Getting More Exercise Results in Less Time with the 80/20 Principle

September 9th, 2010

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Getting the Most out of Your Healthy Lifestyle

Achieve more with less. Doesn’t that sound like the dream we all have? When it seems like every last minute of the day is crammed with obligations, exercise is often pushed to the bottom of the list. But what if we could get better results with less time?

A concept that I use and teach is the 80-20 Principle. Some of you might recognize this from economics or management courses. Yet it has applications across all aspects of life. And it is a way of thinking that can revolutionize your approach to healthy living.

The 80-20 Principle originated with the Italian economist Vilfredo Paredo a couple of hundred years ago. His original work found that 20% of the population held 80% of the wealth. The concepts were eventually expanded upon in 1941 by Joseph Juran, an industrial “quality guru”. Juran recognized that the 80-20 Principle could be applied to many business and production issues. He defined the principle by saying that 80% of the consequences can be attributed to 20% of the causes. Let’s look at a few interesting examples of the 80-20 Principle:

*20% of your clothes are worn 80% of the time
*20% of your friends get 80% of your attention
*20% of criminals commit 80% of the crime
*20% of the population is responsible for 80% of the health care cost
*20% of the carpet in your house, gets 80% of the wear

It’s astounding how this principle plays out. Of course the numbers may not be exactly 80-20, but the discrepancy in the ratio is usually profound.

Currently, we are under the misconception that everything that we do for our health has a 50-50 ratio. In other words, there is an equal amount of return for every effort you put forth. You probably believe that everything you do for your health contributes equally to the positive results you achieve. But that is not the case. The 80-20 Principle tells us that we are getting more benefit from some of what we do and much less from other things. Juran emphasizes that we should be more concerned with the “vital few” than the “trivial many”.
Pareto Principle

If you were to evaluate what your current healthy lifestyle looks like, can you determine if the strategy you are using or have been using is giving you the maximal results you seek? For example, do you know someone who takes four, five even six classes a week and has plateued for months or even years toward their goal or improved body composition or weight reduction? Is another hour of cardio on top of six classes a week really going to significantly propel that person to a higher level of fitness? It’s not likely.

If that person were to evaluate what they are doing, they might realize that their busy lifestyle has them eating processed foods because they do all of their shopping at the local supermarket for convenience. Instead, they could use that extra hour a week to shop for healthy food choices at the farmer’s market or Whole Foods.

Or they might realize that they are exercising below the intensity level they need because they are always tired or on the verge of an injury. A solution might be to take a restorative yoga class that helps them better appreciate the mind-body connection and its role in repair and recovery.

The point is that all of us are getting more benefit from certain parts of our healthy lifestyle choices than we are from others. We can maximize our results by finding out what is working the best and eliminating or reducing time/effort on those that are not.

Don’t waste 15 or 20 minutes at the gym of what I call “random stretching”. This is a stretching session where one takes a shotgun approach-hitting all the major muscle groups (whether they need it or not) in one dimension in space. You could get exponentially more benefit from a strategic corrective exercise program that is focused on what your needs are. And all this can be done in the same amount of time with much more tangible results.

Do you really need an hour of the treadmill, when your body might respond better to 30 minutes of metabolic training? Exercise is a science. The more specific the programming is to your needs the better your results will be. Find your 20% and exploit it to supercharge your results.

We are here to help you.

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Corrective Exercise #17

August 11th, 2010

Heel Lifts with Strap is an exercise many of your clients will benefit from. It is one of the exercises in the Pain-Free Program that has helped people from all over the world feel and function better.

This is not a calf exercise!



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Workoutwithwendy’s X-Treme Welcome Workout Specials

July 21st, 2010

The count down is on! Who has finally had it with doing the same old, same old…. and NOT getting anywhere? You just cannot seem to get rid those unwanted pounds. You have cut calories and have been a faithful slave to your routine, and no results- in fact you feel as if you are going backwards! Are you really ready for change?

Workwithwendy HAS the tools you need to succeed! Summer is coming to an end, but that is okay- it is not too late to start making changes (unless you don’t sign up on time!) Statistically, exercise on it’s own does not work.(Yes, I really said that!) NOR, does dieting. You burn precious muscle for energy- not good. How do you find that delicate balance. Join this limited enrollment program and find out why! Take control of your health and happiness.

The program features 3 outstanding workouts per week (18 invigorating, challenging workouts to increase endurance, strength, balance and clarity), 3 diet “pow-wows” power meetings to discuss diet issues, recipes and other diet relate issues. WE offer your own personal  nutrient breakdown (calorie count, protein requirements, carbohydrate needs, and the RIGHT fat count for health and success.) We will even sample tasty snacks to help you power your workouts.

