To those of you whose wish fell under the health category, well done, we are on the same page for this article to be relevant to you today.
To those whose wish did not, then that's ok, because I'm a firm believer that in order to have fullness in your life you need to have balance in all four categories so please don't throw your wish away, please read on.
If I could give you a magic potion, a secret pill and it could make you young, fit, healthy, with more energy, more get up and go, how many of you would choose to take that magic pill, that potion and how many would simply choose to age? If I could show you by the end of this article that the never ending fountain of youth, the secret potion, that magic pill is not a fantasy, that it truly exists today and that I could show you where to find it, would you want to know where you can get your hands on it? This fountain of youth, if implemented successfully, could slow your body from aging, could minimise the risk of you falling prey to most 21st century lifestyle diseases like obesity, type II diabetes and osteoporosis, could reduce your blood pressure, could minimise the risk of having to have joint replacement operations and live a long, prosperous and healthy life, enjoying the fruits of your hard working life saving for retirement, who wants to know where to find it? Rather than tell you where to find it, I'm going to demonstrate it to you, so could you please stand up.
Now sit down.
Now do that again, stand up and sit down.
One last time, stand up and sit down.
If I was to tell you that you that what you just did had just unlocked that fountain of youth, taken that magic potion, or swallowed that secret pill, who would believe me? You just performed a primal movement pattern, a squat.
Not only did you do that, but you also performed it under gravity.
You loaded your spine in order to do that.
Who knows the term given to what you just did? It's called resistance training.
Why, because you performed it under resistance of gravity and it was loaded with your body weight.
It's also referred to as weight training and guess what folks, that's your secret pill, that's your magic potion, that's your own secret fountain of youth.
Now I know some of you reading this may be a little sceptical, and please I understand why.
I too was in your exact frame of mind, but believe me, as you read on, you will quickly come to realise, as I did that resistance training in some form or another is the key.
However, before we explore resistance training in more detail, I'm, going to open your eyes to some fairly alarming statistics.
In 2007, there were 7 million overweight or obese people living in Australia.
In 2008, 49% of the population of Victoria was classified as overweight or obese and by the year 2020, that figure is estimated to blow out to 75% of the population and in case that's not enough, here's some more alarming statistics for you: From the age of 30 through to 60, (presuming you live that long) the average adult will lose approximately a quarter of a kilogram of muscle mass every year and gain approximately half a kilogram of body fat every year over the same period.
That's a whopping 7 kilogram loss of muscle and a 15 kilogram gain of body fat over the 30 year period, JUST BY AGING.
Here is some more alarming information for you.
It is also from around aged 30, that your body stops laying down bone mineral density.
Again, from this time forward, as you age, your bones become less and less dense with the consequences being quite dramatic and consuming large doses of calcium will not on it's own prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
OK, enough of the alarming stuff lets re-discover this fountain of youth.
What exactly is resistance training? World renown holistic lifestyle practitioner Paul Chek has termed the seven primal movement patterns called squat, lunge, push, pull, bend, twist and gait (gait being walk jog and run).
You'll notice that he has made no mention of the term "sit" and that's because as a species, the human body was never designed to sit.
Sitting has become one of the leading factors in our poor healthy condition today, but that's the subject of another article of mine, "Sitting all day, well it just might be killing you.
".
Instead of me trying to convince you, here's a list of some benefits and you can make up your own mind as to whether you'd like to experience some of these for yourself.
Resistance training can cause body fat loss (not weight loss).
The fundamental premise behind fat loss is a very simple equation where calories out exceeds calories in.
By performing resistance training, you increase your body's requirement to use calories, because muscles require energy to function (whereas fat does not) and so the leaner muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when sitting down doing nothing.
Now this does not mean you all have to go out and become body builders, not at all.
That's not what I am saying.
It simply means that by performing some form of resistance training, you can minimise muscle loss and body fat gain.
In summary, you can slow stop or even reverse the aging process.
Resistance training causes joints, ligaments and tendons to become stronger.
In order to perform any resistance based training exercise, you have to move your joints through a range of motion and it is our muscles contracting that allow us to move, much like the cables on a crane shortening in order for a crane to move.
Not only do muscles get stronger through being used, but so too does all of the connective tissue surrounding that joint, including ligaments and tendons and this means less likelihood of requiring joint replacement operations as we age.
