When most people search on Google for a personal trainer, (or in this case personal trainer Playa Vista ) they are wanting to get into better shape, whether it be to lose weight, gain muscle, or get conditioned for a specific sport, or work towards the type of life that will end the need for prescription drugs to control their physiology.
Well, as with most things in life all personal trainers are not created equal, and their abilities and therefore the results they can give you are often very different. The quality of a trainer is defined by passion, a continuous desire to get better, and natural talent. When hiring most personal trainers they will wheel you around a circuit of mostly 10-12 machines, on a count from 1 to 10 basis. This circuit is usually repeated 2 to 3 times with all the movements done in the comfort of a nice chair… Sound familiar? Well that’s great business for their personal trainers, as it is easy and can be done from the knowledge gained from a one day course, as all they need to do is basically adjust the machine and know how to count from 1-10… Simple!
The drawback is that for any person wishing to improve the functionality and fitness level of their body, settling for this type of training will bring little “bang for the time invested”, not to mention money. The only benefit maybe psychological in that you feel you are doing something. If you did not go to the gym for a year and then went back, you would probably notice the same people doing the same machines on a count from 1-10 basis, with 2-3 circuits. You would also notice very little if any change in the trainees appearance or fitness level, as in order to have what you have not had before, you must do what you have not done before. Doing the same mundane easy routine, will bring the same mundane results.
Are you one of those people??… If yes this next part is for you!
Life is busy and you need to make a sacrifice both in time and money to go to a gym 2 to 3 times per week to exercise, so it’s best to use your limited time to get as much benefit as you can. The whole point of any exercise routine is to get your body to function and perform better, whether it be in sporting activities, or in the mundane of everyday life. Machine training is great for getting ‘show’ muscles like bigger biceps for a summer tank top, or poolside on a vacation, but for the functionality of everyday life, such as lifting luggage, moving furniture, carrying a TV from Fry’s to the car, or balancing on a ladder to reach up to a shelf, these isolated now bigger muscles are useless. What use is there to bigger muscles without it translating to being able to go about the routine of daily life more ease. .
Machines quite simply due to their isolation of individual muscle groups, are not effective in creating the duality of translating what you can lift, verses what is demanded of your body in the ‘real’ world. I’m sure it will start to make sense to you by now, that sitting and just moving your arms, or legs slowly up or down will do nothing to improve your everyday mobility or performance.
The training routine/program that Nick will set up for you will be a customized program determined by a comprehensive evaluation, including current routine if any, your present health and limitations, nutrition and supplement schedule. The routine will compliment the movements that you call upon your body in everyday life, using varying speeds and angles, fast or slow adapting to various stimuli both multi/uni -planar. In core functional training it is essential to develop an awareness of every moving part of your body involved in a particular movement. It is also important that your body is constantly adapting to the correct position, maintaining correct balance and alignment throughout each movement.
The benefit to you of using core/ functional movements is that it uses more of your body’s 206 muscles to perform each movement, giving you maximum results in a shorter time. It also fires up your core and turbo boosts the burning of calories, compared to the regular, monotonous count from 1-10 machine style gym training.
The body only knows movements as it relates to function.
Functional is integrated training, using multiple directions (Multi- planar) movements that involve stabilization, acceleration and deceleration.
The best way for me to put it in comprehensive terms, is to describe it as being integrated training to achieve more effective movement patterns. It stimulates the body to work as a synergistic moving piece, resulting in a body that can perform at a higher level in sports, as it functions with balance, and not the rigidity associated with most PERSONAL TRAINING.
Functional TRAINING puts the the focus on increasing strength, flexibility, endurance, speed and agility.
Core/ functional training will not only improve an athlete’s performance, but the average person to develop strength and balance that will aid everyday activities, such as carrying a child, or walking down the street with some bags of groceries. A core/functional training program will also aid in the correct activation of the musculoskeletal system, by stimulating the more efficient functioning of the nervous system.
Nick, Playa vista personal trainer
