We are all too familiar with the hustle and bustle of the new year with a plethora of resolutions to get in shape and lose weight.
What if this year, you could resolve to use your body in the way it was intended to be used? Should it be about counting calories and “feeling the burn”. Perhaps. But isn’t that the same goal and method you had last year.. and the year before that? Albert Einstein said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
This year, in 2016, I challenge you to choose sanity. I challenge you to think about ease of movement, grace, fluidity, coordination, and efficiency. These are the characteristics that make up a body that can withstand and prevent injury.
Did you know that the majority of injuries I see in my practice are overuse injuries as opposed to trauma? This means an injury develops over time (days, weeks, months, or years) rather than an immediate singular event. These types of injuries are due to faulty motor patterns (less than optimal form) and repetitive stress patterns (less than optimal form used over and over again). The majority of injuries I see at this time of year are due to jumping into a SINGLE exercise modality “too much, too fast, too soon”. Many people choose ONE particular modality of exercise and do it over and over again at this time of year.
We all know how important it is to diversify your portfolio when it comes to financial investments. It’s just as important to diversify your workout portfolio when it comes to investing in your body. In 2016 when you plan your resolutions, imagine your body as an investment. Think about a consistent steady stream of challenging your body, but also think about diversifying how you challenge your body.
In order to diversify your workout portfolio, you must consider the 5 main components of muscular fitness:
1) Strength - how much weight you can lift
2) Power - how quickly can you lift a weight
3) Endurance - how long can you sustain holding a weight
4) Flexibility - how much range of motion do you have
5) Coordination - how smoothly and fluidly can you move through your range of motion
At ROMNEY, programs are specifically designed to diversely challenge your body. While most classes include all aspects of the 5 components, each program emphasizes different pieces of the well rounded muscular fitness portfolio.
Feel free to use the following as a guide to choosing classes at ROMNEY to suit your body investment needs and continuously diversify your portfolio.
Classes like Warrior and Boot Camp are combinations of multiple ROMNEY programs. Boot Camp is the best single program at ROMNEY to diversify your workout. Boot Camp is designed to bundle the best aspects of all of the programs offered at ROMNEY resulting in the most diverse muscular fitness challenge for your body.
Please note… Cardiorespiratory Fitness is an entirely different category of Physical Fitness. It is not then intention of this article to expand upon all components of Physical Fitness, only focus on Muscular Fitness. Cardiorespiratory endurance is how well your heart and lungs can withstand exercise stressors. ROMNEY Ride is the best class to improve your cardiorespiratory endurance.
The overarching goal of my practice, Optimal Kinetics, is to educate individuals on how to move their bodies more efficiently. We are only given one body in this life and no one really tells us how to use it. Optimal Kinetics provides you with a “user manual” for how to move your body to decrease pain and tension while maximizing muscular fitness.
If you are interested in learning more and would like to schedule a private appointment, please email me at allisonmdalydpt@me.com or call 504.214.7999.
Until next time… wishing you a wealth of health and plenty of time to spend it!
Dr. Allison M Daly, PT
Optimal Kinetics, LLC