Raising the Bar on Fitness and What It Means to be “In Shape”
Athlete’s Arena has gained a great reputation in the area of youth sports performance training in the past 4 years.
Recently we have been in discussions with the local medical community about general wellness and providing services that focus on weight management and fitness for the general population. One area we will begin to focus on is the injured adult needing assistance in returning to the everyday challenges of life.
Are we not all athletes in our own right?
One of the best demonstrations of athleticism I have ever seen was a young mother loading groceries in the back of her SUV: holding her toddler in one arm while loading the groceries with the other in a pair of high heels. This took strength, dynamic stability, precision and endurance! One issue with personal training I have always had is that many “certification in a box” trainers and GLOBO-Gyms have lowered the standards of what it truly means to be a functional human being. As a result, many clients assume that being fit consists of a machine circuit, some crunches or even a day of doing “arms”. It is time to raise the bar of what it means to be “in shape” and improve the quality of people’s lives.
Now, I understand the hustle. Personal training is a business and gyms are more likely to hire a good sales person than a qualified trainer whose clientele get the results they are looking for.
What is the solution for this problem? Here are a few tips for people who are looking to start a fitness program on their own, or searching for a qualified personal trainer to help them along the way.
Get an assessment during the consultation for an idea of your current fitness level. Body composition, aerobic capacity, muscular strength and endurance among others are common tests. With our clientele, we often implement the Functional Movement Screen to identify risk of injury in our clients as well as a Postural Assessment with corrective exercises to eliminate compensation and dysfunction and improve overall quality of life
Are you going to be sore the next day? Yes! Should you not be able to walk up a flight of stairs or wash your hair the next day? No. I have seen many trainers find joy in hammering their clients the first day, or measure how effective their workout was by how sore their client was. Muscular soreness, sure! Pain? No. Don’t chase the workout, chase the result.
Ease into more intense workouts properly. A good trainer will know how to do this with you and make your experience a good one. Past success does not make someone an expert, Have you ever watched “The Biggest Loser”? One of my pet peeves is when they interview the person voted off a few months later and they are now a personal trainer. This is a recipe for disaster and will lead to unmanaged expectations and possibly injury. This is also something we see a lot in sports performance training.
A machine circuit is not the way to fitness. Here is where we have a distorted view of what fitness is: A 30 minute circuit in the machine area is not a fitness routine. I have seen people do the same circuit week by week but get no where. I have also seen trainers put clients through the same circuit every day and take advantage of their client’s lack of knowledge on fitness. This is highway robbery. Full body movements involving medicine balls, free weights, kettlebells or even body weight exercises taught by a credible trainer is the route to take. Stay away from machines on a consistent basis.
Learn to manage your own expectations “Results Not Typical.” You have just entered “THE SALES ZONE”. Getting in shape is hard work and will take dedication to an exercise routine as well as a balanced diet. Many personal training businesses and diet plans will use extreme cases to lure you in. A good trainer will manage your expectation and give you attainable short and long term goals that you can live with and enjoy. A friend of mine from college was a very successful bodybuilder. He was asked to do a before and after picture for a supplement company trying to sell a “ripped in a pill” supplement. My friend took his “before” picture in the off-season, first thing in the morning after 3 weeks of binge eating in attempt to look as bad a possible. After that, he started his competition training and diet including 2 hours of cardio a day, a strict bodybuilder diet (which is not realistic if you are looking to implement a long term life-change and a strict lifting program). Sixteen weeks later just before he competed in a major competition in California, they did his “after” picture. Do you know what it said in the ad? “This could happen to you.” Sure, if you are already a professional bodybuilder! This is not “managing expectations”. This is kind of like telling a first time golfer he will beat Tiger Woods. Starting a fitness program is not easy. Find a trainer or a partner who will hold you accountable as well as help you manage your expectations. These five tips will help you get started. Good luck!