STAYING FIT: Articles Why EVERYONE Should Functionally Train! Functional training knows no boundaries, does not discriminate against anyone and is not a fad; functional training is here to stay! Most of you by now have seen the stability balls, balance boards, exercise bands and other similar types of equipment in your local gym...no they are not there to make you look silly! (make sure your gym has an abundance of these types of equipment, if they don't, you are in the wrong gym!) Believe it or not personal trainers (some, see footnote at the end of this article) use these circus like equipment to help assess, evaluate and eventually train our clientele. We are able to mimic our client’s environmental and physical needs to see how they react, adjust and eventually adapt to the external stimuli presented to them in a safe controlled environment. Many of you have experienced or are presently experiencing pain and or discomfort by doing everyday mundane activities. I intentionally separated pain and discomfort for a reason, there is a difference. Pain is something most of us go to a doctor for, discomfort is something we tolerate, take some sort of over the counter medication and hope it will go away. NEVER in my EXTREMELY YOUNG 41 years has anyone ever said to me “Rick, this is really weird, I bent over to to lift the car off the garden hose, when suddenly and without any kind of warning...I felt this sharp tweak in my back and it ran all the way up my spine." We all know that is absurd, however some of you have tweaked your backs by bending over putting on your socks and or shoes, picking up your child or their play toys, sprained your ankle stepping off a curb or step. Don’t you think that is a little absurd as well? One would think if we pretty much do the same things everyday than we would be proficient at whatever our daily activities and or workouts consisted of without pain or discomfort? Now don’t get me wrong, injuries happen everyday….is it possible most of these injuries can be avoided? In my opinion…most, if not all can be! Without functional training, the body, unbeknownst to you, has become intrinsically unaware of how to move properly, rendering it unable or incapable to communicate with the world around us. Our bodies protect us by using a language called proprioception. In Juan Carlos Santana’s book titled “Functional Training: Breaking the Bonds of Traditionalism (his website is listed on my link's page, if you are a trainer I highly recommend purchasing this book). He gives the definition of proprioception as “An input from various systems of the body, which tells the body how it is positioned. This stimulus is needed to teach the body how to interpret and react to it”. If that is still unclear to some of you, here is a simple test you can try on your self. Stand on one leg, extend your arms up and out so they are even with your shoulders, now close your eyes and alternate one hand at a time to touch your nose...some of you might have seen this particular movement on your local news or from watching one of our many reality tv shows "COPS". In closing, functional training, trains the body for whatever intent or task required of it at any given moment. I tell my clients in our initial consultation to forget about the cosmetic changes that lead them to me in the first place, let your physical appearance be a byproduct of you getting your body back to what it was designed to do in the first place…moving your body functionally and painlessly in all planes of movement! I invite you to contact me for a free postural and movement screening. SIDE NOTE: When looking for a personal trainer. Please do not pick them because of how they look...they might look that way because of or in spite of their training. That means, they might be blessed with great genes...it really woudn't matter what they did, they still would look the way they do...that does not help you! 1) What degree and or certification do they hold. 2) What is their CURRENT certification status and how long have they been certiifed. 3) Do they attend workshops or seminars throughout the year 4) Get referrals! 5)What are their future career goals There are a large amount that want to be or are already in the entertainment industry. (I have been there, I do have first hand knowledge) Personal training is a sales business, unfortunately as in any business that requires selling, there are sales people out there whose best interest is themselves...not yours! You are more than welcome to contact me with any questions on how to find a trainer that is right for you. NEVER, NEVER LET A PERSONAL TRAINER MISUSE OR DISGUISE FUNCTIONAL TRAINING OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF TRAINING, WITHOUT FIRST EXPLAINING TO YOU VERY CLEARLY AND CONCISELY WHY YOU ARE DOING WHAT YOU ARE DOING…ALWAYS ASK QUESTIONS. IF IT DOES NOT FEEL RIGHT TO YOU THAN IT IS NOT RIGHT FOR YOU…NOBODY KNOWS YOUR BODY BETTER THAN YOU DO! |