Get Out and Play!

This week's newsletter is a quick video that comes to us from Denmark.  Dr. Cobb of Z-Health tells us about an exciting new study that just came out from the University of Denmark.  They took a group of 70 year old men who had never played soccer before and taught them how.  The results were pretty incredible!
Here's the link:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140606091755.htm

The more we continue to learn and add "play" into our lives the happier and healthier we become... at any age!

Our training system teaches you how to re-learn to move your body and build the strength and skills to tackle any activity you'd like to do!

Want to learn more?  Join us on Saturday, June 21st from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM  for our **_Intro to the FE Magic_** workshop.  This is your opportunity to learn the actual science behind what we do- how it works, and how you can better use it to help you get the body and life you want!  This is also a great opportunity for you to learn a little more about us so you can better explain what we do to your family and friends... In fact, bring them with you!  This workshop is **FREE** for anyone who wants to attend and will be loaded with valuable information and tools anyone can take with them and apply immediately!

The Dose Matters!

The following is from the training course Andy created and taught in Arizona at the Z-Health Headquarters in April 2014:

 

This very simple illustration  holds the key formula to virtually guaranteeing you get results in every workout, training session, or rehab session you conduct- whether it is your own personal session or you are with a client.  The formula itself is simple.  Its application, to date, has not been so simple.  In fact, in a recent study, it was found that 85% of Americans who begin an exercise program quit within 6 weeks due to excessive pain or injury.  In short, those exercise programs were along the yellow and red continuum on our graph, and only 15% are actually in the green!  Dr. Eric Cobb, creator of Z-Health Performance Solutions, sums it up best with this quote: "Exercise is not so simple that you cannot screw it up."   But, we've been operating under that premise for decades.  

 In the graph above, you see that as the "amount of stressor" (in our case, training regiment) increases, there is also a corresponding increase in the benefit from adapting to that stressor...up to a certain point!  Once the amount of stressor becomes too great, adaptation (or gains) stop and even begins to degrade all the way to the point of possible harm if it's not stopped or corrected- in the fitness industry, this is referred to as "overtraining."  

You can also see that there's a "sweet spot".  That's the zone that, with just the right amount of stressors, we can get the maximum amount of benefit without any "diminishing returns."  This is where you want to be in every workout, training, or rehab session.

The question is, how do we really know if we are in that "sweet spot"?  How do we know, for sure, if we have done enough or too much?  Until recently, that was a really tough question to answer.  We either had to trust how we feel, trust that the coach that is prescribing the exercises knows how to tell if we are in that spot, or the workout that was written for anyone to try did hit the mark and the majority of the people who do it fall in that zone.  Unfortunately, according to the stat above, it only happens about 15% of the time- that's if everyone actually quits within 6 weeks and doesn't stick it out and put up with it longer which is also a very common occurrence- for some reason many of us tend to view diet and exercise as a punishment.  Furthermore, traditionally, that question cannot be answered until 4-6 weeks or longer down the road.   Sometimes that is too late.  There's nothing like going through a 4 week program, and even though you may have progressed some in that program, upon re-assessment you find that you have not made any progress towards your goal, or worse, you have gone backwards.  

The answer to this question is what we've been after for the past 4 years, and creating a system to do just that. You'll notice that in your training sessions or classes we will ask you to continually re-assess yourself.  This is why!  Based on how your body is responding to each exercise, we can know quite accurately what to do and how much of it we should do to get the most benefit from each training session without pushing your body too hard or too far and causing set backs.

What does this mean?  

Fitness Evolved members are in the Top 15% of exercisers in the United States!

"Oh, fitness? I need to stay away from you!"

 This morning Andy had an interesting experience while picking up an order from the copy center. The woman who was helping him noticed his FE t-shirt and said, "Oh, fitness? I need to stay away from you!"Andy then proceeded to explain to her that Fitness Evolved isn't your typical "gym" and that we do a lot of brain/neurology-based training. At that point she seemed to not be as intimidated, but what does her initial reaction say about the current fitness industry? As soon as someone sees or hears the word "fitness" they have a meltdown? It makes us wonder what else she associated that word with and what her previous experience was like. Maybe she once belonged to a big box gym, and either 1) was really intimidated by the people and equipment 2) had no guidance whatsoever and ended up getting hurt and not coming back or 3) had a trainer at one time who put her through the ringer, she got hurt. and never came back.  Or, maybe her only exposure to "fitness" is what she's seen on TV or the internet.

