What Are You Training For?

What are you training for?  I feel like this is a common question that I ask myself and my clients. I always answer that I am training for life, but what I really want to say is why not train?  I have been a competitive skier for a long time so there has always been a set goal to train for the upcoming free skiing competition season. Now I am moving into a different realm of skiing but that does not mean that I do not need to stay strong for my sport.

Even though I am not training for competition, I still want to be very strong in all my passions and sports that I participate in. Training has become a way of life for me.

Consistent training helps with my past injuries and the chronic pain that comes with those injuries.  With training, I feel much stronger when I am skiing, biking, and climbing. Training also helps my mood and my stress levels. I personally love to strength train 4 days per week and also participate in my outdoor activities. I love training sports specifically for skiing, biking or climbing because then there is a goal in sight.  For myself, I am training for a better life and never see a reason not to train.

There are myths out there that say is no reason to train unless you have a goal and are working towards something. I feel that all of us can be working toward something whether it is to prevent injury, increase performance, weight loss, increase overall strength, or for stress reduction.  Goals are important to have, but it does not mean you have to be training for a marathon or a competition.

When a person is able to maintain base fitness then it is easier to decide a month prior to a possible event such as a road bike race or a 5k fun run. It is a lot harder on your body to be only running all summer and then decide that you want to participate in a bike race.  If you have the basic strength it makes it a lot easier to move into sport-specific training.  Doing so also will decrease your chances of injuring yourself.  I work with a lot of people that decide they want to run a marathon but have not trained in sport specifically through strength training.  I see them come in with injuries to their knees and backs. With Wright Training's programming model, a person does not have to 'waste' a lot of time at the gym. The workouts are intense enough that you can see great results with just two one-hour training sessions per week. The programming is individualized to meet your needs whether your goals are maintenance, training for a marathon, training for life, or trying to improve your front squat.‍