Lifetime Fitness Pure & Simple

This is that just about all Fitness Clubs have masses of fitness apparatus available these days.  Indeed, without it they could hardly justify their high fees.  The snag is that the presence of so much equipment seems to have mesmerized everyone.

For example, the use of weights in fitness is largely to build strength and muscle mass.  In particular, the usual aim is to get big.  In order to grow bigger muscles, the logic is that they need to be exercised under ever increasing strain.  If not, they don’t get bigger.  The next step is that the best way to place them under strain is to use ever-heavier weights. 

This generates the next step, which is that the best way to place muscles under the required resistance is to isolate them in an exercise as much as possible.  In this way, so the theory goes, the effort is not spread amongst too many muscles, as this would dissipate the effect of the exercise and no single muscle would receive the required pressure and benefit.

Big Muscles

Now it seems to me that if someone wants to get big muscles then this is the way to go.  After all, there are advantages to having a well developed muscle mass.  Firstly, it looks good by those who think it looks good.  Secondly, muscles burn calories even at rest.  As a result, this is an excellent way to keep body fat under control.

A third positive is that placing the muscular skeletal frame under stress like this is probably also very good for the treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.  This is a common scourge of older people as the loss of bone density leaves bones brittle and more prone to fracture.

Big Problems

On the other hand, the use of weights raises several snags - and not only for older people. 

Both the use of weights and the idea of muscle isolation exercises with weights leave muscles and joints exposed to risks of excessive strain and damage.  This is particularly the case with knees and back.  Hence you commonly see weight lifters in the gym with knee supports to hold their knees in place and body belts to hold the back together. 

Elbows and shoulders are other problem areas.  Therefore, it seems to me that the chances of injury are high.  In fact, injuries are common even amongst experienced weight lifters where, presumably, technique is less of an issue than with relatively casual enthusiasts.  This is so for young people as well as older. 

Fitness or Bigness?

A further downside for older people is that recovery from an injury is likely to be slower.  In fact, in reality a full recovery may sometimes not be possible.  So, if your aim is fitness rather than bigness, it is wise to be very cautious about the use of weights. 

Does this mean that weights cannot be used as part of a program to get fit? 

No it doesn’t.  A weights-based exercise program can be very useful if managed correctly.  Weights can be helpful for developing areas that need special attention or for particular sports.  It is also be the case that some people are genetically less likely to suffer injured shoulders and elbows.  That’s great for them. 

But the rest of us need to train smarter.  See my eBook, Dangerous Exercises Exposed, for further development of this line of thought.

TINA versus TIARA.

But some think that There Is No Alternative to weights.  The logic is that although there are risks, they are often worth taking if the chances of success are good, if the downside is unlikely or mild or, more likely, if there is no alternative.

But those who think there is no alternative are wrong because There Is A Real Alternative.  The alternative is sound, effective and safer.  Rather than just focus on only or two aspects of physical fitness, it will also produce all-round fitness.  By this I mean:

The Fitnessblasting Way

The basic premise of The Fitnessblasting Manual is that a normal person can become extremely fit without becoming a fanatic and without using weights or machines.  In fact, these not only involve a greater risk of strain and injury but they are also often counter-productive.

In reality, you have all the weight you need in your own body for an amazing set of exercises.  If done right they will really work you.  In fact, if you wish, they can work you harder and better than you ever imagined.  Alternatively, you can work gently.

The Fitnessblasting Approach

Fitnessblasting is effective because it adopts a double approach to exercise:

Such a combination allows an exercise to be safely developed to suit different purposes and levels of fitness.  For those who wish, there are progressively more strenuous versions possible, also involving multi-movements, where the stance and action changes. 

A terrific example of this can be seen in Part 1 of the Free 4-Part Fitnessblasting Sampler.

Tremendous gains are brought to you by this approach that mono-movement and isolation exercises cannot provide:

It helps to reduce the risk of injury by working muscles and joints in different ways and from different angles.  By contrast, mono-movement and isolation exercises risk excessive wear and tear from repetitions of the same action.

It boosts your all-round fitness.

