Around the holidays I ran into a former client of ours at a local sporting goods store. I had not seen him in several weeks and asked him where he had been. He gave me the usual song and dance. (when most people see me out in the real world when they have not been training I can see that defensive wall going up and their minds sprinting to come up with the excuses necessary to justify their lack of attendance) He of course let me know that he had been very busy with his kids sporting activities, work and busy schedule. He then jumped into an offensive stance. Feeling that he had me right where he wanted me, he volleyed back with the following statement, “I am here because I just bought a treadmill.” With a wry smile on his face he awaited my response. I simply replied, “That’s great, hope to see you soon, have a wonderful holiday.” I used to go back on the offensive and try to explain that walking or running on a treadmill is good for burning calories and cardiovascular strength, but it is a very limited training tool and is just one piece in the many pieces of the fitness puzzle.
Then we have those that are your typical after or before work health club warriors. This group is kicking it up a notch with 30 minutes on the elliptical (which in my opinion is a waste of time for any reason other than knee or hip rehabilitation) and another 30 minutes completing a machine circuit or hitting the weight room. This group puts in the headphones and spends an hour moving from machine to machine performing controlled range of motion exercises that involve pressing, pulling and raising a cable with selectorized weight attached.
Then you have the group exercise junky. This group attends high energy group classes 2-4 times per week. They dance and jump and pump and kick and crunch. As they step and slide and jog in place to the beat of the tunes, a hyperactive soccer mom with what looks like an AT&T operator headset strapped to her head in tight shorts and a sweat band yells out the next move and yells motivations like a Marine Drill Sergeant.
Now…before all of you gym rats and runners form a lynch mob and head out to Evolve and string me up, let me explain myself. I want to first explain what “Fitness” really is. My definition of Fitness is the ability to overcome everyday challenges. The greater your fitness level, the greater challenges you can tackle and overcome. The body “becomes what it does.” The activities that are performed in a training session are the activities that will improve in the outside world. If you run a lot, you will train your body to run. If you run at the same pace for a 5 miles a day…you will get good at that. But how fit are you? First of all, running is the shrinking man’s activity. By running LONG distances, anything over 2 miles at a time at the same pace, your body naturally wants to become more efficient at running, therefore your body is trying to become as light as it can with a small bodyfat store to use for energy. This results in the loss of muscle and the holding of small amounts of subcutaneous body fat. This is why when you look at most world class long distance runners they appear smooth in the midsection and slight in the muscle department. Compare this to a sprinter who has powerful muscle and extremely low body fat. This is the difference between the aerobic and anaerobic athlete. When we think about physiological make up and the human body, it was designed for short burst of energy. Our hearts work better in a Chaotic state. Going to 80% of max heart rate of a short time and then back down to just above resting is what it was built to do. Not sustain 70% off max for a long time and then back down to resting. Running is a great way to build lactic tolerance in the legs, low back and shoulders but it also makes your body take quite a beating. Your feet are handling 4 times body weight every time you step (there are over 2000 steps in 1 mile, 20,000 in 10 miles!) The pounding on the knees and low back can be debilitating. BUT! running is incredibly effective way to burn calories, by adding a functional strength program including body weight exercises, core stability training and anaerobic activities, not only will your running improve dramatically, so will your fitness level. Running alone does not help with everyday challenges such as awkward lifting if gardening or moving heavy objects, tasks which require muscular strength and endurance such as shoveling snow or short burst of energy when climbing stairs. Strengthening muscles to add performance function can also GREATLY reduce the long term nagging injuries that result from years of running.
Another important thing to consider when striving to achieve a level of overall fitness is multi joint movements and the aforementioned movement of awkward objects. When exercising on weight machines that control your range of motion, you may build attractive muscle but you fail to achieve the all important “functional” muscle. Circuit training machines tend to train one body part at a time in a controlled range of motion. In the real world of fitness, non-linear and multi joint movement is more common. This is why individuals with a perceived high level of fitness are injured when performing natural tasks. This is also a huge problem with athletes that build tremendous strength in main lifting activities like bench pressing, biceps curling and machine leg training. Although these athletes become quite powerful in the gym, their connective tissue, core and lack of flexibility prevents them from attaining a high level of functional strength, reducing the chance of achieving high levels of athletic performance and increasing the level of sports related injuries. The muscles become very strong but only in linear and controlled situations. Once they are required to move in an open environment they lack the athleticism to accomplish more complex tasks such as deceleration and change of direction. For the individual that is just competing in the Sport which is life, this prevents them from accomplishing everyday tasks that require non linear movements or those that require a high level of lactic tolerance. High levels of lactic tolerance allow individuals to increase their anaerobic threshold. I higher level of lactic tolerance allows the individual to train or work at a greater anaerobic rate for an extended period of time without the burning session associated with high repetition activities. This being said. Though I personally encourage Linear movements in exercise, be sure to incorporate non linear movements, body weight exercises and multi joint training to achieve a true high level of fitness. Also, aerobic activities that involve sustained levels of resistance are necessary, be sure to add an equal amount of anaerobic activities such as short sprints, jump rope and hill climbing.
