your body just doesn’t want to do it or your mind as other things to worry about or maybe you just don’t have the time. That’s when you want to Grease the Groove. For more great Grease the Groove tips or any other random info you need, shoot us an email at info@scarlatostrength.com.