All-Round Fitness

By this I mean that the various aspects of fitness in their breadth are worked on.  Rather than focus on only one or two aspects of fitness, Fitnessblasting develops the 6-Pack of endurance (1), flexibility (2), balance (3), coordination (4), speed (5) and strength (6).

This makes Fitnessblasting valuable for the beginner as well as the experienced athlete and for the young as well as the old.  Importantly for the older person, the all-round fitness approach will strengthen tendons and ligaments as well as increase bone density and muscle. 

As a result, an older person will be more mobile and flexible than otherwise and also have better coordination and balance.  In turn, this means greater ability and confidence.  And as long as you also eat right, the program will also keep your fat down. 

A Godsend for the Older Person

For someone of advanced years this combination can be a godsend.  The danger of a fall can be a serious fear.  All-round fitness makes this less likely and also less likely that it will be serious if it does occur.  By this I mean that an overweight and out-of-condition person is likely to suffer a heavier fall, suffer worse damage and take longer to recover than someone who is fit.

In other words, all-round fitness means you are altogether better equipped to deal with everyday activities and the risks.

Great Fitness News For Retirees

It’s easy to think that a retired person has lots of spare time.  But who hasn’t heard a retiree say they are so busy they don’t know how they ever had time to work? 

So some think they don’t have time to workout.  This is all part of the choice we all have.  But the good news for an older person is that working out for shorter but more intense sessions is likely to be far better than longer and less intense sessions.  The Bonus Really Useful eBooklet Beginning BodyShocking will be interesting in this context.

Holding Yourself Back

The main drawback is the notion that an older person either can’t or shouldn’t workout intensely.  But there are many examples, especially from athletics, where high intensity training can produce near world-class performances from older athletes.  And who hasn’t heard of 80-plus year olds running marathons?

The key thing is the aspiration and intense activity coupled with ample rest and recovery time.  This will also cut further any risk of injury.  Bear in mind that the intensity of BodyShocking is for someone who is already fit rather than a beginner.  So get fit and get fitter with Fitnessblasting first.  As before, don’t neglect to take professional medical advice before beginning a new fitness program.

Effective Fitness

Very often people exercise in a way intended to develop big muscles.  Now if that is their intention, then it’s their business.  The point I want to make is that exercising to get big muscles is not at all the same as exercising for effective fitness.

For example, I guess most gyms have at least one leg-extension machine, which is usually popular.  At this you sit on a seat with feet pressed against a bar.  The idea is to straighten the legs against the resistance of the adjustable weight of the bar.  This attempts to isolate and build the big muscles above the knee.

The snag is, apart from building a big muscle and possibly for kicking, this makes no contribution to the normal abilities to move, walk, stride, run or jump.  These are all movements, of course, that combine the work of many muscles.  In other words, the leg-extension exercise is in reality largely for show rather than any functional purpose.

Muscles For Show versus Muscles For Real?

This is why it has often been observed that boxers with fantastic honed, toned and sculpted muscles have been strong but also sadly lacking in agility or sustained power.  Their big muscles turned out not to be good enough for the task they were supposed to perform. 

In other words, although they had tremendous fitness of a kind, it was not effective fitness for what they needed.  That is, training their muscles to be bigger and stronger didn’t make the muscles strong in the manner they were really used in action.  They had worked on the acquisition of considerable muscle development and strength but it was related more to size and show than function.

Reading The Rocks

By contrast, Fitnessblasting works the muscles in the ways they are used in reality as well as in combination with each other.  And this is why there were no repercussions in my legs or back from my rockery rearrangements.

In other words, the contrast is between real fitness and show or fake fitness.  And the choice is: which do you want?

Alone or Group.

Finally, another advantage of Fitnessblasting is that it is extremely flexible.  This has the advantage that it can be performed in a group, with a single partner or alone.  It can also be done almost anywhere: in a gym, community hall, hotel or bedroom because no special machinery or facility is required.

Good luck with your workouts!  But if you’re just starting with fitness, make sure you keep in mind the two Fitnessblasting Golden Rules.

Remember:

• You Don’t Have To Be A Fanatic To Be Fit!
• If You Can Move, You Can Improve!

You don’t have to live in the gym to get fit or spend mad hours working out.  All you need to know is the know-how.  Get the Know-How now.

Regards

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