Why it Feels Different to Train with Us

Our clients often remark that training with us is 'different' and the work feels 'more focused' and 'more in-depth' than their previous workouts. We don't use a 'standard' model to train ourselves or our clients; we do things differently.

At The Movement Cave, we use the Functional Range Systems' Internal Strength Model to train our athletes. So, what is internal training exactly? 

You watch a powerlifter lift a heavy barbell. "That guy is super strong," you tell yourself, but what exactly did you witness?

You just witnessed an athlete organizing themselves internally, drawing upon the determinants of strength within himself, to produce force in the external environment; you watched the emergence of many internal qualities to produce a recognizable feat of strength.

The critical point to understand here is that all outward expressions of performance and feats of strength are limited by the determinants of strength that exist within the athlete and their ability to draw on those qualities. 

The internal training model directly trains those internal determinants: improving the interior architecture, altering usable ranges of motion, creating more durable and responsive tissues, and building connectedness throughout the system. Internal training is the process of training the internal environment and mechanisms of the athlete and making them more accessible when called upon. 

Internal training improves our ability to operate in our external environment, sport, and day-to-day lives. It can be translated and transferred to external tasks. Internal training can build a better hip that you can access more of. You can then choose to take that hip out running or play basketball or hockey and see your performance improve. However, the inverse isn't always true; focusing solely on external tasks won't give you the specific internal qualities you lack - because of  - yep, you guessed it specificity. In fact, only focusing on the external task will likely come at the detriment of your internal environment in the long term.

Let me give you an example of how internal training played a role in my training over the last few years: 

Up until three years ago, I had been an 'external' athlete. I always focused on the mileage I ran or the new skill I was trying to learn above everything else. There came a point where I said to myself, 'I'm doing this all wrong,'  I was permanently injured and never improving in fact I was going backward.

After the birth of our second child I set myself a new goal. My goal was to achieve multiple reps of a back squat with a barbell loaded with my body weight.

Why did I pick this particular goal?

The idea of physically lifting my body weight seemed inspiring, empowering even, implied at least a basic level of overall athleticism, and presented a sizable challenge to my lower body's strength, flexibility, and control.

I picked it because I knew it would be tough. I picked it because I knew it would be a long-term project because of where I was starting.

So, what was I starting from?

I had recently given birth to baby number two.
I had severe lower back pain.
I had nagging pelvic pain.
I had sporadic knee pain.

In short, many internal factors at specific joint and tissue levels required my attention before I could meet my external goal of the body weight back squats. 

Most 'standard model' programs will only focus on the external goal. Just start to squat and then squat heavier  - this is the linear path that many would expect to lead them to success. Squatting was a part of my training, but I spent less time actually squatting than you might think because I knew that just squatting alone would not have fixed my back. It would not have solved my pelvic pain or given me a more mobile hip and knee.

These problems are too specific to be addressed with a compound movement like a squat. I need to improve my anatomy on a specific joint and tissue level and bring that improved anatomy to the squat. For these reasons, most of my training was initially internally focused. 

Three years might seem like a long time, too long for some, but it was a time frame I was willing to work with because I knew the eventual payoff would be worth it. Now that I have reached my external goal and can do multiple sets and reps of body weight back squats with zero pain,  I still devote a portion of my training to maintaining the upkeep of the internal qualities that allow me to express a 150lb back squat.

The time I have to spend maintaining these qualities is far less than it took to achieve them in the first place, leaving me free to pursue other external goals in the future, knowing that the anatomy I have to draw on is a big upgrade from the anatomy I had three years ago. 

So, to summarise:

Internal training is carried out with the specific intent and purpose of improving the internal environment of the athlete and their ability to organize and access that environment.

External training has only the external outcome or movement pattern in mind. If you only focus on external training, your internal capacity will suffer.

If you currently have some external goals in mind, whether it's running a marathon, hitting a 300lb deadlift, or simply completing your first park run, there are some questions you need to ask yourself:

• Am I currently sacrificing my internal capacity for the external goal?
• Do I need to expand my inner capacity to achieve the outer goal?
• If my internal environment is good to go, what will I do to ensure the upkeep of that capacity for future me?

Are you interested in getting answers to these questions and learning more about internal training?
Drop us a line, and we can asses your current starting place and devise a plan that helps you get where you need to go. 

 Sian Milne

Co-founder of The Movement Cave.
(FRCms, FRSC, KINSTRETCH®, CPT)