Functional Fitness

Functional Fitness 2018

We all want to be fit , but what does being fit really mean?

In my definition, it means to have the energy, strength and stamina to enable you to perform your daily tasks and recreational activities to a level that makes you successful and fulfilled.

Functional Fitness

Functional fitness is having the ability to excel in whatever physical activities you want or need to engage in. Functional fitness exercises are those that will give you the strength, endurance, flexibility and balance to function well in your daily life. These are primarily exercises using your own body weight for resistance and tools like a physic ball and my Vitality Stick.

Go to: www.VitalityStick.com to learn all that you can do with the Vitality Stick which is in my opinion the very best home gym. You can do a warm up routine, a fat burning aerobic, strength and flexibility workout at home and each one takes only 10- 25 minutes.

Here are my guidelines to access your current situation. These guidelines apply for most everyone at any age. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, 20 or 60, you are either fit or you are not.

1. Cardiovascular Fitness Goal

Walk a one mile flat course in at least 15 minutes.

Most high schools have tracks

2. Flexibility Goals

Sit on the floor with your legs flat, bend forward and

touch your toes. Lie flat on your back extending your

arms back behind your head, flat to the floor.

3. Strength Goals

20 pushups. Women with knees bent

If you can’t meet these standards, keep working on them until you can. Once you can meet these standards then raise the bar and work towards. your new goals.

Example; If you can walk a mile in 14 minutes, set a goal of

12-13minutes. If you can do 25 pushups now, set a goal of

30 and so on. Notice these guidelines do not mention age or

gender, except for strength. Why? Because it doesn’t matter

if you are male or female, age 25 or 65, either you have a

basic, healthy, functional level of fitness or you don’t.

Everyone without a limiting physical challenge should be

able to accomplish these goals. Note these guidelines are

based on a basic functional fitness level, not ones that will

make you a competitive athlete.

7 Big Reasons to Exercise Regularly

1. Increases your energy level. You have to spent some energy to get more, similar to making money.   
2. Relives depression and stress. Many studies have shown that regular exercise is natures best tranquilizer. Exercise produces endorphins, brain chemicals that reduce the feeling of pain or unhappy feelings.
3. Improves the quality of sleep. Research has shown that people who exercise regularly, go to sleep quicker, sleep more soundly and awake more refreshed than non exercisers.

4. Improves mental acuity. Studies also show exercising improves

   memory, concentration and reaction time

5. Reduces risk of heart disease and cancers. Studies have shown that

  non exercisers have at least twice the risk of developing a serious

  disease.

6. Slows the Aging process. Regular exercise improves aerobic capacity

  strength and flexibility all parameters of aging.

7. Enhances self esteem and self image. Research has shown that

  exercisers feel better about how they look and how they relate to others.

What’s Your Excuse for Not Exercising Regularly?

The main excuses for not exercising and why they all are invalid.

It seems most people have a difficult time committing to a regular exercise program. When I ask people if they would like to be physically fit and enjoy all of the associated benefits, such as looking better, feeling better, higher self esteem, more energy, more strength, more endurance, better flexibility, less stress and on and on, they almost always say YES! And yet only a small percentage of the population is actually doing it. I have spent many years considering all the excuses people use for not getting fit. Guess what? I have found there are no good reasons to support a rationale for this destructive behavior. Let’s look at the main excuses people give for not exercising. 

Excuse # 1: Not enough time.

This is the excuse I hear most often and it is also the very worst. If you don’t have time for preparing yourself to do your best in such things as your job, taking care of your family, attracting the opposite sex, serving others, then you are right; you really don’t have enough time. You are definitely a candidate to live a short, stressful, unhappy, unfulfilled life. Being fit is about having the energy and the stamina to enjoy a long, productive and happy life and to succeed in whatever is important to you. Not making time for exercising is saying I don’t want to be healthy, have energy, be successful, have fun, look and feel my best. This may sound pretty harsh, but it’s the truth. Not taking good care of your body is a choice, a very poor one I feel. Also when one honestly analyzes their daily schedule, they will find a lot of wasted time. For example, how many hours do you waste each week watching senseless TV? Regular exercise is guaranteed to produce results. Making it a major priority in your life is a very logical and beneficial decision. 

Excuse # 2: Exercising is Not Fun

This is almost as bad as not enough time. Where did this ever come from? What do we naturally want to do as children? Run, jump, play and move our body. One of the great joys of having a body is to be in motion. As a matter of fact the reason we have a body is so we can experience the joy, satisfaction and fun of movement. Are dancing, swimming, horseback riding, in-line skating, walking, bicycling, gardening and having sex fun? Of course they are and they are all a form of exercising. How about breathing? Try not breathing for a few minutes and you’ll appreciate how much fun and good it feels to breathe, which of course is the most important exercise of all. So you see most things we do are a form of exercise and they are all fun. Think about how much better you will be able to do the things that you think are really fun when you are fit. The fitter you become the more fun you will have. I guarantee it!

Excuse # 3: I don’t have enough energy. I’m too tired

If you are a construction worker then you probably are physically tired when you come home from work. I would recommend an exercise routine for you something relaxing like swimming, stretching or yoga. However if you are an office worker your fatigue is from using your brain, which requires a lot of energy without the muscular and respiratory activity to expel the waste products from your body. You need to get some physical activity and your fatigue will vanish and you will have energy to enjoy the evening. Energy is like money; you have to spend some to make more. The fitter you get the more energy you will have. You will just have to experience it for yourself and then you will be a believer. 