How of you have had or know someone who has had to have a joint replaced? Resistance training can increase your strength.
As you place your muscles under stress by performing resistance training, your body will adapt to the stress by growing, by becoming stronger in order to compensate for the stress that you placed upon it.
So, performing every day chores like gardening, playing golf, or simply lifting things off the floor can still be performed with relative ease, even as you age.
Resistance training can improve your range of movement/motion.
Another downside to aging is that you lose your flexibility, or your range of movement.
How many of you reading this article could not sit all the way down when I asked you to at the beginning of this article without plonking into the chair? And how many of you could not stand up again without having to use some form of either momentum or assistance? If you answered yes to either of these then chances are, you've lost some range of movement in your hips and/or knees and as a result, could not perform a primal movement pattern, namely a squat.
OK, so what have we learned so far? We've learned that resistance training, if performed correctly and safely, can slow, stop or even reverse the aging process, thus giving you your own form of fountain of youth, your own supply of magic pills.
Where to from here? How do you start? First step would be to pop off and see your doctor and get a health check up.
Before starting any exercise regime, it is vitally important for you to see where you are at, health wise.
If your doctor says, "you are ok", you don't need to do anything, get yourself another doctor, one that does more than diagnose and prescribes drugs to fix you.
Once you've had a health check up done, the next step is to actually take some action.
And this is where it gets difficult.
There are so many different options out there, health clubs, personal training studios, sports clubs, you name it, it's out there.
Where do you go, how do you start, how do you know you are doing it safely? The purpose of this article is not to get you to come and train with me.
It's to get you off your butt and TAKE SOME ACTION.
Whatever you do, make sure you actually DO SOMETHING.
Don't just read this article and then do nothing.
Otherwise you'll just end up as one of the 7 million Australian's overweight or obese.
Just because I work in a health club, does not mean my message is you have to join one.
There are lots of options out there, just make sure you get up off your behind, check them all out and then actually do something.
Here are some of the options for you to choose from: •Join a health club, fitness centre or gym •Join a personal training studio.
•Join a local sports club (and I do not mean one with pokies).
•Join a YMCA.
•Join a group of friends or work colleagues.
•Get yourself a qualified personal trainer.
To those whose wish did not, then that's ok, because I'm a firm believer that in order to have fullness in your life you need to have balance in all four categories so please don't throw your wish away, please read on.
If I could give you a magic potion, a secret pill and it could make you young, fit, healthy, with more energy, more get up and go, how many of you would choose to take that magic pill, that potion and how many would simply choose to age? If I could show you by the end of this article that the never ending fountain of youth, the secret potion, that magic pill is not a fantasy, that it truly exists today and that I could show you where to find it, would you want to know where you can get your hands on it? This fountain of youth, if implemented successfully, could slow your body from aging, could minimise the risk of you falling prey to most 21st century lifestyle diseases like obesity, type II diabetes and osteoporosis, could reduce your blood pressure, could minimise the risk of having to have joint replacement operations and live a long, prosperous and healthy life, enjoying the fruits of your hard working life saving for retirement, who wants to know where to find it? Rather than tell you where to find it, I'm going to demonstrate it to you, so could you please stand up.
Now sit down.
Now do that again, stand up and sit down.
One last time, stand up and sit down.
If I was to tell you that you that what you just did had just unlocked that fountain of youth, taken that magic potion, or swallowed that secret pill, who would believe me? You just performed a primal movement pattern, a squat.
Not only did you do that, but you also performed it under gravity.
You loaded your spine in order to do that.
Who knows the term given to what you just did? It's called resistance training.
Why, because you performed it under resistance of gravity and it was loaded with your body weight.
It's also referred to as weight training and guess what folks, that's your secret pill, that's your magic potion, that's your own secret fountain of youth.
Now I know some of you reading this may be a little sceptical, and please I understand why.
I too was in your exact frame of mind, but believe me, as you read on, you will quickly come to realise, as I did that resistance training in some form or another is the key.
However, before we explore resistance training in more detail, I'm, going to open your eyes to some fairly alarming statistics.
In 2007, there were 7 million overweight or obese people living in Australia.
In 2008, 49% of the population of Victoria was classified as overweight or obese and by the year 2020, that figure is estimated to blow out to 75% of the population and in case that's not enough, here's some more alarming statistics for you: From the age of 30 through to 60, (presuming you live that long) the average adult will lose approximately a quarter of a kilogram of muscle mass every year and gain approximately half a kilogram of body fat every year over the same period.
