What Are Your Strengths and Weaknesses

We all have different strengths and weaknesses in all areas of life including fitness. Every time I workout with a training partner my eyes are opened up to a new perspective or I remember things that I have forgotten. With so many different aspects of fitness and so many different types of bodies out there it’s no wonder that even though we are vastly similar we are all vastly different as well.

Some examples of strengths and weaknesses are the upper body vs the lower body or the front of the body vs the back of the body. It’s a common occurrence for trainees to neglect the muscles on the back of the body A.K.A. the posterior chain. This can be caused by different reasons one of which may be that we can’t look at the results as easily. When we stare in the mirror, we see the front of our bodies so sometimes we become preoccupied with that. Whatever the reason, the strength and conditioning of the muscles on the back of the body is a common weakness.

My personal strengths and weaknesses have always tended to be a bit different. For me, exercises like push-ups or the bench press have always been a weakness when compared to exercises like the Deadlift. I think that part of the problem with our strengths and weaknesses is that once we realize we are good at something we tend to gravitate towards it, and we tend to avoid the things we are bad at. Of course, this only makes things worse. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good to have strengths and we will always be better at some things and worse at other things. However, that is not a permission slip to neglect the things that don’t come naturally to us.

Making a list of strengths and weaknesses is a good practice to keep things in check. It’s easy to push ourselves when training our strengths but it’s not so much when training our weaknesses. And remember, a weakness can be anything. A lot of people neglect cardiovascular training because it’s difficult, and because it doesn’t come naturally to them.

The moral of the story is balance. Balance, balance, balance! Strengths and weaknesses will always be present to one degree or another but if we balance our training, that degree will get smaller and smaller. And it’s important to focus not on comparing ourselves to others, but to focus on comparing where we are now to where we used to be. Remember to always strive to do better and support others in doing the same.