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The Power of Regular Activity

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What if we told you that you have the power to add years to your life span, perform daily activities easier or prevent disease and sickness?

The truth is we all have this power and it can all be accomplished through consistent, regular physical activity!

This can be planned exercise or any activity really that requires you to expend energy.

The power of regular movement, be it planned exercise or not, has many proven positive benefits. The more consistent the physical activity is, the greater the potential benefits.

Here is a brief list of what you can expect to achieve by introducing regular physical activity and movement into your lifestyle:

  • Lower blood pressure
  • Lower blood sugar
  • Improve cholesterol
  • Reduce your risk of heart disease
  • Reduce your risk of diabetes
  • Lose weight
  • Gain strength
  • Improve bone density
  • Improve range of motion
  • Stronger joints
  • Improve joint conditions (eg. arthritis)
  • Help with depression
  • Improve sleep
  • Increase longevity
  • Perform daily activities better/easier
  • Maintain independence
  • Reduce risk of some types of cancer
  • Improve cognitive abilities

This list could go on and on.

The human body was meant to work. Today we sit more then ever in the history of our existence so building regular physical activity and exercise into your life has become a necessity. The more we move and challenge our bodies, the more fit we become, the more efficient and effective we are and of course the healthier we are. So, get moving!

Be Strong, Stay Strong

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Anyone who has listened to Matt and I speak about the benefits of strength training, already know that we are, without a doubt, convinced that consistent, effective strength training is the key to a great quality of life. If I was given a choice to live ten more great, healthy, and happy years or to live fifteen years but the last ten of those fifteen years would be in ill health, I would choose the first.

To me, (and this is just my personal opinion), quality of life is everything. That is precisely why I chose this business. Life should not be a struggle, and unfortunately, simply because people do not stay strong in their elder years, life becomes a constant struggle, when, again, in my professional opinion, it should not be. I’ve referenced before in a previous newsletter that if you visit the small towns of Italy, nestled quaintly on the side of a mountain, the elderly there are strong and they stay strong long into their later years because literally everything they do is an uphill climb! Those in their 80’s and 90’s are still physically capable of more than you may think. I’ve witnessed it first hand and it just made me happy.

Here at home, I see constant examples of people in their sixties and seventies struggling to get out of their cars, go up a flight of stairs, walk upright with good posture, even to put their socks on. It’s not their age, although they are convinced it is. It’s because they have allowed Mother Nature to do her thing quicker than is really necessary. When I see these things, all I can think to myself is, “I can fix that with strength training.”

How many personal trainers do you know that can get a man out of his wheelchair that he’s been in for 35 years and have him walk again without it? You know one….me. While his surgeons and specialists were trying to figure out what surgery would best serve him next, I looked at him and figured out what muscle strengthening and stretching would serve him best. I won.

If you consider any sport (even golf), every athlete, regardless of their sport does strength training. Sports you never expected to benefit from strength training like auto racing, golf, skiing, tennis, soccer, curling, running, basketball, and such. Why, because the benefits of strength training go far beyond making and keeping you strong.

There are many, many more benefits on a list far too long to mention them all here, but some include mental clarity and alertness, better reflexes, better balance, increased flexibility, more efficiency in your blood flow which in turn brings more oxygen to your muscles more efficiently, increased bone density, and so on.

Well, if you’re not convinced yet to take up strength training if you haven’t already, don’t worry, I’ll likely write about it again some time, it’s that important. And for those of you who I have convinced, get strong, stay strong and live your best life because you only get one.

Gino

Prioritize Your Workout Plan for Better Results

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Here’s some important information that will help you achieve your goals quicker if you are not already aware.

When I walk through the gym periodically, especially if I spend some time there, I notice pretty much everything. Usually, the things that I notice are the things I write about in these articles, and I do it to help, not to criticize.

One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that many members spend a substantial amount of time stretching and doing abdominal work on the mats. That’s all fine and good and extremely beneficial, but if your priority is weight loss, or fat loss is what I like to call it, then although stretching and abdominal work should be a part of your time spent in our gym, the priority should be strength training and cardio.

I feel that there are still a lot of people who believe that doing abdominal work will trim down their mid sections by reducing the fat that has accumulated there over the years. Nothing can be further from the truth. Spot reducing is impossible. The only way to reduce the amount of body fat you have is to get your body to use it for energy, or reduce your daily caloric intake, or better yet, a combination of both.

So having said that, if your priority is to lose body fat, then you should warm up quickly for no longer than five minutes. That’s all that is required if you put some effort into it. Break a sweat, yes a sweat, and get going on your strength training. Your strength training should last about 30 minutes or so which will leave you with at least 25 minutes of cardio to keep your entire workout at one hour. You can certainly choose to do longer cardio, there’s nothing wrong with that if you have the time, but we try to get members to do an effective routine in an hour, no more. There are many reasons for that, but can’t get into those reasons here.

This article is about prioritizing the components in your workout to better serve you, and that’s what personal training is all about. Even if you hire us to do a consultation and a program design, at least you will know that you are not wasting your time. Well worth the investment.

Now having said all that, priorities change. Hopefully, you follow our advice and lose the weight you want to lose, or at least most of it. Now it’s time to re-evaluate and change what is necessary to change in order to achieve your next goal which might be to get stronger, get more flexible, etc. Then and only then will the components in your workout change. \

Hope that helps,

Gino