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to regain your health, and the ability to enjoy the journey. We will have interesting competitions and games (yes, games!!) to keep the fuel fired.  Change starts in your mind. See it, and then become it! Don’t miss out…

The program start date is Wednesday, September 8, 2010. Be there, be ready, be changed.

Since space is limited, we encourage you to enroll as soon as possible. There are only 8 spots available, due to the personalized nature of this program. Also, as an added incentive we are offering the following discounts:

   
        *A 50.00 discount if two participants sign up. That’s right! If you and a partner sign up at the same time you pay only 325.00 per person.
        * If you do not have a partner don’t worry! All sign ups received by the end of July will receive a 20.00 per person discount.

Not ready for a program….? No problem!

We are also offering 3 times per week for you to experience one of a kind workout with Wendy type workouts. The GroupX-X Factor Workout will be available here at Function First. These workouts will be fun, and one of a kind!! If you are looking for a more integrated workout, this is it!!  The challenge starts with a creative blend of body weight and TRX exercises. Gain endurance, strength, clarity of movement and power with this versatile piece of equipment! The TRX will take you from simple to complex in one workout. Bump up the heart rate with some  kettle bells, and feel the intensity increase. More “core” you say… Check out the new Coretex, designed here at Function First!! This is a XX workout!!!

For a limited time we are offering a XX discount for these classes. Try it out for 1/2 price. Bring an friend and get in free!!  Thats’ right -FREE!! Decide you love it and get a 5% discount off of the package. This discount is only available until July 31!!!

Wendy loves her clients!! All new personal training clients will also receive an additional 5% off of training packages. This is an excellent opportunity to learn the skills required for those advanced classes. We all have our abilities… let’s learn and grow together here at Function First!!

 Function First personal training

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What’s Your Barrier to Exercise?

July 21st, 2010

If you are like me, you probably often wonder to yourself how in the world we have an obesity epidemic in this country when exercise is so much fun and feels so good. There are too many lifestyle related diseases to name that can be combated with exercise. So why doesn’t everyone exercise like you and I?

Interestingly, there are several reasons that are consistently used by people of all ages, genders and socio-economic status. See if any of these apply to you or someone you know.

Barrier #1: “I don’t have enough time to exercise”

Solution: The benefits of exercise are cumulative. Don’t try to change your life in one day. Begin with something simple to break the inertia. Find a convenient time for you that you can be consistent with. Even if this is walking for 15:00 during your lunch break. Avoid activities that aggravate any pain you might have the can create further damage and dampen your enthusiasm for exercise of all forms. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to continue once you get started.

Barrier #2: “I’m self conscious of how I look during exercise”

Solution: Exercise can be done anywhere. You can begin at home with a DVD or you can join an exercise group of your peers. Not everyone is cut out for the big box health clubs. Find a more intimate setting where you feel comfortable. Focus on the benefits you are gaining and not what you look like.

Barrier #3: “I’m always too tired to exercise”

Solution: It is scientifically proven that exercise increases your energy levels. The key is to progressively increase your activity level to avoid becoming sore or developing injuries from doing too much too soon. Identify the time of day that you feel most energetic and schedule some exercise then.

Barrier #4: “I’ve started exercise programs before and never follow through”

Solution: Don’t try to go it alone. Develop a network of supporters. Set short term goals initially and have your network hold you accountable. Get professional instruction and guidance. Find something you enjoy and want to do versus something you feel you have to do. Any good fitness profession should be able to provide you with an exercise program that is effective and that you enjoy. Your workout is about you!

We must understand that most people inherently know that exercise is good for them. Yet they are not exercising. But because they know exercise will have a positive effect on their health, they have not ruled it out.

Research has identified five stages of behavior change:

1. precontemplation
2. contemplation
3. preparation
4. action
5. maintenance.

The examples of barriers to exercise mentioned above fall into the “contemplation” stage. This stage is the longest and some people may be stuck in this stage for years. In this stage, people often associate more bad than good with exercise. For example, if they are too self conscious, they will never want to go into a facility with others for exercise.

By working with a friend or seeking professional guidance you can find tangible solutions and support to allow you to focus more on the benefits of an exercise program versus the barriers. The same is true for any exercise program-whether it is to get you out of pain or to get you more fit. You will move from contemplation to preparation and then begin taking action so that you can feel better, move better, look better AND be better.

