In this same workout there were 2 younger men (in their mid 20’s) who appeared very fit.  One of these men had substantial muscle mass in the chest and shoulders – most likely from bench press and other free-weight training.  Although this man looked very strong he had a hard time completing the upper body conditioning which involved body weight exercises.

As I drove home from this workout I started to think about how interesting it was that this young man, who could probably bench press almost twice his own body weight, could not complete even 60 seconds of medicine ball push-ups without going to his knees.  I found it so interesting because I realized (again) that many people confuse strength for conditioning.  In other words, training to lift heavy weights is not conditioning for real-time physical activity, it just develops strength.

To offer a simple definition, strength is the ability to lift a weight (body weight or external resistance).  A very strong person can lift very heavy loads, whereas a weak person can lift only very light loads.  Conditioning refers to the body’s ability to utilize strength at varying rates of speed and body positions.  Often the word “conditioning” also implies the ability to maintain performance throughout an event (endurance).

Going back to the young guy with the big pecs . . . sure he can bench press way more than I can, but (luckily for me) martial arts events don’t take place in a weight room – they take place on the mat, the ring or the dojo.  In these environments it is conditioning that counts, not just raw strength.  Many people get focused on developing strength and forget they are training for performance in a sport, not to lift heavy weights.

The most common excuse for lack of exercise is lack of time.  People are too busy or work too much to work out.  Then they whine and complain about not having the body they want.  That is just lame.  Everyone has time to work out, they just don’t do it.

You have to make time to work out!  If you have to hire a trainer to kick your butt, then do it.  If you need to join a class with a friend to motivate you, then do it.

If you are still trying to use the “I’m too busy” excuse.  Here are some time saving ideas for you:

• Turn off the TV
• Stop online shopping
• Don’t go to a movie
• Stop playing video games
• Hire a babysitter sometimes
• Don’t enroll all your children in 6 different activities at once
• Just say “NO” to after work drinks (at least 2 times/week)

We complain when things are not done fast enough for us or when things are difficult to do.  Exercise is no exception.  People say they don’t exercise because they have no time – that is just and excuse.  The real reason people don’t work out is because it is hard work.  Well boo hoo!  I am not impressed.  Yeah its hard, big deal – THAT’S THE POINT!  The challenge of exercise is what makes it valuable.  Sure, other things come easier, all the things that make us weak!

So many people whine about how hard it is to find time to exercise and that they are just not motivated to push themselves.  Well guess what people – that’s lame.

What American’s want is to have great bodies and tons of energy without doing any of the work.  Guess what people – that’s nuts.  There is no such thing as fitness without hard work.  It is time to stop making excuses and start moving.  If you don’t like the work, that’s your own problem.

As in all sports or physical activities, martial arts is only fun in so far as one can comfortably endure the physical work that it takes to perform the activity.  In other words, it stops being fun when you are tired.  The sooner the fatigue occurs, the less time the student (player) can spend having fun while learning.  The only way to have more fun (and develop skill)  is to be more fit.  There are many ways to become more fit, but they all involve a lot of repetition.  Most people do not like repetition because it is not exciting or interesting enough to hold their attention (maybe that’s why most people are not fit?).

At one point during the seminar, the person I was working with says to me “I am running out of options.”  And I replied “You don’t need more options, you just need to have a few that you can get every time.”  His reply was “Where’s the fun in that?”

We can see  the student’s distaste for repetition by way of this comment.  This attitude is all too common among martial arts students, and is the reason that most people do not stick with their training.  It also the reason people do not stick with their workout regimens.

There are a few interesting contradictions in this way of thinking which i would paraphrase:   “It has to be fun for me to want to work hard at it.”

1. First of all, the reason he ran out of options was that I was larger, stronger and more fit than him, so he could not rely on intimidation or brute strength.  The contradiction here is that the student does not take responsibility for his own success or failure when training gets mundane, but is happy to claim bragging rights when everything is going his way.
2. Secondly, the true talent of elite athletes in any sport is their ability to flawlessly repeat the basic movements of their sport or art with effortless grace and precision – NOT to re-invent the event in every moment.  Basics are basics, and a person’s concept of fun can either include them or not, but they are still the foundation of success. No one likes lunges or push-ups, but they will always be effective.  The people who look beyond their desire to be entertained by exercise programs, and actually do the work, will have more fun working in the long term because they will continue to get results.
3. Third and finally, repetition is not fun.  I agree – it is less fun to take the same technique and do it 1,000 times than it is to change techniques every 10 minutes or so; unfortunately, that is how you become proficient. When we strive to increase our level of fitness, we should be focused on results.  Loosing weight and finally getting new clothes that you feel confident wearing is fun – so who cares if we have to do a few “boring” things to get there – isn’t it worth it?  If not, then you don’t get to whine when someone who has done the work shows you up.

The training process does not always have to be fun to be rewarding. In fact, training is often difficult, humiliating and painful, but the skills (fitness) that we develop help us have fun as we progress.

