Issue #64

1) Why you need balance training.
2) 3 wellness ball exercises to challenge your balance.
3) 5 basic principles of strength that everyone needs to know.
4) Exercise of the week: Single-Arm TRX Rows.

Read time: 3.5 minutes

Here are some words I live (and train) by.

Short-term results are short-lived.

The only way to be strong in 10 years is to train for exactly that – to be strong in 10 years, not within the next 6 months.

If you want to change your life for the long term, or even forever, you need to be patient and accept that it will take a long time to build something that lasts.

Don’t try and add weight to your lifts every week, but train to consolidate what you already have.

Because if you don’t think in terms of building blocks, you’re just building a house of cards.

People trick themselves all the time by mistaking their rushing for quick progress.

But when they don’t end up injuring themselves, they plateau or take a holiday break and “lose everything” in 2 weeks.

Don’t be impatient. You’re going to be 10 years older anyway. Now is the time to decide whether you’ll be 10 years stronger or still in the same place.

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1. Why you need balance training.

Training in an unstable environment is an excellent way to build balance, but also functional strength, solid joints, and strong secondary muscles.

An “unstable environment” simply means that you are using tools that are not steady and force you to use smaller muscles called stabilizers.

This will also gradually strengthen your connective tissue (tendons, ligaments), which in turn will make you a much tougher athlete. And it’s a great way to improve your proprioception (body awareness) too.

These are all very important factors in injury prevention, especially as you age.

There are different tools you can use to create this unsteady effect:
• Wellness ball
• Gymnastics rings
• Sling trainer
• Elastic bands instead of dumbbells
• Balance dome
• Balance pads
• And more

Want to know where to start? Read on.

2. 3 wellness ball exercises to challenge your balance.

Here are 3 Wellness Ball exercises that will greatly increase the strength of your stabilizer muscles in your whole body.

1) Incline Plank: There are 8 muscles in your shoulder, and around 20 muscles support it. Keeping your hands on the ball will force you to recruit many of them just to remain steady.

2) Decline Plank: This time, it’s your feet that rest on the ball, which will cause your lower body to sway in different directions. You’ll need to engage your core a lot more to keep your upper body and lower body in line.

3) Split Squat: Having one leg on a ball instead of a steady surface will force your hips to move from side to side. It’s actually the leg on the floor that will need to work harder to keep you balanced. This will especially train muscles that support the foot, ankle, and knee.

Here’s how Bulgarian Split Squats on a wellness ball look like:

3. 5 basic principles of strength that everyone needs to know.

1) Strength is a skill. It is learnt and honed through practice, and greatly involves your nervous system. If you want to progress, embrace repetition and avoid too much variety in your training.

2) Lift heavy. This is your goal, so this is what you need to practice. There is no secret or workaround.

3) Fewer reps. You get good at what you repeatedly do, so to build strength you need to lift very heavy, which you can only do for a few reps and that’s fine. 3 to 5 reps work best.

4) Long rest times. In order to lift very heavy for a few reps and several sets, you need to fully recover between sets. 3 to 5 minutes are often necessary.

5) Proper form is crucial. Again, you get good at what you repeatedly do, and you must learn good form early. While you may be able to lift more with bad form at first, it will eventually catch up with you and you’ll hit a plateau.

Once you know these principles, they can be applied to pretty much any type of training or movement.

4. Exercise of the week: Single-Arm TRX Rows.

The single-arm TRX row is a multi-purpose exercise that builds upper body strength, improves stability, and fixes muscle imbalances.

Unlike traditional rows, this variation forces your core, shoulders, and grip to work harder to maintain control, making it a full-body movement.

What makes it special?

• Unilateral Strength: Training one side at a time helps correct muscle imbalances, leading to better symmetry and injury prevention.

• Core Activation: Your abs, obliques, and lower back work overtime to prevent rotation, improving overall stability.

• Increased Range of Motion: The TRX allows for a deeper stretch and more controlled contraction compared to standard rows.

• Scalable Intensity: Adjust the difficulty instantly by changing your foot position—stepping closer to the anchor makes it harder, stepping back makes it easier.

Whether you're an athlete looking to enhance pulling power or just want a stronger, more stable upper body, single-arm TRX rows are a must-have in your routine.

They build strength, control, and balance—all in one move.

Click this link for the full YouTube video and instructions.

I hope you found some useful tips and motivation in today's edition.

Please share your feedback and help me improve my content for everyone!

A great way to do this is by replying to this email with a personal question you have about fitness.

Thanks for reading and see you next week!

- Nico

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