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My Dogma Can Kick Your Dogma’s A$$

July 7th, 2010

Dogma= is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization: it is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or from which diverged. (Wikipedia)

Fitness educators are a disillusioned bunch. We (yes me included) often profess the absolutes to our clients, prospects, workshop/conference attendees, staff, etc. And I for one can laugh at myself.

We stand at the sacred alter at educational events and profess what is now the irrefutable truth:

• Cardiovascular exercise bad-metabolic training good
• Static stretching bad-dynamic warm-up good
• Machines bad-functional movements good
• Crunches bad-vertical ab training good
• Balance training bad-ground based training good-balance training good again

The dogma at times is pure entertainment. I’ve seen educators whom I respect greatly, teaching subject matter this year that is completely different from what they taught 5-7 years ago. This of course is a good thing in many ways because they/we have learned more from new research, borrowing from other sciences and disciplines and our own experience. Their current teachings however, often discredit their former teachings.

So this year they are presenting and writing with total conviction (read dogma) regarding new concepts and/or interpretations of the literature. And so they should be because if they did not passionately believe in what they are teaching, then they should not be teaching it.

Here’s the caveat: If I bought into their passion 5 years ago because they said it was THE best way, why the hell should I believe them now?! You would think the way some people are teaching and writing that God gave them a private viewing into all the answers of the human body.
dogma
I personally feel the better approach these days is to preface certain statements with, “what we now know …..”. Quite frankly, I don’t believe much of anything that we’ve done in the recent past was wrong. It just wasn’t the most effective or at times the safest.

You aren’t seeing any trainers blood letting with leaches these days. That would be wrong. And I’m not going to stick my clients on a leg extension machine nor will I recommend it while teaching. But if another trainer puts 55 year old Mrs. Jones on the leg extension machine because that is the only way she’s showing up on Monday, then I should mind my own business.

We all have our convictions about what works best. That shouldn’t differ if you are speaking to an audience of 500 or 5. Where do these convictions come from? I can only speak for myself. My convictions come from results. I do what I do because it works. And I teach what I do because I understand the mechanisms behind what I do. Therefore, I know the strength’s and at times the limitations of what I do.

You might notice that those that are actually doing the research and teaching at events usually don’t come with the same dogma. That’s because they understand the inherent limitations of extrapolating the findings of research to parameters that don’t replicate the study. Look what the fitness industry did with abdominal hollowing. Trainers were telling people to pull their belly button in while sprinting at maximal speed. That application of the research couldn’t have been farther from the parameters of the studies related to abdominal hollowing.

Of course the researchers rarely work with real people with real problems. So they are not emotionally invested in the results the way we are.

I really believe that much of the dogma comes from the fact that we want to hold on to and defend the “known”. This is what we understand. And if someone else is teaching something that doesn’t fit our model, then we better protect our perspective. Because if we don’t, we might just have to open up our minds to someone else’s ideas and let go of our own.

I think a lot of people have to ask themselves if their dogma is really their own dogma or someone else’s. And if it is someone else’s dogma, will your dogma change when their dogma changes in a couple of years?

Please share this with someone you know because I am convinced what I have written here is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted or from which diverged. Yes, my dogma can kick your dogma’s a$$.

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You are What You Eat….But Careful Who Says So

June 28th, 2010

I EAT THEREFORE I AM….A NUTRITIONIST! If it were really that simple, we’d all be experts by now! It seems like every time we turn on the television or open a health magazine, there’s some self-proclaimed health guru telling us what we should and shouldn’t eat; try this diet, take that supplement. But how can we know who to listen to?

Sifting Through the Science
The sheer volume of information available is overwhelming, and it’s no easy task sifting through the claims and determining which have merit and which are nothing more than hollow marketing promises. As health and fitness professionals, our clients look up to us as the real experts, so we must base our recommendations on something more than conjecture and opinion. The following list is a valuable tool for evaluating the science behind nutrition claims. Keep a copy close at hand and refer to it when considering new research findings.

Checklist for scrutinizing scientific research

    Number of studies
    Consider how many studies were conducted. A single study might suggest efficacy, but numerous studies conducted by a variety of researchers from independent labs without vested interests would hold more weight.

    Number of subjects
    The higher the number of subjects in the study, the better. More subjects give a greater degree of statistical power. That is, we can say with reasonable confidence that the results were due to the intervention and not to random chance.

