Custom Fitness Concepts

Drive around on any Saturday or Sunday morning and you’ll likely see more ladies than men out jogging, walking or doing some other aerobic type exercise.  So, the question begs, where are all the men?

It’s been my experience after 12 years in the fitness industry that men tend to focus on getting bigger and stronger by using weights and machines at a gym.  Women on the other hand, tend to look for aerobic activities either outdoors such as running or walking, or indoors such as aerobic classes or the stair climber and elliptical machines.

Which type of exercise is best?

The types of aerobic exercises you usually typically see ladies doing does go a long way towards improving your cardiovascular fitness.  This is great if you want to keep your heart healthy and your abs trim, but aerobic exercise isn’t enough by itself to maintain overall fitness.  Neglect resistance training long enough and you could develop osteoporosis and lose important functional muscle strength that is needed in daily life.

Men tend to be on the opposite extreme.

The workouts that men tend to gravitate toward are all about strength training , building muscle and putting on weight.  Unfortunately, those workouts tend to lack any real focus on cardiovascular fitness.  Which, if neglected long enough, can lead to heart disease, obesity and other cardiovascular issues.

Ultimately the problem is that focusing on either aerobic exercise or strength training is not enough.

Bootcamp – breaking the gender stereotypes

Our goal at fitness boot camp is something like trying to get cats and dogs to get along…we strive to get women off the treadmill and guys off the weight!

Our typical boot camp classes are designed to combine cardio and strength training, so you get the best of both worlds.  If you decide to try one out, you’ll see women doing pushups (right alongside the guys) and you’ll see guys doing jumping jacks (right alongside the women).

Sounds a bit different?  It is – but it works.

These exercises are not just created to mix things up, although it does help to greatly reduce exercise boredom.  Each class is specifically designed to create what we call “overall fitness” meaning you exercise all aspects of wellness.  For us, that means providing training programs that help you build strength, develop core stability and improve flexibility, all while increasing your aerobic capacity.

So if you believe that cats and dogs can actually get along, or you are simply tired of the same old gym routine (with the same old results), than we invite you to come and see what bootcamp is like and find out for yourself what being really fit feels like!

For a lot of guys, the entire point of working out is to be bigger, stronger and, to some extent, sexier. The problem is that getting bigger requires a lot of work and there isn’t a good trade-off between the effort that you’ll have to put out to get bigger and the results that you’ll get back from it.

One the thing that the 95% of guys who obsess over getting bigger do to sabotage themselves is neglect cardio or aerobic exercise .

Don’t neglect the cardio exercise

Cardio exercise is what makes you cut, lean and energetic. When you see people with the kinds of bodies you wish you had, you’re generally looking at people who do a lot of cardio exercise. It burns the fat off of your body, improves your overall health, gives you a great endorphin rush when you complete a workout and helps you to develop the lower part of your “V” instead of the upper part.

In fact, all the weightlifting in the world isn’t going to make you look more cut if all of your muscles are covered up with a layer of fat. You have to burn off the fat.

Cardio can be a real challenge for guys. One of the ways you can learn about how to stay in shape from a cardio perspective and motivate yourself to tighten your body up is by attending a boot camp. Instead of wandering around the gym trying to figure out how to get started with effective cardio exercises, a boot camp gives you access to professional trainers and you’ll learn all kinds of creative and enjoyable ways to increase your cardio fitness.

One of the things you might want to keep in mind is that heart disease is one of the most significant health threats for men. Taking care of your cardio fitness not only helps you look better, it’s just sensible practice if you want to stay in good health overall.

“They say” aerobically fit guys are truly sexy

According to a recent survey from Men’s Health:

“Muscles help ward off rivals and assure a woman that you won’t drop her during a dip, but your overall appearance is more important than the size of your biceps.  Women recognize a good body as indicative of a man of discipline and self-control.”

Lean, cut and sexy bodies on guys generally don’t result from wasting time at the gym trying to buff out your biceps and your pecs.  And according to a Men’s Health Survey (http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/most_desirable_traits/Top_5_Physical_Attributes.php), having big biceps aren’t high on the list:

If you want that lean waist, the six-pack abs and the overall level of fitness that translates directly to increased sex appeal, consider attending a boot camp in learning about cardio exercises. Intense cardio workouts are incredibly gratifying and you get a lot back for the effort that you put into them.

Are you someone who exercises on a regular basis but throws out your back when lifting something like groceries or a child? Have you ever been on a plane and struggled to lift your suitcase above your head to place it in the overhead bin?

If so, you know what it means to be functionally UN-fit.

Functional fitness – defined

Fitness professionals consider “functional fitness” as exercises for everyday life. Functional exercises focus on preparing your body to do normal, everyday activities. In real life, weight doesn’t move along a track and isn’t guided by a wire, like it does on a machine found at the gym. In real life – there are curbs, cracks, bumps and other inconsistencies in the sidewalks and roads that you run on, unlike the treadmill.

Being functionally fit means that you can perform the everyday physical tasks in your life without increasing the exposure to injuries. It even means being able to handle unforeseen events such as a slip on ice or a fall in the bathtub without serious, or even a minor injury.

So how do you get functionally fit?

Many people exercise with a particular goal in mind (such as losing weight, bulking up or even training for a race), but oftentimes this type of training leaves us unfit in other important ways.  In order to be functionally fit, you must become comfortable in moving your body in ways that your body was meant to be moved.

The key to becoming functionally fit is to vary the way you do your exercises.  For example, hold a 10-20 lbs dumbbell in one hand and nothing in the other, while doing lunges.  This extra weight on one side, causes the center of gravity to shift, which engages the core more and causes all the muscles performing the exercise to work extra hard to maintain proper form.

Another example to try:  Start with shoulder presses with two dumbbells extended over your head, however, perform all the reps with one arm while holding the other in place (over the head).  Then switch before taking your break.  By training your muscles to work independently, you increase your functional fitness.

Sounds difficult to do?  It’s really not – with the right training regimen and guidance.

How does boot camp promote functional fitness?

Functional fitness is one of our primary areas of focus at our boot camp program , and there are two primary benefits to using boot camp to get functionally fit:

Benefit #1 – Variation

One of the most common problems our clients run into BEFORE they join boot camp is boredom.  This occurs before they are generally stuck in a rut of doing the same exercises over and over again the same way every single time.  At boot camp we cure this problem but creating unique exercises and more importantly unique ways of doing them!

Benefit #2 – No Machines

At boot camp, there are no machines, no pulleys, no wheels or guides.  This means it’s you pushing your body and using your muscles, your core, your balance and stability to get the job done.

Varying not only the exercises themselves, but the types of exercises being done will help ensure you build a functionally fit body.  So, next time you slip on some ice and do that unexpected deep knee lunge, you WON’T hurt anything but your pride!