General Physical Preparedness
Many of my new clients like the idea of lifting kettlebells and swinging clubbells, training and possessing increased levels of sophistication but can’t do 10 pushups, a single pull-up or get tired walking across the room – that’s where GPP or General Physical Preparedness training comes in!
“GPP training serves several functions: 1) the formation, strengthening or restoration of habits (skills) which play an auxiliary, facilitory role in sports perfectioning. 2) As a means of educating abilities, developed insufficiently by the selected type of sport, raising the general work capacity or preserving it. 3) As active rest, assisting the restoration processes after significant, specific loading and counteracting the monotony of the training. These functions define the role of the general-preparatory exercises in the athlete’s training system.” (Medvedeyev, 1988)
GPP can be done in many different ways but over the years i’ve seen time and again the the heavy, basic natural movements are the way to go. Cant beat them. Squat, deadlift, some kind of rowing or pulling movement (barbell rows/pull-ups) and a pressing movement like the over head press or the bench press, will be the strength base that everything can platform off.
Providing these movements are done with the correct instruction, the benefits can be great. Increased strength, fixing imbalances, the ability to attain greater levels of flexibility safely and increased cardio are all rewards for time spent lifting real iron. Once you’ve really studied these brutally basic movements you’ll discover that they too can be performed with there own level of sophistication.
GPP isn’t just for the new and uninitiated but also for the athlete or weekend warrior who’s moved up the pyramid performing and spending more time on other, more sophisticated levels of training. You will actually bring your increased and developed motor functions to the more “traditional” exercises and be able to perform them with greater efficiency, less chance of injury and with better results.
A lot of coaches will argue if GPP is even necessary! Many say that it is not and that that an athlete’s time is better spent on their sport. In my findings and opinion, i have found that purely training for one’s sport will all but ensure over specification and weakness.
And if you’re in the sport of LIFE, then creating a large enough (GPP) base that everything else can easily platform off is a must for a heathy, pain free journey up the sophistication ladder.
I like revisiting and increasing my foundational level of strength, VO2 max and various corrective exercises every year as it ensures that I am able to endure the rigorous of the specific training I put my body through. One of my teachers, Scott Sonnon, is often quoted in saying ‘be more prepared than the challenges you face’ and i think that describes this whole subject perfectly.
If i’m entering a grappling competition where i’ll be suplexing 85kilo fighters I want to be deadlifting/squatting double that. Not only then will I be able to safely perform specific power-metric movements (increasing my explosiveness) in preparation for contest day but also to endure the months of training leading up to that day. Possessing strength in the bank will help with long, injury free training camps.
GPP isn’t specific to strength training or cardio but for me, going back and performing basic levels of Intuflow (joint mobility) really concentrating on deepening my practice focusing on flexibility (the rebalancing benefits of deep yoga practice) and getting treatments with an osteopath or structural integration practitioner are all important pieces of this base level puzzle.
Cultivating something I like call Essential Life Force (ELF) energy (others call it ‘Prana‘ or ‘Chi’) by meditating, yogic and chi kung breathing exercises, crystal healing and spending more time with friends and family are incredibly important and beneficial. Life, the world and everything that happens within it can drain you, stress you out and can leave you drained emotionally and spiritually (which will obviously affect you physically) and investing in some active recovery for you mind as well as your body can go a long way in preventing burn out and illness.
Don’t be scared to revisit and spend some quality time with GPP – your body, mind and spirit will thank you for it!
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Even more incentive to get back to the big basic lifts. Thanks for the inspiration!
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