 

Unfortunately, these scenarios are far too common these days and we continue to hear countless stories from prospective members about their previous gym experience. This is the primary reason why Andy & Carmela started this gym and had the passion for making a huge change in the fitness industry. 

 

You see, fitness is much more than just 3 sets of 15 bicep curls, much more than "no pain, no gain", and definitely much more than seeing who can do the most burpees. The way we view fitness at FE is that it is NOT as important as health and wellness.Fitness does not make you healthy. Wait for it....ok, phew. Everyone ok with that statement? Now, we know we do a lot of things differently here and this may sound like another "FE-ism", but we want you to seriously think about it. How many people do you know or have you heard about that work out 5-7 days per week that still complain about a chronic injury, continue to get sick every few weeks or are constantly lethargic? We know quite a few, more than two handfuls, as a matter of fact. 

 

So, here's what we've been working on for the past year and have come up with based on our education and our past 4 years of actually working with clients:

 

"You don't need to exercise in order to get healthy.  You need to get healthy so you can exercise!"

Fitness is a process that goes in stages.  What gets missed in almost every training magazine, TV show, and, sadly, way too many gyms is that you need to have a strong foundation and quality movement before you start to overload and tax the body.  Skipping those important steps only puts "fitness on top of dysfunction" which is a recipe for disaster. 

 

Many of you have experienced it in your training, but we have finally been able to put our fingers on it and develop a tangible description of what a true health and fitness program should look like, and will be the basis of our training and messaging going forward.  In fact, you'll see it in the gym the next time you come in!  

 

Click Here for the Expanded Version of this Graphic 

 

As you can see, optimal performance comes in stages, starting with "Health."  If you don't have health first, gaining and keeping "Fitness" becomes nearly impossible and usually results in a discouraging ending.  At Fitness Evolved, we take the steps necessary to help you get to where you want not only quickly, but sustainably and safely!  It shouldn't make you want to "stay away from us."  It should be fun, feel good, and make you keep wanting to come back for more!  

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night....

  

We all remember that cool 80's song, right?  If not, here's a little refresher for you from Corey Hart:

Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night

Anyways....  We've been focusing a lot on vision training this year because it plays such an important role in our daily lives- how we see, read, move, and even feel.  One of our Vision Gym Challenge contestants just mentioned today how much less overall tension she feels in her body since she's been working with the Vision Gym.  

  

So, on to wearing our sunglasses at night- that's what it can seem like if our night time vision isn't up to par!  Night vision is an extension of what we call "contrast sensitivity."  Contrast sensitivity measures your ability to distinguish objects, clearly, that are similar in color or brightness.  For example, it's very easy to see a black cat in the snow because there's a stark contrast between the black fur and white snow.  However, it's much more difficult to see a white cat in the snow because there's a much smaller gap in contrast.  Seeing at night is being able to quickly and accurately distinguish objects with less contrast than typically occurs during the day time.

Incidentally, having better contrast sensitivity also allows for easier reading.  The smaller the font size, the more sharp your sensitivity needs to be to pick up each letter and not have the black letters look like blobs or ants marching across the paper.  

  

We've come across another great tool that can really help with both skills- seeing at night and with reading.   And....It's accessible right on your iPhone or Android device!  The typical training is about 5-7 minutes a day. (They recommend 2-3x/week, but if you've been training your vision for a bit and your eyes are somewhat resilient, you can do this one more often.)  

The app is called "Glasses Off"  Click Here to load it.

It's been widely tested and has gotten some phenomenal results.

Anecdotally, Andy has been using it for the past week, and has actually seen some really fast improvements in things he's been working on for the past year.  He's been trying to improve his clarity on the roads at night during the commute home and has noticed an improvement.  He's been trying to read line #1 on this chart from the Vision Gym and is almost there. And, his vision has gone from 20/10 to 20/8 and working on 20/6 in less than a week of training!

We still have a few of The Vision Gyms available for sale here if you or someone you know would like to get started. Or, pick up this app, start training and see what happens!

The Secret to Long-Term Success

 Last October, we did a newsletter focusing on "The Process or the Results."  (for a refresher, click here.)

In that newsletter, we discussed how the best performers, not just in athletics but in all different aspects of life, are focused more on the process, trusting that will lead them to the results they're after.

