As coaches the main reasons people come to us are to improve aesthetics and or performance. But over the past few years my mind has been opened to some new ways of thinking about the benefits of exercise beyond how it will affect body composition.

Movement to improve mobility. Since we’ve switched to our full body template, you’ve probably noticed even less aches and pains for you. There are some exercises that are obviously going to have a mobility component (like a Cossack Squat for example), but what I’m getting at here is that even repeated exposure to more “basic” movements can improve mobility over time!

Life happens outside the Sagittal plane. The vast majority of what most people think of when they picture movements in the gym are Sagittal plane movements (forward and backward motions like sit-ups or biceps curls), but life happens in the Frontal and Transverse planes (particularly sport) as well! So it’s important to get reps in multiple planes of movement, even it might seem trivial, like this example of adding a side step into a Landmine Squat. Of course there are core and coordination training benefits associated with the previous example too, not to mention keeping things fun by adding little twists to exercises we’ve seen before.

As we’ve talked about in other blog posts as well, learning new movement has a neuroprotective effect. So in addition to the boosts to mood that can come with exercise, we’re also reducing risk of cognitive decline associated with aging!

So keep thinking about which muscles are being worked from a strength perspective when we’re doing new exercises in the gym, but also keep in mind that something might be included in a program for all the reasons listed above as well, and get you on board with fitness for life.