Dare to be F.I.T.

March 25, 2012

At F.I.T. Human Performance we believe that resistance training is key to good health and fitness. Health is a broad stroke term often used to generalize wellness and reduced risk factors.

Functional Individualized Training is your answer!  While health is individual to each of us based on our desired goals and function, all of our health may be improved with fitness at any point in our lives. Each of us has the responsibility to care of ourselves for our own livelihood and fitness level.

With the increase in “health-care” costs, as well as a pro-longed life expectancy… we truly do need to be conscious of our bodies and fitness. Think of how fortunate you truly are right now.

Health and Fitness is most frequently categorized under ‘fitness and exercise’. Thus parallels the constant pressure to appear physically fit. This is also a matter of personal opinion, but often carries with it the association of what the media and television view as a healthy look or appearance. That media ‘norm’ is nonsense of course, as the average person does not live every day looking like an airbrushed photo.  We are lead to believe that we should all be either skinny or muscular.  This is just not the truth.  What we truly want (and I’m speaking for all of us) is to be free from injury, pain, and disease.  In shape, with functional FIT bodies!

True fitness encompasses a variety of components that need to be coordinated for optimal fitness. These components are commonplace and very achievable. As a boy I recall a poster on the wall of my grade school gymnasium that read “DARE TO BE GREAT! STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY and ENDURANCE” All well and good, so what? With time, knowledge, and practice we can all accomplish that simple goal. 1. Do some resistance training. 2. Do some stretching exercises. 3. Do some Cardio. No problem, right!? Well, if it were all simple we would not be the fattest population ever. Here is my point…we need help.

My belief as a professional personal trainer is that resistance training (the strength component) is the key active ingredient when it comes to health and fitness. Look at a more intricate description of athletics and fitness, and you can see the importance of our program at F.I.T.

Take any athlete, to truly be great there are some necessary characteristics that must be met; 

Strength

Endurance

 Flexibility 

Genetics 

Neural Efficiency

Each of these components is an essential element of our performance and while one without the other may allow for some increased ability, it will not help us achieve optimal fitness or performance. One without the other is a hindrance. Let me explain;

STRENGTH exists in the muscular skeleton. The muscles of the body are used to propel and stop the body. Muscular strength is the only element that puts us in motion.  In sports a coach tells you “bigger, faster, stronger – wins the race!” For this, muscles must be trained.  And trained correctly! ONLY perfect practice makes perfect.  To train without function or biomechanics is training your body to be injured.

ENDURANCE or aerobic capacity is the body’s ability to circulate oxygenated blood and the muscles of the body to utilize the oxygen for energy to be created.  The heart is critical to pump blood to working muscles and must be kept strong. Strong hearts live longer! Cardiovascular conditioning builds aerobic endurance and the body’s ability to recover faster. Like NIKE says ‘Just do it’.

FLEXIBILITY is the normal extensibility of all soft tissues that allow a full range of motion of a joint.  The ability to move your body freely and avoid injuries in both the skeletal and muscular systems.

GENETICS are God given and predisposed. This is a matter of your genetic make-up with strands of DNA passed on by generations. This one is out of your control. No 7 foot tall jockeys or 4 foot tall NBA stars at the top of the sport. Genetics is the leverage factor and can’t be changed.

NEURAL EFFICIENCY is another factor that indicates the level of skill one may possess. No amount of practice will help a ball player who is afraid of the ball or just cannot grasp the nature of an activity. Even walking requires some balance and coordination, skill.

Again, muscular strength is the only active component of fitness. Without strength, all of the factors of fitness are at a disadvantage. Thus, a Strength Training program is a lifelong need.

The reasons to stay strong are numerous; quality of life, bone density, metabolism, heart strength, posture, self-image. Stop for a moment to consider the multitude of disease our bodies could not combat with a sluggish immune system. Strength is the key, but often we do not follow through with the will to stay fit for just as many reasons. We don’t have the equipment, the knowledge of what to do, the fear of injury, or in most cases the time it takes to make it happen. True as this is, it is a horrible excuse. One thing is certain; we are growing older as we read this. So, I say this “get busy getting stronger or get lazy getting weaker.”

At F.I.T. we offer a Strength Training program that is second to none. We offer only functional Personal Training with a qualified Corrective Exercise Specialist, certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. The principals we abide by are time tested and work. Our number one priority is your safety and your success. You will get stronger, more flexible with better mobility, and train for function…get FIT!

In good health,

Bob