The final mistake I see as mentioned above in the group exercise section is what I call the fitness “Routine.” Let me briefly explain what happens when you fall into this common problem with individuals with good intentions, but lack of understanding of how the human body reacts to exercise. First off I want to state is the group exercise environment is, in my opinion, the best venue to achieve a high level of fitness. Over 95% of our members at Evolve participate in our program in a group setting. By training within a group of positive, motivated individuals their is an energy that creates the most effective mental and physical situation for pushing through thresholds and going to the next level. Because why would you just want to maintain when with a small amount of effort you can constantly be improving! This relates to my first point on this topic. People that participate in activities such as Step Aerobics, Jazzercise and Spinning classes are putting themselves in the best situation to improve fitness wise but are setting themselves up for the following pitfalls. Adaptation happens when the same movements are performed for an extended period of time. This leads to the following physiological occurrences. First, the body begins to “adapt” to the rigors of training. An example of this is a construction laborer that performs the same activities everyday will develop strength and endurance with that activity but will eventually train his or her body to become accustomed to the work. This is why you may see a block layer or ditch digger at a job site and their bodies do not appear to be physically fit. Logic would dictate that by moving heavy earth with a shovel for 8 hours a day would produce strong powerful looking muscles, but the reality is, even though the individual may be building activity specific strength the muscles will reach a plateau and discontinue growth and strength improvement. This is why you do not see laborers with massive muscles resulting from their job requirements alone. The same thing occurs when you are taking the same classes with the same exercises on a daily basis. Eventually the body becomes efficient at those movements and significant improvement is non existent. The body is very good at becoming as efficient as possible, so when the individual participates in routine activities, not only does the body stop changing, it learns how to conserve caloric expenditure. So, when you start exercising in this fashion you may see some excellent results initially, but as you train more your body requires fewer calories to complete these common tasks and your muscles will accommodate resulting in a Fitness Plateau. That is why in order to achieve a high level of fitness, training must be constantly changing in repetition, levels of exertion and variable movement. By performing the same exercise routine over and over, even if it is performed at a highly intense fashion, mentally and physically the training can enter into a maintenance phase. For most people, failure to improve results in developing lack of interest and then boredom ensues. This is why so many people start off with good intentions and measurable results but then discontinue their fitness program all together just to find themselves back to where they started and committing to the same New Year’s Resolutions year in and year out!
The good news is at Evolve Performance-Fitness we have developed a program that addresses all of these issues and allows you to train in a positive, professionally coached environment so that you will achieve the highest level of fitness possible while avoiding boredom and up and down levels of fitness. Training sessions at Evolve are instructed by professional and experienced fitness and Sports Performance experts. Sessions are conducted in a positive, fun and motivating environment allowing the participant to not dread attending on a regular basis. Work outs are different every time focusing on all aspects of fitness. Aerobic and anaerobic training, functional strength, balance, flexibility and core stability are addressed during every session but in ever changing and creative manners. Whether you are an executive that just wants to achieve new goals or a High School athlete that is looking for that Division 1 scholarship, Evolve is the place for you. Our results speak for themselves. By offering adult and youth fitness classes, Boot Camps and Transformation programs, Sports Performance and Athlete Development, Martial Arts for youth and adults alike and Fighter development we have something to cater to your individual needs. Our class schedule is designed so anyone can find the time in their busy day to attend a variety of classes. Open 7 days a week we have class times starting at 6am until 7:30pm. We also care about our members and are passionate about doing what is necessary to keep you on track, help with nutritional planning and whatever it takes to get you where you want to go! We have spent almost 20 years perfecting our programs so that no matter what your goals, we will strive to help you achieve them. And the best part…all you have to do is show up.
For more information about what Evolve can do for you, do not hesitate to contact us:
Training Center: 234-248-4409
Email: evolveohio@gmail.com
Wesite: www.evolveohio.com
