Dave Turpin
You’ve made the commitment to yourself to get in shape. Perhaps you have a short term goal, such as an upcoming wedding or class reunion. Or maybe you’ve just decided that your present lifestyle is not conducive to getting you through life in the ways you want and deserve.
Once you’ve made a personal commitment to jump on the fitness bandwagon the next most important step is to determine WHERE DO YOU START.
Unfortunately, choosing the incorrect starting point is the equivalent to fitness suicide. And it happens all of the time in gyms and fitness centers all across America. At the high school, collegiate and recreational centers alike.
What kind of results do you think you’d achieve if you:
· Were inspired by the Olympic ice skating competitions
· Decided to rent a pair of ice skates and
· Attempt to perform a triple lutz.
If you’re lucky you’d fall on your soft side and resort to going back to miniature golf.
How much would you enjoy your round of golf if you attempted to play without ever taking a lesson or going to the driving range? How much success do you think you’d have if you attempted to compete in a NASCAR event based on your minivan experience? How well would your children do on their SAT exams if they never attended high school? The results from any of these experiences would be mortifying.
Every exercise can be progressed or digressed, depending on your point of reference. Most people think of exercise selections as if they were on a Chinese menu. Pick this one, pick that one and voila! We’re done.
The actual “version” of the exercise that is most appropriate for you will depend on your fitness level. Let's look at the lowly pushup to see how it might be progressed.
Pushup Exercise:
- Stand on floor in an upright position and lean against the wall.
- Move feet away from the wall to increase the angle of the lean.
- Knees and hands on floor.
- Toes and hands on floor.
- Toes and hands on floor. When pushing up clap hands at the top.
- Toes elevated on a bench and hands on the floor.
- Toes elevated on a Swiss ball and hands on the floor.
- Toes from single foot elevated on a Swiss ball and hands on the floor.
- Toes elevated on a Swiss ball, one hand on a medicine ball, the other hand on the floor. Alternate hands on the medicine ball.
I could keep going with more advanced variations of the ubiquitous push up. Most people stop around #4. And for most folks #4 is all they need.
Now let’s pretend that you've never heard of the pushup exercise before. Let’s also pretend that the first time you saw the pushup was on the Rocky movie where he’s performing one-armed pushups. When you went to do the one-armed pushup, or simply pushup in your mind, and determined that it was impossible to do, you’d probably make a mental note that the pushup is not for you. Isn’t that a ridiculous proposition? Do you think you might try to add a second arm to the exercise?
Realizing you can not perform an exercise, such as a full body weight pull up, is BETTER than THINKING you can perform an exercise when you lack the strength, stability and/or skill to perform the exercise.
Abdominal exercises are notorious for being performed by people who lack the strength, skill and stabilization to perform correctly. What typically happens is the hip flexors get recruited instead of the abdominal wall. The net result of the exercise might be over-training of the hip flexors and under training of the abdominal wall, which leads to muscle imbalances and eventually low back pain.
Desk Jockey Fitness clients receive comprehensive assessments to determine not only the appropriate exercise selections, but also the appropriate level of the exercises. Looking around in the gym to see what the other people are doing is equivalent to playing on the golf course without a lesson. The more you participate, the more deeply ingrained improper techniques will be. You will never realize significant progress relative to the effort you put in. And you might end up getting hurt.
Train smart. Be real. Get results.
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Mission Statement: Desk Jockey Fitness is a wellness facilitation center, teaching our clients how to feel good—both in body and in mind. Our clients’ successes are based on their strong desire to restore their self-confidence, to improve their body image, and to live productive, pain-free lives. Our clients provide the determination; Desk Jockey Fitness provides the tools in a private, non-judgmental setting. We accomplish measurable results through a holistic mix of functional exercise instruction, nutritional counseling, and lifestyle coaching, a dash of motivation and copious doses of accountability. Looking for a “new you?” It’s time to discover the Desk Jockey difference.
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Desk Jockey Fitness
10700 Kettering Drive
Charlotte, North Carolina 28226
704-541-0041
