Happy 2012- Exciting News Flash!
Happy 2012 to you all! Every day is a new beginning and making a fresh start and/or significant changes in our lives does not have to wait until the new year. I made some significant changes in my training and coaching at the end of 2011 and am so EXCITED to share them with you! Before I go on, here is just a little tidbit about me that may interest you.
I started my journey of health, fitness, and wellness in my youth and began regular gym workouts when I was 12 years old at Silhouette American Health Spa on Fenkell and Grand River in the heart of Detroit. (Yes, I am from, and love the D, defend the D, and make no bones about it!) I love training with a passion but soon realized after years of traditional machine training, I was missing out on something. We didn’t know as much back then, so we did what we were taught. I implemented free weight training and did get off of the machines – and onto my feet – some of the time, but it wasn’t until I began a much more integrated approach and started more functional training, like using free motion equipment, working with stability balls, etc. that I started to see much greater gains in my strength, core, and overall performance. I recently began suspension training and all I can say is WOW! There really is no other training quite like it. I love it! Even better, I am taking my career to another level and have recently added “Certified TRX Suspension Training Instructor” to my list of credentials! You must try this training and ANYONE can do it!
Suspension training started with the Navy Seals. Yes, the hard-core, bad-ass, Nacy Seals. And you know, not only do they mean business, they are the most fit and “ready” individuals on our planet. This kind of training gives us a distinct edge over a pure regimen of traditional strength training. Why? Because every suspension training exercise builds true, functional strength, improves flexibility, active range of motion, balance, and core stability all at once. This is required on the playing fields of every sport and most importantly, in life.
Why should we train using the TRX: Life and sport demand significantly more of our bodies than standing still and flexing our muscles. The premise that our bodies know “movement,” not muscle, is new for some and a switch from the single joint, isolating exercises that are done by sitting on machines. For example: A knee extension machine (which works the quadriceps) calls you to sit on a chair, fully supported – with no core engagement or integrated movement involved- only the knee extending (straightening) as you lift your leg up, and then flexing (bending) to lower the weight stack down. While this kind of training does have some benefits such as helping with absolute strength gains, and may increase the size (or help tone) a given muscle, if done alone it does not sufficiently demand the neuromuscular coordination required to build optimal strength and coordination. In other words, you may look great but will have little functionality. We are poetry in motion and life demands us to move freely through space, not within the confines of some machine. Think about it…
To that end, I say this: Train your body like you move. Work to improve the overall quality of life, every day activities of living, and if you are athletically inclined, this training will greatly improve your performance. Oh, and by the way, when done along with a nutritionally sound plan of eating, you will look and feel better too! So, let’s be “ready” for anything! Get off those benches and knee extension machines and train with TRX! And, when you are ready for a personalized fitness plan, reach out. This is what I do and love!
