Best Running Routes in Metro-Detroit
If you're a runner, you probably already know that strength training and running make a pretty damn good combination.
You don't need to give up your miles because you're strength training. In fact, getting stronger can be a huge part of becoming a more well-rounded runner.
So if you're doing your Core (LP) classes a few days a week and looking for somewhere to get your miles in on the days between, here are a few of the routes I'd recommend around our Berkley and Rochester Hills studios.
Not every run needs to be a training run. Sometimes you just need somewhere pretty to go run.
You Don't Need to Find Your Motivation. You Need to Decide.
I’ll be the first to say it as a trainer and owner of a fitness studio. Motivation goes in waves.
Sometimes I'm on a high and I'm excited to run, excited to work out, eating well, feeling good and really on top of things. Other times I just need someone to keep me accountable.
When I sign up for a group class, when I put my card down for personal training, you bet your ass I’m going to be there.
Because now I've done three things:
1. I've made a promise to myself.
2. There's someone there waiting for me.
3. I've made an investment.
I put my money behind the decision.
And all three of those things make a difference for me.
Because let’s be 100% honest for a second. You can know exactly what you should be doing and still need accountability to actually do it. That’s pretty human.
Do I Have to Lift Heavy to Build Lean Muscle?
The internet is screaming about Pilates vs Strength Training and lifting heavy vs the pilates body. And while I get that people have experienced transformation doing different modalities, we also have to understand that one of the most persistent myths in fitness is that muscle growth only happens with heavy weights and low reps.
Scientific consensus has largely debunked that idea. To get technical for a minute..multiple randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses—including landmark research led by Stuart Phillips at McMaster University—show that hypertrophy (muscle growth) can occur across a wide range of loads, as long as the working sets are taken close to muscular failure.
In other words, muscle growth is driven less by how heavy the load is and more by how close you get to the point where the muscle can no longer perform the task.
That is the definition of hypertrophy stimulus: sufficient mechanical tension and fatigue. Heavy loads are simply one way to reach that threshold. They are not the only way.