Fit for Spring: Get it right this time!

 

It is that time once again—the great transition between winter and spring, and with the anticipation of a more pleasant climate comes the dread of warm weather clothes and exposure. However, there is still time to get in the kind of shape that makes you welcome Spring and Summer. Although, your ultimate self will not appear magically or accidentally. You must invest and prepare, and here are a few suggestions to help you along the way:

 

 Create a plan: This includes developing and recording specific goals and committing to 8-10 weeks of healthy eating and hard work. Nothing worthwhile is easy! It also requires becoming a student of exercise and fitness. Learn principles and fundamentals of training before you ever enter a gym.

 Find a home: you must have a place to make your goals realities. It must be convenient, clean, and friendly.

 Be assessed and measured: in order to know where you want and need to go, you must know where you are. Assessment by a professional should be the foundation of your personal fitness initiative.

 Try new things: don’t expect to profit from the same stale workouts you learned in high school. Knowledge of exercise science has developed and made workouts more fun and efficient. Be creative, experimental, and adaptable, and you will achieve and adhere to your program.

 Involve your crowd: fitness fever is highly contagious, and we profit from group dedication and accountability. Get your friends and family involved, and you will see your world change for the better!

Invest in your diet: the more you study health and fitness, the more you will understand that diet is nearly 80% of a successful fitness program. To ignore this portion is to limit or compromise the results of training.

 

I hope this information is useful for you. Get out there and make it happen!

I’m Back!

          Chances are if you follow me you have noticed that I have not posted in some time. I totally blame the fact that I got a new computer that allows me to explore the vast array of fitness blogs and websites. I have been in information overload, and have been following the FitCast, StrengthCoach, and Asa Andrew blogs. I can’t get enough of this stuff, and I know that it will be fodder for some great posts to come. I am trying to be a sponge so that I can absorb and pass on the newest knowledge of fitness and health that is available. Expect more soon!

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.” 
~ Spanish Proverb

Quotes From Arnold #2

“Training gives us an outlet for suppressed energies created by stress and thus tones the spirit just as exercise conditions the body.”

-Arnold Schwarzenegger

Trainers & Fathers

Yesterday morning I had three different clients, of three different fitness levels, ages, and backgrounds. My task as “Trainer” was to take them to the limits of their personal abilities. Their circuit-based workouts were relatively similar, but they engaged each of them uniquely, and I saw remarkable tenacity and perseverance. However, the most profound truth that I encountered with these three sessions was that training and fatherhood seem remarkably similar, and I will discuss why.

As a fitness specialist, I am responsible to meet individuals at every level of fitness and lead them to higher levels of performance. I must create programs that are safe, efficient, and effective. More important, I have to encourage and inspire clients to push themselves beyond barriers of all kinds. Consequently, I have to pit them against situations that both test them and allow them to succeed with HARD work. If the work is too easy, they will not feel accomplished. If I work them too hard, they will feel inadequate, weak, and ineffectual. This process requires me to closely monitor the status and progress of the people with which I work. I must invest uniquely, and I must be willing to encourage, lead, and intervene if necessary to ensure that the environment is suitable.

Not to sound condescending or paternalistic, but I think that this relationship between client and trainer is much like the relationship of a father to his children. A trainer must be a role model, a very exemplar of the lifestyle he promotes. He must first prove himself and have the respect and attention of clients. He must be attentive and involved, and he has to be MOTIVATIONAL. He must spend part of himself on everyone and invest proportionally. If he does not behave in this manner, then clients will drop off, give up, get bored, or cease to progress. His role is to simultaneously provide security and the tools for independence.

I might be overanalyzing or idealizing my job, but I see some staggering similarities, and it inspires me to be better ever day—to keep leading my clients to success and independence. It sobers and humbles me to be in such a position, and I hope that I have the courage and diligence necessary to help all of my clients mature in fitness as fathers help their children mature in life.

American Psychological Association Presentation

I was recently notified by MTSU Health and Human Performance professor Mark Anshel that I will be co-presenter of a presentation for the American Psychological Association. The presentation will cover a study that I assisted him on during my internship last Spring. Its title is “Paper Effect of a Storyboarding Technique on Selected Measures of Fitness Among University Employees” and will take place August of this year. 

Our study is based on the philosophy of  Jim Loehr,  co-founder of the Human Performance Institute and author of such works as The Power of Story and The Power of Full Engagment. Our intervention involved participants working from old stories dominated by negative habits and self image to new stories defined by positive lifestyle choices and the realization of specific goals. The process required them to connect ideals with rituals and somewhat abstract goals with concrete habits. We suspected that this process would enhance their fitness scores within a faculty exercise program, and the results support our estimation. It was certainly a remarkable learning opportunity for me, and I am honored to be included in the work of Dr. Mark Anshel.

New Book!

I just purchased this book by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding, and I can’t wait to apply its content to my own life and the lives of my clients. A lot of it seems like common sense, but quite a few brands/companies perport to be health and are in fact the opposite. They would hurt if everyone read this book. I instantly liked the layout when I read about it on Amazon, and it appears to be user-friendly and relevant. We all have to go to the grocery! Definitely check this one out.

New Ways to Follow Source Fitness Training

Source Fitness Training is now on Facebook <search for “Andrew Kurek“> & Twitter <search “sourcefitness“>. Please look us up for the latest news, information, and exercise/fitness discussion. We look forward to hearing from you!