I had a funny/not-so-funny conversation with one of our members this morning. He also happens to be a jiu jitsu coach and black belt where I train.
The part that wasn’t funny was that he accidentally closed a heavy door on his hand as he left for class and mangled one of his fingers. He still showed up, finger wrapped in a Band-Aid and tape, and rolled with it throbbing, which was a testament to him.
After class, we were talking about what actually happened. He told me about the way he closes doors, but that this morning, something caught his eye. He got distracted, didn’t release the door in time, and the door caught him!
If only I could catch him in a real jiu jitsu move. 😉
I jokingly told him, “That’s why we make adults do reactive and explosive drills.”
It’s not entirely a joke.
As we age, power – the ability to exert force quickly, can decline roughly three times faster than muscular strength, or the maximum force a muscle can produce. While maximal strength decreases gradually after age 50, explosive power and neuromuscular reaction speeds decrease earlier and more quickly.
One reason is that the fast-twitch muscle fibers that contribute significantly to rapid force production are disproportionately affected by aging. Changes in the nervous system, motor-unit recruitment, and the ability to rapidly produce and coordinate force also play a role.
Strength matters, but strength alone doesn’t teach you how to react when something unexpected happens.
You miss a step.
You slip on ice.
Your dog suddenly pulls the leash.
Your kids run into you.
You lose your balance.
You need to catch yourself before you hit the ground.
You need to get out of the way quickly.
That’s where power, reactivity, and deceleration come in.
A few months ago, we changed our TEAM warm up system because we noticed that some members were arriving right as the session started and going into the training without getting adequately warm. We also wanted to begin incorporating more reactive work at the start of each session.
This month, we’ve expanded how we incorporate reactive and power drills into those warm ups.
In TEAM warm ups, you might see pogos into a split stance stick, lateral hops, medicine ball throws, snap downs, jump squats, shuffles, or partner-based reaction games.
In the training, you might see kettlebell swings, step downs, box squats, and a variety of isometric and tempo-based work.
These aren’t included because we’re trying to turn everyone into an athlete (although we consider each of our adult members athletes).
They’re included because being able to react is an athletic quality worth keeping.
Strength training gives you the ability to produce force.
Power training teaches you to produce force quickly.
Deceleration training teaches you to absorb and control force.
Reactive training challenges your nervous system to recognize something happening and then respond.
All of these qualities matter as we get older.
This does not mean every adult needs to jump onto a 24” box or perform high-impact drills.
And no one should ever do burpees. 🤬
We can scale the exercise, the speed, the range of motion, and the impact to the individual.
That’s part of what we do at ELEVATE.
Our goal isn’t to stop aging.
It’s to build physical qualities that give you more control over how you age.
You don’t know when you’re going to need to react.
Maybe it’s when you close the door as you head out of your house today.
And that’s exactly why we train it.