Monthly Archives: April 2012
The Essence of Training – Part IV
“The maxim “Nothing avails but perfection” may be spelled “Paralysis.” – Winston Churchill
Training for strength and fitness should be an individual journey that needs to be discovered on one’s own. Making mistakes are a part of life, let alone in your training so trying to have a flawless approach will only provide time wasted which could be better spent learning from doing. Discover the “essence of training”; realize that “necessity is the mother of invention” and that there are no restrictions when you set your mind on your goals. Uncover the freedom of training that enables you to enjoy “the process” and the benefits of your efforts. Recognize and learn that “simple” is the solution to a healthy and strong life – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
The One Rx Every Dr. Should Prescribe
With doctors doling out prescriptions now-a-days for every little thing a head cold does not get better when you take an antibiotic), I really wish they’d prescribe one form of medicine that can have the greatest benefit to all their patients and that’s strength training. 
There are so many benefits to strength training and because most of those in the medical field are unaware of them, strength training gets overlooked. Most people naturally gravitate to an aerobic type regimen, which is good, but the strength training component is so vital that doing cardio is only a small piece of the puzzle.
Dr. Wayne Westcott has done continuing research over many years and his simple yet direct response to Why Strength Train?
“The primary purpose of strength training, or strength exercise, is to improve muscle function. It will help you develop stronger bones, tendons, and ligaments, enabling you to perform better in all physical activities. Strength training reduces your risk of low back pain, illnesses such as diabetes and degenerative problems such as osteoporosis. It also helps you reach and maintain a proper body composition by boosting your resting metabolism and thereby burning more calories throughout the day, even at rest.” Now that’s a prescription worth filling!
Humans Were Made to Move
It is very interesting, quite surprising in fact, that many people who “lift” find doing other activities such as running, hiking, cycling, etc to be far less of an importance. Some even go so far as to say that performing activities/recreating doesn’t qualify as exercise. Personally, I don’t see the need to define what someone does to enhance their health and fitness, as long as they are doing something that results positively for them. Others will also argue that we are far better resting after we “lift” and that being sedentary is more profitable for overall health. I disagree.
Physical activity, in general, has many benefits that far outweigh a quasi-sedentary lifestyle. Fresh air, sunlight, socialization, just movement in general can be beneficial when intelligently incorporated into one’s life. A proper strength training program will enable one to not only improve their well-being, but offer functionality in life and therefore, I can’t imagine sitting idly by when I could be outside enjoy nature and benefiting from it.
A Little About Premiere Personal Fitness
Elevating the well-being of humanity by strengthening the body, mind, and spirit……
At Premiere Personal Fitness, we focus on health and fitness for all levels. Whether you are just starting an exercise program, rehabilitating an injury, an elite athlete or anything in between, we focus on personalizing a program just for you. Our private, 1,000 square foot facility is outfitted with some of the finest equipment in the industry such as Hammer Strength, Nautilus, Pendulum Fitness, Marpo Kinetics and Concept 2. We also have dumbbells, barbells and other “tools of the trade” to help you achieve your goals.
Our concept is simple: we utilize a high level of effort in our training sessions and provide a Safe, Efficient and Effective means to help you improve your strength and endurance. More importantly, each and every workout is personally supervised in our private training facility by Fitness Professional, Fred Fornicola.
Along with our well-equipped facility, we offer a clean, energetic and friendly environment that is conducive to making your fitness experience a productive and enjoyable one. Improving health and fitness is not only about the body, but the mind and spirit as well, and at Premiere Personal Fitness, we focus on the “total package.”
The Essence of Training – Part III
“The desire to know is natural to good men.” – Leonardo da Vinci
Now, my personality is such that I like to understand why things happen. I don’t necessarily need to get down to the last nut and bolt, but I do strive to have as good a comprehension about things as my gray matter will allow. I ask many questions (too many at times which many of my peers can attest to) with the goal of learning “why” – not mimicking what is told to me. I have had the great fortune of speaking with many individuals who truly understand and know training. The funny thing is, none of them ever get caught up too much in the science and research or what they think may work, they just tell you what they know to be true – straight forward, like it is, no bullshit. These guys understand “the essence” of high intensity training which, when you get right down to it, is simple to comprehend yet missed by many. Our discussions are often about how so many individuals are misguided and confused about such a simple concept for training safely, efficiently and effectively. It has become unfortunate but the industry of strength has been so polluted by money whores, cult followers and an endless line of ignorant know-it-alls that few can filter out what is a productive approach to health and fitness. Neither I nor anyone else can give the exact specifics of how someone should train, however I do believe that there are certain criteria that needs to be met such as consistency of effort, proper form, hard work, ample rest and solid nutrition. When these principles are met they will produce gains in strength as well as conditioning while maintaining integrity to ones health – both short and long-term. A simple concept of using an intense level of effort on a handful of basic exercises along with some recreational/cardiovascular activity, eating wholesome foods and having adequate rest — all of which should be done on a routine basis — has been a mainstay for hundreds of years. But this philosophy surprisingly is still vehemently opposed. There are no perfect routines, exercises, repetition ranges, diets, or miraculous findings that are “best” and anyone claiming otherwise is a flat-out liar.
