Twenty-Two Years of Learning

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If I told you that we have learned something about our clients, the fitness industry, or our business every single day since we’ve opened, would you believe me?  Well it’s true!  I’d like to share a few of these lessons related to fitness in an effort to calibrate some of the trendiness that pollutes our industry.
Our initial goal when we started NutriFormance was to blend sensible, sustainable nutrition with functional, real-life fitness.  We’ve always strived to meet a client where they are today and set up small behavior changes, as well as find fitness options that they love. Fitness professionals love to bash various modes of exercise- mostly because they don’t have the resources to offer you a variety of exercise options.  Recently I’ve heard a fitness professional say that, “steady state cardio is a waste of time.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  There is more research behind cardiovascular exercise than any other form of exercise.  Is interval style training better?  Maybe. But again, we have to meet our clients where they are today.  Intervals might be great.  It all depends on the goals, needs, likes and dislikes of the individual.
Metabolic training is running rampid right now.  And it is an amazing form of fitness because if done correctly, you gain anaerobic conditioning while increasing lean body mass.  However, I often see it over-utilized or mis-utilized by “more is better” mindsets and misguided training professionals.  In the 80s high impact aerobics killed everyone’s knee joints, then The Cross Fit Craze created more injuries than our industry has ever seen (mostly only solid practitioners survived that business model) and now everyone is rowing their brains out resulting in tons of lower back injuries and injuries such as tennis elbow.  Metabolic training should be done no more than 2x week and supplemented with things like cardio, yoga, Pilates, and true strength training focused workouts.
Frequency trumps intensity every time.  Have you ever heard the adage, “The starting line is more important than the finish line?”  I find this to be so true.  Just getting there is 90% of the work.  You’ll feel better, even if it isn’t your best training day.  Our members who are consistent, even if not the most intense workouts, see better results over the long haul.  The closer your gym is to your home, the more frequently you will go there.
Don’t sacrifice strength training- after cardiovascular exercise, strength training has the second most positive research to support its many benefits.  It should be done 2-3x week in an individualized, expertly programmed fashion.  It you are going to put in the work, get the guidance of an advanced personal trainer to make sure you are addressing posture, balance and targeting functional patterns you need to improve your life.
Find an Expert- with over 1 million training sessions delivered by our team, multiple advanced degrees ranging from masters degrees in exercise science, physical therapists, Pilates instructors, licensed massage therapists, licensed and registered dietitians and certified strength and conditioning specialists, and a passion for helping others, we can help you get there.  We have found that the more opportunities we can provide you to exercise the more likely we are to help you achieve your goal.  This is why we created personal training memberships- it includes the expertise of a personal trainer, coupled with a complimentary membership to the gym and all our basic classes.  It truly does take a village!  And we have one of the best villages around to help you navigate your fitness journey.
At NutriFormance, we want exercise to compliment the things you want to do outside of the gym.  Feel better,  look better, move better and avoid injury.  Sounds simple, but is it?
 
 

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