Quality Over Quantity

When it comes to strength and conditioning training you want to think about quality vs quantity. Lengthy training sessions are often the result of excess rest between sets or a lack of intensity. More training and more reps at a less intensity does not necessarily mean more growth or faster results. You need to train with intensity in mind. When you train with more intensity and less reps, you can often achieve more, in less time. With that said, below are just a few ways you can get more intensity & results out of some popular exercises.

1. Push Ups – There is nothing worse than watching a guy do a set of 50 push-ups and his chest barely goes near the floor and his elbows are fully bent! Instead of doing 50 “bunnies” as we refer to the fake push-up, just do a good set of 20-25 and thru consistency; over time those numbers will increase. A perfect push up means your head is up, back is straight and you perform a full range of motion touching your chest to the floor. Even if you can only do five perfect pushups, that is fine. Start there and work your way up each week.
2. Crunches – When it comes to crunches, I suggest to try to touch your knees and elbows every time at a slow and controlled pace bringing your chin to the ceiling (not your chest). Some people believe that doing more crunches at a faster pace is better because they did “more.” However, that is not the case. By slowing down each crunch, you are isolating your muscles, making them work harder.                      
   Tip: When you perform ab exercises during your workout, your posture may be just as important as the actual exercises that you complete. If you slouch your body while exercising, your abs will not receive the proper isolation, and you may not see the results that you want. When exercising, ensure that you maintain a neutral spine and engage your abs by pulling your belly button to your spine.
3. Pull-ups – Get your chin over the bar – then your chest to the bar. One of the most common errors while performing pull-ups is cheating the range of motion by not going low or high enough on each rep. If you’re using a less efficient technique or if you’re neglecting one or two of the main components that go into a correct pull-up you are at risk for injury while putting a limit on your performance from the start.