The images most conjure up when the word “fitness” comes up are of hours of aerobics, heavy weight lifting, and the dreaded treadmill! Now what if I told you that you could have a total body workout right at home with a couple of simple pieces of equipment in 30 minutes? That’s how functional training is vastly different. Most gyms and fitness chains have a pre packaged product, usually a machine based circuit training workout that is designed to intice beginner exercisers to the gym and boasts significant results. The problem is that isolated exercises, such as the machines that comprise most of these programs produce strength only in isolation. What this means essentially is that you have a body that, while strong, it lacks the biomotor abilities, balance, and co-ordination to perform complex movements. In daily living, there are many instances where squatting, lifting, pushing or pulling or carrying heavy objects in necessary. What functional exercise does is strengthens the body while moving it through complex ranges of motion, using exercises that mimmick daily life activities such squatting or lifting . The result is a strong, stable, healthy body capable of performing highly skilled movement for work or recreation. The equipment needed to begin such a program is minimal, and when properly executed, take only 20 to 30 minutes. Because functional exercises use multiple body parts and muscles in unison, you are able to work all major muscle groups and movement patterns in a greatly reduced amount of time.
Exercise balls, bosu, medicine balls, and hand held free weights are all that is necessary to build an effective functional exercise routine, and the space requirements are minimal, and when season appropriate, outdoor space can be fully utilized. Next Level Personal Training is different in their approach to fitness. They believe that with knowledge, passion and creativity, they can develop fitness routines that can be performed at home or outdoors. “Health and fitness is a lifestyle. It doesn’t matter where the exercise takes place, but rather how educated and committed you make your self to that lifestyle.” Says owner Geoff Daugherty. “When that commitment is made, you begin to see that the oppritunities for fitness are all around us.”with the right instruction, you can take a couple medicine balls and a dumbbell and create a multitude of programs that focus on muscular strength, endurance, or power right at home, or at the park down the street. Because Next Level Personal Training is an at home service, they also have a unique oppritunity most major fitness chains don’t. At home training services get to observe first hand how the client lives, their food choices, and possible sources of stress. “being healthy isn’t just physical, it’s emotional and spiritual.” Says Geoff. “ having that kind of understanding of who that client is will provide valuable insight on how to create a lasting change in health and fitness” By creating programs unique to each client’s goals, using simple equipment and educating clients on healthy lifestyle choices, Next Level Personal Training will be helping the citizens of Kanata learn how to incorporate fitness into everyday life. If interested in learning more about functional training, contact Geoff Daugherty at nextlevelpt@
