Gravity Fx Fitness

I believe in training intensely to get the best results – whether this is my own workouts or my clients.  I believe that short, intense workouts are better than longer ones – particularly if you are short on time.

While many trainers and coaches will yell or even scream at their athletes/clients, that’s just not my style.

Instead, I quietly tell them to do some more work as I grin at their look of disbelief.  Then they oblige me by doing more than they thought they were capable of.  Maybe they curse at me under their breath, but its hard to argue with someone so “nice.”

Some people wear their emotions on their sleeve while others of us prefer to exhibit a calm outward demeanor while on the inside we are boiling hot.  That’s me.  I’m very passionate but it isn’t always obvious.

My style may not work for everybody, but for many, it works just fine.  If someone is just starting an exercise program or hasn’t done much lately, I like to take it kind of easy at first.  Then, after I have seen what they are capable of, or spotted some weak areas that may need some extra work, then I will push them harder.

I’ve had a few clients that thought I was too nice and wouldn’t push them hard enough to get results.  One all but told me that during our first session.  She soon changed her mind however, and a few times asked for a little more rest time.

Some people mistakenly think that they need a trainer to push them until they feel extreme soreness after the workouts.  Any trainer can make a client sore, but that doesn’t mean it was a good workout.  I can hit you with a baseball bat and make you sore, but that’s not good for you.

Before you push your body to its limits, you have to make sure you built a strong foundation first.  You need to be sure you have proper stability in the muscles surrounding your joints, as well as proper mobility.

Extreme muscle soreness after the first few workouts is both unnecessary and can lengthen the time it takes to recover, possibly setting you up for an injury.  I was watching a popular TV show on weight loss when I saw a trainer yell and scream at an obese client to “go faster”, “don’t quit.”

Then this person who was over 400 pounds fell on the treadmill, luckily only skinning his knee and not tearing his ACL or damaging other ligaments.  This was someone who obviously was not used to exercise and had no business putting that much stress on his joints.

If runners who are 200 some pounds lighter are prone to overuse injuries, than what do you think might happen with someone who doesn’t normally exercise.  I’ve seen trainers injure people this way and it makes no sense.

Start out with what your body can handle and then gradually progress as your body adapts to this new stress.  You greatly reduce your risk of injury this way.

I’m reminded of something I heard in a seminar with coach Vern Gambetta – “you can’t make an athlete in one workout, but you can break an athlete (client) with one workout.”

To get results you have to push your body out of its comfort zone, just not before its ready to do so.  You need to work hard and then just do a little more each time.  Then keep repeating the process. 

Enough said?!

Get moving

Brian

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