    Dosage
    Look for consistency in the dosages employed in the studies and what is found in commercially available diets/products. If large dosages were used in the studies, say 1000mg, then how does this compare to the comparatively small dosages (i.e. 10mg) used in commercial products? We need to compare “apples to apples” and “oranges to oranges.”

    Purity
    In the case of dietary supplements, many nutrition products are cocktails comprised of a number of ingredients. If a study was conducted on just one ingredient, then it’s difficult to confirm that a mixed commercial product would yield the same results. Cross-ingredient interactions might potentiate the effect and pose safety issues as was the case with combined herbal preparations containing ma huang (ephedra) and guarana (caffeine).

    Population group
    One size does not fit all. Look at the population group upon which the research was conducted and consider how it applies to real life situations. For example, it is difficult to apply results from a study on young, university-level female athletes to bed-ridden morbidly obese, middle aged diabetic women since their metabolisms would be markedly different. Experimental conditions Consider how “life-like” the experimental conditions were. For example, a diet study conducted on elderly cardiac patients living in a metabolic ward for a month would reflect very different conditions to a young, free-living adult subject to a variety of real-life factors.

    Protocol
    Appropriate methodological controls help to ensure that the results are due to the intervention and not to random chance. Ideally, a study should be randomized, controlled, and, when appropriate, double blind—neither the subjects nor investigators know who received the experimental or control intervention.

    Peer-reviewed
    Confirm that the studies were published in reputable peer-reviewed journals. While even this is not a 100% guarantee, it at least confers a higher level of academic scrutiny to minimize bias and ensure the integrity of the research.

    If You Can’t Convince ‘Em Confuse ‘Em
    While claims based on science are always preferred, many diet book authors and product manufacturers are determined not to let the truth get in the way of a good marketing campaign. Clearly not everyone’s a research scientist, but we all have a built-in baloney detector that can help keep us from getting taken for a ride. Cut out and give the following quick reference checklist to your clients.

    Quick reference guide for evaluating popular health claims

    Too good to be true
    Infomercial watchers beware! The age old adage “if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is” rings true in most cases. Often the repeating of lofty, seemingly unrealistic claims will cause you to lower your guard just long enough to make you lift the phone and surrender your credit card details. Always do your homework and thoroughly investigate all health products.

    Testimonials
    While a heart-wrenching testimonial makes for great late-night infomercial viewing, this is not a guarantee of efficacy. Testimonials do not separate cause and effect from coincidence. For example, if someone begins taking a “fat-burning” supplement while exercising every day for 3 hours per day, then it’s difficult to conclusively ascribe those results to the pill or the radical change in exercise levels.

    Terminology
    The use of trendy buzz words is not an accident. Marketing research focus groups are explicitly conducted to determine which terms resonate with consumers and will likely translate to greater sales. For example, the term “natural” has been associated with safe and effective in the eyes of most consumers, yet even natural remedies may carry potential health risks. After all, even arsenic and cobra venom are also naturally occurring substances.

    No effort required
    Humans are pleasure seekers and pain avoiders and will avoid logging the hard yards if at all possible.
    Beware of any diet, supplement, or health product that claims quick, easy results. It took us nearly a century to reach these epidemic levels of obesity and disease and it certainly won’t go away overnight. Diet books have claimed to have the “secret” to health for over 50 years, yet if they worked in the first place, we’d all be skinny by now.

    Strictly business
    Advertising is meant to do one thing: sell product. Altered, airbrushed images, changes in lighting, body positioning, and body angle all give the appearance of a miracle transformation. Again, marketing materials are meant to sell, not inform.

    Confusing jargon
    Sometimes advertising is littered with science-sounding jargon. Glossy images of confusing biochemical pathways mean nothing to most people, yet it seemingly confers a level of scientific scrutiny. For example, because a substance is part of a fat burning metabolic pathway does not mean that taking it as a supplement will enhance the process.

    Out of context claims
    Sometimes it’s not what you’re told, rather it’s what you’re not told. You must be certain to evaluate the original research from which marketing claims are extracted. For example, “statistically significant” fat loss in the context of a research article may, in fact, be scientifically valid, but in the real world might only translate to a half kilo difference. Not quite the 50 kilos you were expecting to lose.

    Persecuted guru
    Beware of self-proclaimed health gurus who trumpet the notion that the “establishment” is trying to persecute them. If their theories are valid, then in time they will stand up to scientific scrutiny and eventually be vindicated. However, in the case of the vast majority, there is a reason why you’ve never heard of them and a reason why next year they’ll be off the health radar.

