Same Information, New Ways to Work With it.

An estimated 1.6 billion people worldwide are considered overweight or obese.

70% of US adults are considered overweight/obese and 20% of US children fall into this category as well.

The recommended amount of exercise is 150 min of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week and 2 or more days of strength training covering all major muscle groups OR 75min of vigorous intensity aerobic activity and 2 or more days of strength training covering all major muscle groups OR a combination of moderate/vigorous intensity aerobic activity and 2 or more days of strength training covering all major muscle groups.

60% of the people worldwide do not get sufficient physical activity.
25% (1 in 4) doesn't get any physical activity.

These were some of the statistics that blew me away this past weekend when I attended the IDEA Personal Training Institute (East). The stat that really blew me away was that only .35 of 1% of people use personal trainers! That is roughly 1/3 of 1%. YIKES!

Although I took many sessions throughout the two days I attended the conference, I wanted to start by talking about this one; Breaking the Barriers to Exercise because in my opinion it is the beginning.  Stay tuned for other topics covered over several blog posts.

There are many reasons (excuses) people use for not exercising.We've all heard them, we've all used them, but two major obstacles for not adhering to an exercise program are preexisting level of physical activity and the suggested time required.  With so few people using trainers and so many people needing to, how do I, as a trainer, change this?

Why do we exercise? Maybe I should back up, what is exercise? This was asked during the session and we all had similar answers, but really exercise is defined as movement plus force. So back to why do we exercise; to be healthy, lose weight, we're told we should, look better and to feel better about ourselves. We all have different motivations and that is the first thing we need to find out before we start, what is our motivation/why are we doing it.
Many of us know what our goal/motivation is, but we still don't like exercise or don't want to commit to the recommended time, so we don't do it. Now what? Some of us will "deal" with it and just do it, but many will say I don't like it, it takes too long, so forget it I'm not going to do it.

So what if we started to look at exercise a little differently, what if you could move for 15 min and have fun doing it? If exercise is movement + force, then who says you have to do it in a gym with a treadmill or weights? You don't! Depending on your personality type you may like to workout the traditional way or maybe you want to try something new. Not everyone is the same, so not everyone should have to workout the same. And any amount of movement, especially for those 25% that are not getting any physical activity, is better than no movement. And if you can get someone into the habit of doing something that they like for upwards of 15 min every day or couple of days, won't they be more likely to do it more often for longer?
I know I do. If you are new to exercise, or even if you are not, determine your goal, why do you want to exercise and also figure out your style. Do you like traditional and routine, or do you like variety and adventure? Maybe, like me you're somewhere in the middle depending on your mood for the day. Then find those activities that will keep you motivated and engaged and finally realize that as long as you are doing something, it's a whole lot better than nothing and if you are having fun doing it, even better!

As a trainer, I will be continuing to develop my classes and personal training. So stay tuned for small group personal training outdoor classes. These will no longer be called bootcamp classes, so if you have an awesome new name idea, please pass along. I'll also be adding in new fun equipment, yes balloons are always welcome, and will be asking you for your ideas of what you'd like to do as exercise. Because the bottom line is we just need to get up off the couch and MOVE!