Excuse # 4: I don’t know what to do and I’m afraid of injuring myself. Exercise equipment is intimidating

There are so many books, videos, health clubs, multi-faceted exercise studios and personal trainers available today that ignorance is a lame excuse. Nearly everyone in the fitness field today, agrees that you do not have to strain yourself to get into good shape. It is consistency not intensity that pays off in the long run. If you have been sedentary for a period of time, it is best to ease into all types of exercise, whether it is dancing, gardening, hiking or yoga. Take your time and enjoy the journey. The key is to get yourself as fit as you need to be to suit your desired lifestyle. 

Now that you are aware of the many benefits of exercising and you know there are no excuses for not getting fit, are you ready to get started? 

If Not What’s Your Excuse?

Basic Functional Fitness Program

Aerobic Exercise

Everyone needs to do some form of aerobic activity everyday to function optimally. Aerobic means with oxygen, meaning you need more oxygen to keep your muscles moving, thus your heart beats faster to supply the oxygen to your muscles. The more oxygen you can get into your body the better you can function, both mentally and physically. An aerobically fit person has more endurance than another and can keep moving for a longer time. This is what the training affect is all about. Aerobic exercise also strengthens the heart muscle so it can with stand a stressful situation where you need it to beat faster. This training also lowers your resting heart rate, so your heart doesn’t have to work as hard as an untrained heart, for a certain activity.

Interval Training

Even if its only 10 minutes go out for a walk, move your body in some way. Ideally do 20-30 minutes of interval training every day. This a can be walking, running, swimming, cycling, dancing or any activity where you can establish a base heart rate and then go all out for 30-45 seconds and then allow your heart rate to come back down to your base for 1-2 minutes, before you go again. Your base heart rate is an elevated rate that you feel you can keep it going for at least 20 minutes.

Muscle Resistance Training

This is doing a variety of exercises to tone and strengthen your muscles.This can be using your own body weight, free weights or exercise machines of all types. Most people can achieve a good degree of strength with 2-3 bouts of strength training per week.

Flexibility Exercises

Having a good degree of flexibility is a true measure of your age. If you have good posture and can move well you will never be old. You need to do some sort of a stretching program on a daily basis.

I highly recommend you take some classes or consult with a qualified personal trainer or yoga teacher to help you develop a safe and effective program that suits your individual needs

Your Keys to Success 

Key # 1: Apply a Mind, Body and Spiritual Approach 

The real reason we tend to lose our enthusiasm for keeping our bodies fit is because we are focusing only on the physical aspect of our life and not on our whole being. Most of us believe that in addition to our body we have a soul and a spiritual side. I believe we are spiritual beings with a physical body having learning experiences in order to become higher conscious spiritual beings. All of our struggles in life occur when we are totally focused on the physical material world and we are not connected to our spiritual self. If we exercise just to compete with others, to acquire recognition and acceptance from others, it becomes stressful and we will have difficulty sticking with it. 

We have all heard the saying “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” I interpret this to mean that when we are operating from our spiritual self we have no problem doing what is best for our body. When we get in touch with our innate intelligence, or intuition, or whatever you like to call it, we discover how to stay in harmony with the natural world and function as a whole being. We then can appreciate the wondrous gift of having a physical body to enjoy and we will be motivated to take care of it. 

When we connect with our wholeness and invoke our spirit to flow through us we will realize our true nature, and all aspects of physical living, including exercising become much easier . 

How to connect to your spiritual self 

I highly recommend attending classes in meditation and yoga. They will help you to realize that at every moment you can choose to take action that will either serve or harm your physical body and thus either speed up or slow down your spiritual progress. As you progress you will begin to know what lifestyle choices will serve you best. Take time out daily to sit quietly and allow tension to flow out of your body. Practice just being instead of doing. As your mind becomes quieter, you will begin to be in touch with your spiritual self. 

Daily affirmation 

I am an eternal spiritual being with a wondrous physical body to enjoy my unique life experiences. I now choose to take the best possible care of my body. 

Key # 2: Match your fitness level with your desired lifestyle.

This means to first decide what lifestyle activities you need and want to do, then train just enough to achieve the necessary level of fitness. I can’t tell you how many times I 

have gone into a gym and asked someone who seemed to be struggling with an exercise, what were their fitness goals. They either had none or the exercises they were doing were not the best suited to achieve their goals. No wonder so many people lose interest in exercising. The Real Fit Real Fast System is an all-encompassing functional fitness Program that will greatly improve everyone’s health and fitness level. You can take it to your desired level. 

Key #3: Consistency 

This should not come as a big surprise, in order to get fit quickly, you have to exercise regularly. You do not have to beat yourself up, however you do have to follow a basic program on a daily basis. As you consistently do the exercises in your program they will soon become as natural as brushing your teeth and combing your hair. The emphasis is on going at your own pace and having fun. 

Fitness Tips

1. Be clear on what you want to accomplish and the reasons why.
2. Set realistic short & long term goals.
3. Design a program that will safely & effectively help you to reach goals in a timely manner.
4. Begin slowly and gradually increase the intensity & duration of your workouts. Aerobic capacity increases quicker than muscle strength.
5. Schedule your workouts in your appointment book and make them a high priority.
6. Find friends to workout with.

  7.   Consult with a qualified fitness trainer 

Keep moving and enjoy your body

Check out our new online wellness club @ www.BeBoldNeverBeOld.com

Check out my new online wellness club@ www.BeBoldNeverBeOld.com