    Final Thoughts
    As health professionals, we are the ultimate gate keepers between our clients and the multitude of new diets and nutrition products entering the market. We are bombarded by an incessant mélange of both fact and fiction, and it is our responsibility to view each through the lens of science in order to discern the difference. We should never maintain a dismissive attitude because science is always changing. What we
    believe to be false today may eventually be proven true tomorrow—or vice-versa. Clearly we need to keep an open mind, but not so open that our brains fall out!

    About the author
    William R. Sukala, MSc. is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist with two decades of experience in both clinical cardiac rehabilitation and preventive health care settings. He holds a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology and a bachelor’s degree in Nutrition, and is currently completing his PhD with a research focus on type 2 diabetes, obesity, and associated metabolic syndrome risk factors. William is a popular international presenter on medical exercise topics and has authored articles in major publications both domestically and internationally. He is frequently cited as an expert in his field by magazines, newspapers, and television news media. For more information, please visit his website at:
    http://www.williamsukala.com

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Ron Askeland’s Function First testimonial.

June 9th, 2010

Ron Askeland has been a Function First client since 1997. Why? Because the benefits of his programming continue to give him a return on his investment. Ron is a top engineer for Hewlett Packard and often travels the globe for work. And as a dedicated recreational athlete, he knows that if he does not stay on top of his program, the chronic back and neck problems will return. Hear what Ron has to say in his own words:

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Does being overweight cause osteoarthritis?

June 9th, 2010

Lower back pain is only second to the common cold for missed works days in the United States. Eighty-five percent of people in the industrialized world will have an episode of debilitating back pain in their life. Many of these sufferers have symptoms related to osteoarthritis of the spine. According to the Arthritis Foundation, forty six million people in the United States are affected by osteoarthritis (OA).

The Arthritis Foundation defines OA as:
Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease in which the cartilage that covers the ends of bones in the joint deteriorates, causing pain and loss of movement as bone begins to rub against bone. It is the most prevalent form of arthritis.

The hips, knees and shoulders are also common areas of OA along with the spine. When these joints are painful they will interfere with many exercise programs. Since the hips and knees are load bearing joints for walking, standing, etc., they assume a larger percentage of the impact forces during any upright activity. Reviewing any of the literature on osteoarthritis (OA), you will inevitably see being overweight and obesity commonly listed as “causes” of OA.

From a biomechanical standpoint, I do not believe that excess body weight causes OA. I do believe additional body weight can magnify other mechanical factors leading to OA. If we think about the cartilage as wearing out on the bones, the misconception is that it is the entire bone. Instead it is often an area on the bone that is subject to excessive friction relative to the other parts. I often describe this to my clients as a “hot spot” in the joint. If you apply more pressure to that spot (i.e. more body weight), it will certainly be more sensitive than if less weight were applied. Reducing a person’s body weight does reduce the pressure on the hot spot, but it does not reduce the hot spot itself.

The overweight person often says “I can’t exercise because it hurts”. We say, “It hurts because you don’t exercise”. The caveat here is first defining the type of exercise we are referring to. Far too many people who don’t exercise lump all forms of exercise into one big category. And if you speak to any fitness professional, we can break exercise into multiple categories. These can include but are not limited to:

• Corrective exercise
• Flexibility exercise
• Mobility exercise
• Restorative exercise
• Strength training
• Aerobic conditioning
• Metabolic conditioning
• Sport specific exercise
• Mind/body exercise

For us, proper exercise would refer to a program that first influenced how the body moves. This would incorporate a corrective exercise program that improved joint mechanics to better distribute the forces in the joint. This also does not take away the hot spot but it does reduce the pressure on it and improves the overall function of the joint. This in turn reduces the pain and slows the progression of further degeneration.

Let’s use the knees for example. In our example the person has genu valgum (“knocked knees”). This may in part be congenital. But it is also a result of muscle and soft issue influences on the knee joints. The valgus position of the knee increases the pressure on the outer knee and decreases pressure on the inner knee. Therefore, the forces that should be shared on the inner and outer knee are much greater on the outer knee. This often results in accelerated degeneration to the inner aspect of the knee while the outer aspect remains normal or closer to normal.
valgus knee stress
(Illustration credit: Ajit Chaudhari, PhD, Assistant Professor, Dept. of Orthopaedics Ohio State University)

Common imbalances associated with genu valgum are tightness of the hip ADDuctors and iliotibial band. In addition, the hip ABductors are weak relative to the adductors and do not resist the pull of the femur toward the midline of the body which leads to the valgus position of the knee. In many cases the foot and ankle are involved as well.

