Bridge with marching Want an exercise that is body weight only and…
Have we lost our way (guest post)
I’m sharing something from one my industry leaders and I thought it was a great post because fitness and working out does not have to be exclusively for aesthetics.
While it is part of the reason I work out, it is not the only reason nor is it even the main reason, and that’s also true for my clients.
Having an acceptable degree of mobility, strength, and endurance allows you to live your life more fully.
For example, my wonderful client, Amita always shares how before she started training with me, her knee would hurt that it limited her ability to walk. Not too long ago, Amita spent the day with her family and walked a total of 8 miles.
That’s life changing, that is living and this is only one example!
Here is the article I wanted to share with you:
Perhaps part of the reason that gyms were considered “unessential” during the pandemic was our own professions fault Physical therapy was considered essential. And I agree. Strengthening or improving mobility for an injured muscle or joint IS essential And strengthening or improving mobility for a deconditioned muscle or joint should’ve been considered the same But people didn’t think of a gym as somewhere to do that Fitness training had become a synonym for aesthetic changes The masses don’t consider us a place where people go to get strong. To improve cardio. There’s an overwhelming attitude that fitness is just about looks But fitness is more than that It’s about strength, muscular endurance, aerobic capacity, mobility, and much more The dictionary definition of fitness is: 1. The state or condition of being fit; suitability or appropriateness 2. Good health, especially good physical condition resulting from exercise and proper nutrition. Way back in my college days I was taught that fitness is “the ability to carry out a task” A better definition from the late great coach Dr Fred Hatfield defined fitness as “Your ability to meet the exigencies of your lifestyle with ease and room to spare for life’s little emergencies.” From wiki: “𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭-𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 … 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 to 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴” What do all these definitions have in common? Function. Performance. The ability to DO. Let’s do our part to change the perception that fitness training is just about aesthetics Fitness is about function.
~Alywn Cosgrove