Training isn’t just about the X’s and O’s; it’s about a true understanding of the process. It’s about what takes place in the body and mind when you exercise and what benefits you receive – not how much you squat while wrapped up in a suit and knee wraps and shoving ammonia up your snoot to “get psyched”. When you bring training down to its purist form, it is as simple as putting one foot in front of the other. The problem is that most are frozen in one place – deathly afraid to take a step for it might not be the “perfect” approach.
How Do They Workout?
Ever wonder how other people train – especially when they get older and have been doing it for 20+ years? It’s great to read about how other people approach their strength and fitness and I am very fortunate to be able to interact with 100′s of people and discuss their methods, philosophies and what they’ve experienced over the years. Last year I found myself so intrigued that I took on the task of interviewing over 40 people who have been in the iron game for a very long time and produced an e-book called “Strength and Fitness for a Lifetime: How We Train Now” (and for only $10). Here are some thoughts on this collection:
Click on the Image for More Information and Order Your Copy
“Exercise has been part of my life for more than forty-five years. It is far more important for me and all adults to participate in meaningful exercise to help maintain or possibly improve the quality of life. For some adults it is difficult to find the motivation and easy to understand evidenced based information. ”Strength and Fitness for a Lifetime: How We Train Now” should provide both the information and the inspiration to help get you started or find new ideas to add to current exercise regimen.” - Dan Riley
“It’s still unusual for people to be training diligently and hard in their middle to older years. So much of the available information and materials are geared toward people just starting to train or for serious, but younger people. I thought by being involved in this project I would gain a lot of understanding about how people have stayed motivated and adapted their training as they’ve become older. At the same time, I wanted to contribute my own experiences to this project because I believe they can be helpful to others”. – Richard Winett
Here’s a short list of some of the contributors:
Clarence Bass, Jim Bryan, Matt Brzycki, Mike Buckley, Glenn Citerony, Mark Collins, Bill DeSimone, Fred Fornicola, Logan Franklin, Jeff Holt, Dan John, Sunir Jossan, Hank Kearns, Tom Kelso, Jim Kielbaso, Dan Martin, Keoni Ronald May, Steve McKinney, Andy Mitchell, Bill “Wicked Willie” Peel, Dan Riley, Dennis Rogers, Doug Scott, Bob Sikora, Wayne Westcott, Dwayne Wimmer, Richard Winett
Going Mo-Bile
Become YouthFIT Certified
Having the right personal training certification can be extremely helpful to your clients and your career. There are many certs available, but because the fitness industry is wrought with opinion, many certs can be biased and flawed. The Premiere Personal Fitness YouthFIT Certification is based on in-depth research on anatomy, nutrition, stretching/flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and much more. Becoming YouthFIT certified will enable you to confidently work with not only today’s youth but other demographics as well as much of what is offered covers the human body i
n general with a specialized approach to youngsters.
S.E.E. Things Through
The concept of improving one’s fitness is quite simple, yet not easy as it most certainly takes discipline, hard work and proper coaching. An individual should find a form of exercise that is Safe, can be done in an Efficient time frame and produces Effective results. Of course, there should always be an element of fun to keep things interesting as well as challenging enough to keep you wanting to come back for more.
I witnessed a workout just the other day where a woman proceeded to perform bodyweight squats and immediately then banged out some very good quality pushups. She quickly transitioned into a plank hold followed by a couple sets of crunches. She chose exercises that she liked and worked for her and her form was excellent. Her workout took approximately 10 minutes to complete and she felt physically and emotionally satisfied (and looks great too).
So when devising an exercise regimen, remember to S.E.E. things through for a successful and meaningful program.
The Essence of Training – Part II
“An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin
Too often in today’s fitness world there is an overabundance of misleading information that seems to wreak more havoc than good – actually failing miserably at providing some sense of solution. Most individuals who are searching to find what is “best” or “optimal” are given guidance by those who merely regurgitate what someone else prescribed, or will echo advice based on what they think they know to be right – albeit way off base. This industry has become one that is 90% opinion and 10% science, and because of these off-base recommendations espoused by “those-in-the-know” many will become caught up in experimenting with the latest fads, trends, “new magical discoveries” and labor endlessly over all the little intricate reasons of “why” a particular lifting strategy may or may not work. Because of this direction, it has made it more and more difficult for anyone to truly understand what is and isn’t an effective means of training, usually because they fail to have a true understanding of what an effective approach to fitness entails. Unfortunately, the so-called magical discovery becomes the focal point for many trainers and trainees alike, and usually causing one to lose sight of what is truly important: the actual training itself. If this kind of thing happens to these “experienced” individuals, just imagine how devastating and paralyzing all this information is to the beginner? Regardless of age or experience, we are all beginners in some capacity every time we undergo a new endeavor. The challenge, however, is in knowing how to circumvent your way through all the crazy turns based on what experience has taught us by using our noggins for more than a hat rack. If people took the time to use their intellect to evaluate information instead of being lured in by the many people or groups who claim to have the answers to all the important questions, there would be less time wasted laboring over what will produce the best results.