Addressing the body’s movement patterns through the muscles and connective tissue you improve the joint mechanics and decrease the stresses that precede and/or perpetuate the degeneration. Both sides of the knee joint now “share” the forces a little more thus removing some pressure from the “hot spot”.

This will allow the overweight individual to get all the other benefits associated with the exercise experience including:

• strength
• increasing energy
• improving sleep
• controlling weight
• decreasing depression
• improving self-esteem.
• combating osteoporosis
• reducing the risk of heart disease

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative process and the result of long term wear and tear. A strategy of ice and medications only douses the fire but never touches the fuel. And as long as you are moving the way you have always moved, the fuel will continue to build up. Changing the way you move through corrective exercises can cut off the fuel line to that fire.

See how Function First’s corrective exercise program can help you by clicking here.

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Sweaty Underwear and Fitness Conferences

May 19th, 2010

What was your last fitness conference experience like? Did you fire up brain cells, burn calories or both? In the month of April, I presented in the UK, Chicago and Ocean City, Maryland. There was lots of time in airplanes to contemplate my experiences at the shows.

This is a rant and rave that I’ve been thinking about for a few months. And after an incredibly busy first quarter of conferences, I’m putting it to paper.

I love fitness conferences for the energy, enthusiasm and comradery I get from so many good friends I see at the shows. But recently, I’ve started to struggle a lit bit with some of what seems to be a theme throughout all the conferences-sweating takes priority over thinking.

Do you go to a fitness conference just to take a workout class that is led by one of your favorite instructors? At a recent show I witnessed two women talking as they were toweling the sweat from their foreheads in sweat soaked clothes. You could hear them discussing the workout they just went through. This would have been inspiring had it not been there third one THAT day!
sweaty
Is this a case of addictive behavior toward exercise? If it was additive behavior, they were in great company because lots of folks were doing the same. I believe it is more a case of the huge number of people who spend their conference hours working their bodies and not their minds.

I realize that we are an industry that teaches and practices movement as part of what we do. But our conferences often look like labs that never had the lecture. The movement part of what we do is to experience what we have intellectually learned.

If we used the college or university model as an example, a student would never graduate if the only classes he ever took were activity classes. Why is that? Because you can’t possibly learn the scientific foundations and fundamental principles that are prerequisite to teaching others skills properly.

I know some amazingly smart presenters with great science behind what they do finding themselves only doing presentations in the huge rooms where bodies are flailing about. Why do they (and admittedly me at times) do this? Because we feel obligated to get people up and running around or else they won’t stick around for the nuggets of science we sneak in there. That’s sad.

This is certainly not a knock on group exercise presenters or participants. Because the top group exercise instructors I know would love to have their conference attendees sit through an hour of instruction before they started a workout. But would those attendees do it?

The next educational event that I have anxiously anticipated for a couple of years now is finally coming back to Southern California. The Interdisciplinary Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain will be in Los Angeles. I attended the very first event they ever had at the University of California San Diego back in 1995. Guess what? There will be no presentations to music or sweat towels required. But there will be massive lecture halls filled with chairs and tables so that detailed note taking can occur. And I’ll be soaking up every minute of it.

What can be done about this trend in fitness conferences? I understand that for those organizations that put on the shows that it is a business venture. And they are in many ways just giving the people what they want. However, they are marketed as educational events. So I’d like to see the scheduling of the sessions to be such that people did not have a workout option available in every single time slot. Then they mind find themselves wandering in to some lectures to kill time and might just enjoy the listening and learning. Don’t just give the attendees what they want, give them some direction toward what they need.

And wouldn’t it be great if they did not schedule presenters with similar subject matter in the same time slots? It seems any of the presenters that I want to see at a conference are inevitably presenting during the same time slots as me. Not only is that a bummer for me, but it also means that the attendees are forced to choose between great presenters on topics that interest them instead of giving them the chance to see two or more at non-conflicting time. I think this hurts everyone.

Fitness conferences are a blast and are so great for our industry in many ways. As we mature as an industry and seek to become part of the health care continuum, our educational events should reflect as much. Yes, we need to move and yes it is OK to sweat. I’d just really like to see us exercising our brains as much as we are exercising our bodies.

What do you think?

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Corrective Exercise #16

May 19th, 2010

(Due to a server crash, this post is being reposted after originally being posted on April 17th, 2010)

We take the Thomas Test that is used for hip flexor contractures and create a beneficial corrective exercise with it. A great way to lengthen the hip flexors for certain populations.

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