Fitness Approach ⋆ Fit SF - Personal Training San Mateo County

Components of Fitness

I am certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (N.A.S.M) as well as the National Strength and Conditioning Association (N.S.C.A), and obtained a certification in Cross Circuit Training. I use a model of training to regulate the intensity up or down depending on the needs of any committed individual, regardless of experience.

It literally focuses on maximizing physical competence in each of ten known fitness components:

Endurance – The ability of body systems to gather, process, and deliver oxygen (cardiovascular/respiratory endurance).
Stamina – The ability of body systems to process, deliver, store, and utilize energy. (capacity to maintain repetitive muscular movements)
Strength – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.
Flexibility – the ability to maximize the range of motion at a given joint.
Power – The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply maximum force in minimum time.
Speed – The ability to minimize the time cycle of a repeated movement.
Coordination – The ability to combine several distinct movement patterns into a single distinct movement
Agility – The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.
Balance – The ability to control the placement of the body’s center of gravity in relation to its support base.
Accuracy – The ability to control movement in a given direction or at a given intensity.

01.

TRAINING PROGRAM

Within my 30 years of training I have learned many different aspects of training, and combined them to promote health and fitness. The outcome of this led to many of my clients becoming more fit and athletic than ever before. My experience has taught me that within every strict training regimen, and within every strict training routine contains within itself a deficiency. If you only work your weight training at low reps you won’t develop the localized muscular endurance that you might have otherwise. If you work high reps exclusively you won’t build the same strength or power that you would have at low rep. There are advantages and disadvantages to working out slowly, quickly, high weight, low weight, “cardio” before, cardio after, etc.

As a team, the fitness we will be pursuing, every parameter within our control needs to be modulated to broaden the stimulus as much as possible. Your body will only respond to an unfamiliar stressor, routine is the enemy of progress and broad adaptation. We will not commit to high reps, or low reps, or long rests, or short rests, but instead strive for variance.

A favorite of mine is is to blend elements of gymnastics and weight resistance training in pairs that combine to a dramatic metabolic challenge. An example would be to perform weighted squats followed immediately by a set of pull-ups repeated three to five times.

On other occasions we’ll take five or six elements balanced between weightlifting, metabolic conditioning, and gymnastics and combine them in a single circuit that we blow through three times without a break.

For as long as we train we will follow training programs like this to see and feel the results you would expect when working with a trainer.

In the world of fitness, the public has been led to believe that a series of isolation exercises and extended aerobic sessions will result in having great fitness. This is a huge misconception.

We work exclusively with compound exercises (multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at one time) and quick, high amplitude cardiovascular sets.

Fitness professionals today have substituted each isolation movement for a compound movement. Instead of hip extensions we do lunges.

I do this because it is proven scientific fact that compound exercises and high intensity exercises, which elicit anaerobic cardio, are both drastically more effective at getting the results you want.

02.

GETTING THE RESULTS YOU WANT

Fitness Approach FAQs

Find your inner athlete.

Athletes have greater bone density, stronger immune systems, less coronary heart disease, reduced cancer risk, fewer strokes, and lower incidence of depression than non-athletes.

Is this method of training a good choice for me?

Definitely! The only difference between you and a world class athlete is the degree of intensity. Increased power, strength, cardiovascular and respiratory endurance, flexibility, stamina, coordination, agility, and balance are all just as important to you as they are to the best athletes in the world. The awesome truth is that the exact same techniques that activate optimal response in Olympic and professional athletes will activate that same response in everyone, simply at a different load and level of strength. Everyone begins the program at different levels, of course, but we all benefit from employing exercises like squats which are universally essential in maintaining functional dependence and improving fitness. Through proper training and gradual increments in load, I can teach any functionally independent person to safely and effectively utilizemovements which are usually only reserved for elite athletes.

What does it mean for a program to based on “core strength and conditioning?

The fitness program I implement is a core strength and conditioning program in its most fundamental form. Core strength comes from various muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis, and run the entire length of the torso. When these muscles contract, they stabilize the spine, pelvis and shoulder girdle and create a solid base of support. When this happens, we are able to generate and transfer powerful movements from our core to and out through our extremities. Running, jumping, punching and throwing all originate at the core. A strong core distributes the stresses of weight-bearing and protects the back. A fitness program that can targets all of the core muscles, while conditioning them to be at their best from the inside out will prepare you for unforeseeable challenges.

The question often arises as to the applicability of a fitness program like this to older and deconditioned or detrained populations. The needs of an elite athlete vs a novice differ by intensity of work not type. One is looking for fitness dominance the other for fitness competence. Both manifest through identical physiological mechanisms.

Can I achieve the benefits of being “in shape” without being an athlete?

Only athletes develop bodies that are protected from aging and disease. Athletes in their eighties, forexample, are stronger than non-athletes in their twenties. Body strength is extremely important because disuse causes muscle atrophy, which is what puts people in nursing homes! Athletes have greater bone density, stronger immune systems, less coronary heart disease, reduced cancer risk, fewer strokes, and lower incidence of depression than non-athletes. Therefore, the answer to this question is No!

What exactly is an athlete?

Traditional definitions of an athlete describe someone who is trained in sports that require physical agility, stamina, or strength. A Cross Training athlete, however, is someone who is trained directly in agility,stamina, strength, power, and flexibility. I believe that athleticism, fitness, and health are one and the same.

I just want to be healthy – I don’t need to be an athlete to do that do I?

I completely understand. You’re not the first person to ask this question. I like to answer by posing a question in return. How do we measure health? Typically it includes blood tests, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, weight, body fat, muscle strength, etc. Those with great fitness are healthy. In other words, they have better than normal results in these measures. And the process of becoming fit ultimately means that we are also becoming athletes. Reiterated again, I believe that athleticism, fitness, and health are one and the same.

Are you wondering about time commitment?

You’re not alone. I can understand how obligations at work and at home prevent you from becoming as fit as you would want to be. The great news is that you only need an hour a day, six days a week to achieve your goals. It has been shown that the intensity of training necessary to reach optimal physical conditioning isobtained within the first forty-five minutes to one hour. Extended training past this time interval will have no added benefit for your purposes. Furthermore, your health is an innate part of your obligations to your family, your work, and yourself! Needless to say, you can make the time.