Fitness: The process of using discipline to make specific life choices regarding diet, physical activity & rest to improve the overall function of the human body in all of its capacities.

There are two key words in this definition – the first of which is process. The state of being fit (or the struggle to get more fit) is not static – it is always evolving, always in flux.  To improve over time we must be able to adapt our choices to our current level of fitness.  In other words, the more fit you are, the more you have to adapt your choices to get to the next level.   This is also the case with unfit people.  The unfit person is involved in a process of making choices that negatively impact their level of fitness.  The more unfit they become, the more that their choices become detrimental.  Either way, fitness is not a fixed concept – it is the relationship between our choices and their results. Every choice affects the resulting condition of our bodies, and that condition then reinforces or influences the next choice.

For example, the unfit person who finally looses 20 pounds and feels better about themselves will want to continue their progress and slowly begin to modify their lifestyle (become more fit).  In the same way – a fit person who “falls off the wagon” and gains 10 pounds will strive to re-evaluate their choices and get back on track.  Both of these scenarios can also progress in opposite direction.  When the unfit person gets results, they might slack off thinking that they have done enough, and the unfit person who gains weight may think, “whats the point?” and just let go of their fitness goals.

The only way to make fitness a reality (as a process) is through discipline - the second key word in my definition of fitness.  This is not an important word in America – we do not value moderation in the U.S. – we value excess.  To make any process predictable and transparent, we need discipline.  Unfortunately, there is no glory in being disciplined.  No one will thank you for being disciplined, they probably won’t even notice or understand.

As a 23 veteran of martial arts and a personal trainer, I understand better than most people how discipline is realted to fitness.  All of my most successful clients and students are those who do not miss their classes or workouts.  The people who are consistent will get results regardless of their natural ability level.  Discipline is a skill in itself, and it will yeild better results than natural talent  in almost every case.  There is no substitute for hard work, and there is no short-cut to becoming fit – contrary to whatever you might read in your trendy magazines.

To wrap this one up – my advice to anyone who is reading this is:

1. If you consider yourself fit:  Do not get comfortable in your routine – if you think you have everything figured out because you are doing well right now – that is not what fitness is about. Fitness is about always improving – so whatever you do now is rapidly becoming obsolete, now get to work on finding out what new challenge is awaiting you.
2. If you are “out of shape”:  Many of you are not working out because you can’t decide what kind of exercise is the best for you, or what fits your schedule.  That is not what fitness is about.  What you need to do is start making different life choices:  eat less, eat better food, cut the soft drinks, take the stairs, walk your dog, ride your bike, stop watching so much TV. These every-day choices are what is important.

1. general fitness (a state of health and well-being)
2. specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on the ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations).

There is an obvious between these 2 categories – a person has to be generally fit before they can become specifically fit.  This is the abstract concept of fitness, but it does not give us any idea of what a fit person looks like or what he or she might be able to do.  To move from the abstract to the concrete definition of fitness we need to examine the key elements of fitness:

• Cardiovascular Fitness
• Muscular Strength
• Muscular Endurance
• Flexibility

There are various ways to test or evaluate a person’s fitness level based on these categories – 1 mile walk/run tests, aerobic step tests, push-up or sit-up tests, range of motion tests,  body fat calculations, body mass index, etc.  Then based on the “average” results of each age group we could assign every person a fitness level.  If someone wants to improve their fitness level, they need a good exercise program that addresses and improves all of these elements.

Now that we have an idea of what fitness means, the next question is what activity does one choose to become [more] fit?  There are so many modes or types of exercise to choose from – swimming, cycling, running, weight training, core training, yoga, martial arts, dancing, the list goes on and on and on.

Once we select a mode of exercise, then we have to determine how to quantify the actual workout sessions:

• Intensity – How hard do I work?
• Duration – How long do I exercise for?
• Volume  – How many sets and repetitions/workout?
• Load – How much resistance (if any) is needed?

At this point in the discussion, it is obvious that understanding and developing fitness is more complicated than most people realize! You would never have guessed it if you looked up the word “fitness” in the dictionary.  Websters online dictionary defines fitness as “the quality or state of being fit.”  That seems simple . . . However, the words “quality” and “state” are quite different terms to use in a single definition.   If someone has the “quality” of being fit it almost implies that it is part of who they are, and not the result of what they do.  On the contrary – the phrase “state of being” suggests that we have to actively do something to be fit.

I think all this information is important, but in my opinion, we need a new definition of fitness that is less academic and more functional.   When we separate fintess into categories and elements we get a piecemeal appraoch to exercise programming which is time-consuming and dull.  In my next post – Fitness Defined Part 2 – I will propose a new definition for fitness and explain why it might help more people understand and develop their own fitness level.

This fitness blog is here to educate my clients, friends/family and the public about what cutting-edge exercise programming is all about.  Most people (including personal trainers) are stuck in the stone ages of exercise – no wonder so few people are fit and enjoy exercise.  I hope this blog will re-define your ideas about exercise.