BodyForTheAges.org Blog

Weight training is more art than science.  Aerobics is no more than putting one foot in front of the other to make certain you don’t fall on your face.  To ensure maximum exposure to the art of building a body of your dreams, change trainers periodically.  No one trainer has all the knowledge of the sport’s infinite number of techniques.

Having been active in the field of medicine for a third of a century, I can tell you the art of weight training is not commonly known to medical professionals.  To exacerbate the problem, most know not, that they know not.

If you are rehabilitating from a medical condition or physical injury, consider the following.  You are not interested so much in how a muscle works, but how to work the muscle.  At BackPax (”peaceful backs” in Latin) Medical Center, the medically-oriented back rehabilitation clinic I founded, we gave up on physical therapists and instead hired registered nurses and nurse practitioners.  Not only were these nurse professionals more open to creative ideas about rehabilitation, they were generally more involved in their own back health and general fitness programs.

The nursing profession couldn’t be better represented by anyone other than my colleague, best friend, tower of power, and wife, Sophie “Super Soph” Taggart…Ms. America, Ms. World and Ms. Universe.  I think if you looked up “commitment” in the dictionary you would see her picture.  Yeah, I’m biased, but the credentials and the body warrants it.  Actually, “Super Soph” is a step above the level of a registered nurse, as she is a registered nurse practitioner.  The latter in many cases can prescribe drugs and diagnose medical problems, just like a licensed medical doctor, while the more common registered nurse does not have those options.

The typical physical therapists’ inherent deficiency, besides not knowing the art of the game, was that they wanted to control you, rather than train you.  This is a sensitive area with me.  When I scanned client results at BackPax I found, without exception, that individuals who were allowed to take responsibility for their own rehabilitation garnered infinitely superior results.

For some inexplicable reason, in my vast travels from one gym to another throughout the world, rarely do I see registered physical therapists as members, but the gyms always seem to be loaded with registered nurses and nurse practitioners

Some credentialed exercise physiologists and kinesiologists in licensed medical environments are quite knowledgeable about rehabilitation through weight-resistance training, but currently their work in this field is not routinely reimbursed by insurance companies.  They are frequently regulated to monitoring treadmill stress tests, while weight-resistance training authority reverts back to the ill trained physical therapist.  Nevertheless, given the option, I would choose an exercise physiologist or a kinesiologist with weight-resistance training experience over a physical therapist or medical doctor any day.

The best personal trainers are those that are independent business professionals (not employed) in the gyms, and the best personal coaches are likewise independent contractors in fitness-oriented health centers, not the hospitals.  Period.  End of report. Many personal trainers are not even college graduates, but a lot of them are so dedicated they have taken any one of a host of available educational weight-resistance training programs and become certified trainers.  A registered physical therapist degree or a medical shingle hung on an office wall does not represent a person qualified to teach the art of weight-resistance training.  I can’t say it with enough emphasis: If you are a stabilized heart rehab patient, and are allowed to exercise, get out of the hospital rehab center as fast as you are medically able. (Note: I emphasize only if you are a stabilized heart patient).

Find yourself, a personal trainer, or personal coach, and turn your rehabilitation into a fun wellness lifestyle…and yes, even an anti-aging lifestyle.  Stop feeling sorry for yourself.  Don’t think you are going to find a medical professional who will solve your rehab problem, once you have stabilized from surgery.  Don’t think the solution is only a prescription for a drug.  Don’t think of every breath as your last.  Ultimately, we all have a last breath.  Move on.  Get yourself a personal trainer, or preferably the more broad-based, multi-faceted personal coach, who knows the art even better than the science of weight-resistance training, and who will coach and encourage you. Understand results are your responsibility and involve your practicing the Total Commitment Motivational, Wellness Philosophy, then you will experience a real anti-aging, rejuvenating lifestyle.

Key concepts can be quite useful in inspiring our training. One of my favorites is the acronym FIT.

F stands for frequency. Working out once a week will not get you fit. A minimum commitment of at least three times a week is required to maintain our bodies. We are all familiar with the suggestions to take the stairs instead of the elevator, park several blocks away from your destination, and add to that three workouts a week to improve the functioning of your body.

I stands for intensity. We may go into the gym, do a couple of sets, and talk with other gym buddies. However, to utilize workout time efficiently, the number of sets, reps, and which muscles are to be worked needs to be determined before you start your workout to get the most out of it. If you have ever gone to the supermarket without a list, and wandered around and bought things you didn’t need, you know how inefficient we all can be.

Alternating muscle groups, allowing 45 seconds in between sets, or running the weight stack will get you moving and your mind focused. The weight needs to be heavy enough so you can’t do more than 12 repetitions after your warm-up set.

Several years ago there was a study done testing muscle fibers while the person focused on the working muscle compared to those who would look around and talk to others while training. Those who focused on the working muscle recruited more muscle fibers and were able to increase their strength in a shorter amount of time—not surprising.

T stands for time. Time needs to be dedicated to your workout sessions. In your personal calendar, your workouts require a time slot in your day, just like any other appointment. However, the time can be reduced to 45 minutes if you keep the intensity going.

A friend once commented to me,” We have to work out twice as hard, and eat half as much!” The reality may not be quite that harsh and there is also some truth to it. So plan your workout, work your plan and have a great workout!