That's a whopping 7 kilogram loss of muscle and a 15 kilogram gain of body fat over the 30 year period, JUST BY AGING.
Here is some more alarming information for you.
It is also from around aged 30, that your body stops laying down bone mineral density.
Again, from this time forward, as you age, your bones become less and less dense with the consequences being quite dramatic and consuming large doses of calcium will not on it's own prevent the onset of osteoporosis.
OK, enough of the alarming stuff lets re-discover this fountain of youth.
What exactly is resistance training? World renown holistic lifestyle practitioner Paul Chek has termed the seven primal movement patterns called squat, lunge, push, pull, bend, twist and gait (gait being walk jog and run).
You'll notice that he has made no mention of the term "sit" and that's because as a species, the human body was never designed to sit.
Sitting has become one of the leading factors in our poor healthy condition today, but that's the subject of another article of mine, "Sitting all day, well it just might be killing you.
".
Instead of me trying to convince you, here's a list of some benefits and you can make up your own mind as to whether you'd like to experience some of these for yourself.
Resistance training can cause body fat loss (not weight loss).
The fundamental premise behind fat loss is a very simple equation where calories out exceeds calories in.
By performing resistance training, you increase your body's requirement to use calories, because muscles require energy to function (whereas fat does not) and so the leaner muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even when sitting down doing nothing.
Now this does not mean you all have to go out and become body builders, not at all.
That's not what I am saying.
It simply means that by performing some form of resistance training, you can minimise muscle loss and body fat gain.
In summary, you can slow stop or even reverse the aging process.
Resistance training causes joints, ligaments and tendons to become stronger.
In order to perform any resistance based training exercise, you have to move your joints through a range of motion and it is our muscles contracting that allow us to move, much like the cables on a crane shortening in order for a crane to move.
Not only do muscles get stronger through being used, but so too does all of the connective tissue surrounding that joint, including ligaments and tendons and this means less likelihood of requiring joint replacement operations as we age.
How of you have had or know someone who has had to have a joint replaced? Resistance training can increase your strength.
As you place your muscles under stress by performing resistance training, your body will adapt to the stress by growing, by becoming stronger in order to compensate for the stress that you placed upon it.
So, performing every day chores like gardening, playing golf, or simply lifting things off the floor can still be performed with relative ease, even as you age.
Resistance training can improve your range of movement/motion.
Another downside to aging is that you lose your flexibility, or your range of movement.
How many of you reading this article could not sit all the way down when I asked you to at the beginning of this article without plonking into the chair? And how many of you could not stand up again without having to use some form of either momentum or assistance? If you answered yes to either of these then chances are, you've lost some range of movement in your hips and/or knees and as a result, could not perform a primal movement pattern, namely a squat.
OK, so what have we learned so far? We've learned that resistance training, if performed correctly and safely, can slow, stop or even reverse the aging process, thus giving you your own form of fountain of youth, your own supply of magic pills.
Where to from here? How do you start? First step would be to pop off and see your doctor and get a health check up.
Before starting any exercise regime, it is vitally important for you to see where you are at, health wise.
If your doctor says, "you are ok", you don't need to do anything, get yourself another doctor, one that does more than diagnose and prescribes drugs to fix you.
Once you've had a health check up done, the next step is to actually take some action.
And this is where it gets difficult.
There are so many different options out there, health clubs, personal training studios, sports clubs, you name it, it's out there.
Where do you go, how do you start, how do you know you are doing it safely? The purpose of this article is not to get you to come and train with me.
It's to get you off your butt and TAKE SOME ACTION.
Whatever you do, make sure you actually DO SOMETHING.
Don't just read this article and then do nothing.
Otherwise you'll just end up as one of the 7 million Australian's overweight or obese.
Just because I work in a health club, does not mean my message is you have to join one.
There are lots of options out there, just make sure you get up off your behind, check them all out and then actually do something.
Here are some of the options for you to choose from: •Join a health club, fitness centre or gym •Join a personal training studio.
•Join a local sports club (and I do not mean one with pokies).
•Join a YMCA.
•Join a group of friends or work colleagues.
•Get yourself a qualified personal trainer.
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