 

This is one of the most important, and challenging, concepts for us to understand and master if we want to continue to be successful.  We see it a lot when it comes to making changes in either exercise, diet, or daily routines.  Many people come to us with a very big goal- "I want to lose X# of pounds, and be healthy and fit for life."  This is a great goal, and we love helping people get there! 

But, the first step to losing that many pounds is to lose 1 pound.  The first step to losing 1 pound is to make some sort of dietary change.  There are a multitude of dietary changes that can help you lose that 1 pound, which will you choose?

Being healthy and fit for life starts with exercising.  Before exercising, there may be some injury, pain, or movement dysfunction issues that need to be addressed to allow you to exercise safely, efficiently, and long-term.  85% of Americans who begin an exercise program quit within 6 weeks due to excessive pain or injury- not a good strategy for lifelong health and fitness!

 

The point is this... Having big goals is great, and we should all have them.  BUT, once you set them, put them away for a while, and focus on the smaller things that will get you to your goal.  Hitting smaller, more attainable goals regularly keeps momentum and keeps you on track to hitting that big goal.  

For example, instead of completely overhauling your diet, going on a cleanse, or any other fad that's out there, you may be able to more easily change an eating habit.  Did you know that, on average,  we eat 10% fewer calories when we put our fork down between bites than when we don't?  (Time for some Math:  2,000 calories/day x 10%= 200 calories less/day= 73,000 fewer calories/year!)

Making a small amount of progress each day equates to quite a bit change over the course of a year!  

 

Set the big goal, and then focus on the smaller, more manageable pieces that you can implement to get you there.

 

This is one of the simplest, most powerful (and challenging!) concepts that we could ever teach you. We've taught, and will be teaching many more, concepts, workshops, and classes.  But the most important one we can offer you is below.  This workshop can literally give you the tools to make any change you want in your life, and to truly have the life you want.  Give yourself the permission and the tools to write a new story!  

80/20 Your Life!!!

We're almost a quarter of the way thru 2014, can you believe it? At this point in the year, we want to ask you a few things:

1) Did you set new goals for 2014?

2) Have you completed any or are on your way to completing some?

3) Have you forgotten about them already? 

If you answered "yes" to ANY of those questions, this newsletter and the info below is for you! As coaches, we often see and hear about "failure" to do X,Y or Z from our clients, family and friends. Although this is a very common issue, we wanted you all to know that when it comes to goal setting and achievements/successes, it's not about being perfect all the time, but rather staying consistent most of the time. 

Fitness Evolved has teamed up with Christine Scudder, MSW & Board Certified Coach, to bring you a series of classes called "80/20 Your Life in 2014!". We will take concepts from exercise science, neuroscience, and psychology to figure out the simple techniques to stay consistent most of the time. If you, or anyone you know, continues to struggle with one particular area of your life and truly want 2014 to be the year you tackle it, we invite you to attend our free introductory meeting on April 9th at 7pm, right here at FE. We've attached the brochure for this special series of classes, and we'd love for you to forward it on to anyone who might need it. There is also a website (in progress, though accessible) that you can check out for more info! 

80/20 Your Life Info 

Website:www.8020yourlife.com 

Mindful Exercise and Cognitive Performance

 Research shows that the more actively engaged you are in your own program and training, the better your results.  As you know, our members' results have always been more important to us than numbers.  We want to give you the tools to get the bests results possible!  

Here's a quick 4 minute video that explains this phenomenon better based on some very new research:

The 1 Step Text Message Exercise Program

This week Dr. Cobb of Z-Health is back with a quick video (less than 3 minutes!) and a brilliant idea for us.  

Our goal at FE is to give our members tools to use that they can implement into their daily lives to help you create the change you want.  We've all found exercises we need to do often as "resets" or part of our rehab and training.  Having a physical reminder is a great way to interrupt the pattern so we can start to implement the new pattern.  

The 1-Step "Text Message Exercise Program"

We even have a downloadable guide to help you.

Click Here for Your Guide

Give this a try!  Whether it's taking the time to do a "reset" in your workday, or doing a mobility or vision exercise you've been "prescribed" by one of your coaches to do daily, pick something!  Consistency is what creates change!  Remember the goal isn't to use text messages to help you "get fit", but to learn how to use things that occur frequently in your life as reminders to take action on things you really want to make happen!