BY JIMMY ARD (Special to the Morning News)
With over 30 years of experience in the industry of making people fit, I can tell you one thing for sure – evolution is the key to success. That’s why I’m so excited to be a trainer for Florence’s Biggest Loser with two teams of fantastic individuals who are evolving in their own health and fitness.
I started my career at South Florence High School as a social studies teacher and football coach in 1981. In 2001, I moved to West Florence High School, where I was a social studies teacher and offensive line coach for the football team. At that time, strength training in football was all about vertical, straight motion. We did lots of squats, lots of sit-ups and spent a lot of time on the bench press, movements that kept your body in a straight line.
One day, I read in a college coaching magazine that strength training at that level was changing. A coach was working with 300-pound offensive linemen who were having trouble blocking in space and were struggling against torque-like forces. He wanted to help them become better athletes so he began using Pilates type exercises to combat “3D” forces by strengthening their core. The core includes the area from your lower hamstrings to your shoulders. These muscles stabilize and protect your spine and help your upper and lower body work together.
The coach saw rapid improvement and introduced these core exercises to the entire team. I decided to implement more core work in our program at West Florence. The players were skeptical, joking about doing Pilates like their moms. However, 30 seconds into the first Plank, they stopped talking and gained a whole new respect for their mom’s Pilates class. As we incorporated more of these core movements, they could feel and see changes in their bodies and they got better on the field too!
That’s the importance of evolution. It’s an adaptation to new standards and new knowledge, not bouncing from new fad to new trend. The Biggest Loser is trying to evolve the people in the program. It’s not about crash diets or fast-fix fitness. If you fail to learn and grow in a sustainable and thoughtful way, you’re going to get left behind.
As you continue your journey to evolve your health and fitness, here are a few tips to help you keep going.
Do it when you’re tired. True commitment is doing something when you really don’t feel like it. There is nothing that lifts your spirits, relieves stress and energizes you like a good workout. Believe me that 10 minutes in, you’ll be happy you decided to exercise.
Share it. Letting others know about your goals and getting others to sign on with you will increase your enthusiasm and your the accountability. Right now, I train a man that I coached 20 years ago. His grandmother, who is in her 80s, also works out. They inspire each other.
Beaware of progress. Don’t just look to the scale or how your clothes fit for progress because you won’t see it there as quickly as you would like. Do you feel better? Can you walk up a flight of stairs more easily? Do you have more energy? Are you sleeping better? These are all positive effects from your increased fitness.
Try new things! You add spice to food to flavor it up, you need to spice up your workouts too. The core workout that I’ve developed is great for any age, any level. Core training is essential for functional strength – it may be lifting something in the garage or moving a 250-pound defensive tackle who doesn’t want to move. Try it!
Read the full story and watch the video at SCNOW.com!