Dr. Andy Galpin

So where this differs than, say, the muscle size issue is

is muscle quality is about eliciting an improvement in human movement.

Whether this means we're more efficient, whether we're producing more power or speed, we've got to move in a certain way.

And so now we're talking about

a quality that extends outside of the muscle itself and into a human movement.

And so we want to be incredibly intentional about how we're moving.

Our technique, our rhythm, our timing, our tempo, what should be moving, what should be relaxed, what should be contracting is all critically important to moving better.

If you ask any sprinting coach, they're going to talk about things like rhythm and timing and tempo.

And what they're really talking about is this stuff.

How this applies to everyone else is simply understanding when I'm trying to contract, say, my pecs or my shoulders for a bench press, what should my glutes be doing?

Should they be contracted all the way?

Should they be totally off and relaxed?

Should they be halfway?

Things like that.

So paying attention to your movement quality is the fastest way for most people to actually move faster and move stronger.

Improve technique first and then chase after improving maximal capacity of the actual muscle fiber and tissue.

The third is in making sure you're balancing movement planes and posture.

So if you want to get a better squat, make sure that your glutes aren't significantly stronger than your hamstrings or that your adductors, your groin and the muscles that kind of pull your knees together aren't significantly weaker.

You will only ever be as strong and as fast as your weakest link in that movement chain.

So ensuring you don't have anything grossly behind something else and that you're training yourself so that the muscles move appropriately.