Site Search

Warning-Just Say No To Machines

By Chris Gray

As we age in life, there are some changes that can be expected, and must be accepted, however, some changes that might be brushed off as normal signs of aging might be the body giving you a sign that there is a problem, or that something different needs to be done to avoid future problems.

In many cases, the so-called signs of aging are actually the body’s way of saying it is time to change your diet, get more active and even learn how to manage personal stress a bit better. The signs to watch out for that are not “normal” and don’t have to go along with getting older include: When the right actions are taken, health can be improved and those nagging signs just might go away.

When taking action to improve your health, it’s important that you take the correct actions in order to maximize results and set yourself up for success. In most cases, the average person who is on the path of self improvement will join a local fitness club, and without any (or very little) guidance, start using the many exercise machines that are offered. Doing a daily circuit on the fancy machines at the local health club becomes routine, and to the uninformed seems like the right thing to do.

The reality is, however, that although something is better than nothing, you could be setting yourself up for failure right from the start, and in many cases, causing problems for your body that could take weeks, months, or years to correct.

There are multiple reasons I say this, and the first is that machines are boring and become very monotonous for most people, and after a relatively short period of time, will leave you looking for more. More importantly, the results you are looking for that will address or prevent the problems discussed earlier in the article will be extremely slow to show themselves, and maybe even non-existent.

Lastly, there is a danger associated with training with machines! Although widely considered a safe way to workout, machines could be hurting you more than helping you in the long run.

The problem is, training with machines is very unnatural for the human body, because they isolate one muscle at a time for exercise. In everyday life, as human beings, we don’t isolate muscles; in every action we take muscles work together in concert to accomplish a movement. Therefore, training in isolation with machines is completely opposite from how we function as humans and will become problematic.

Now, if you are an educated and experienced fitness trainer, or working with one while using machines, you can do a pretty good job making sure you’re hitting all the muscles in the body equally, however, it is my experience that this doesn't happen often.

Additionally, even the best training regimen with machines still doesn't achieve functional movements as we do in everyday life.

It is because of this that on a regular basis people who have used machines for years to exercise come to me with extremely poor balance, posture, and functional abilities. Their bodies have lost the ability for this, it is like the old saying “if you don’t use it, you lose it”. Now, after years of doing what they thought was the right thing to do, taking steps to improve or maintain their health has actually caused long term problems.

Once these problems are developed, they can be corrected with a lot of hard work and dedication, but definitely not overnight!

The best thing you can do to prevent this from happening is to get into a functional fitness program with an experienced coach to guide you. Functional fitness program being defined as a program that uses no machines, but uses kettlebells, balls, wheels, ropes, rocks, and/or tires, just to name a few. Not to mention that functional training produces twice the results in half the time.

The success of functional training can be credited to the fact that the entire body is being worked against gravity in unison. There is a significant full body muscle activation not found in machine type training. It is because of this that you can do much more work in a shorter amount of time producing rapid results.

Functional training teaches the body how to contend with a constantly changing center of gravity, replicating the same forces encountered in play, sport, and daily life. This is done by working the body across a wide variety of planes and angles, just as we as humans function in everyday life. This is not an aspect of training that can be mimicked in machine training.

Choosing a fitness program is a big investment, so make smart choices that will pay off big in the long run. Sometimes this may require you to get outside of your comfort zone, face your fears, and challenge what you thought you were capable of.

About the Author:

Chris Gray has been in the fitness industry for over a decade now where he has made his mark as one of Delaware’s top trainers and club owners. Along with his many certifications Gray is also a best selling fitness author and is considered an expert in his field.

Gray’s latest co-authored book “3 Steps To Your Best Body In Record Time” hit the Best Seller’s list in 5 categories which resulted in his induction into the Academy Of Best Selling Authors.

Gray is also a regular contributor to multiple publications, most recently featured in USA Today Magazine, but it’s his experience that truly sets him apart from most making him the true expert in his field.

Chris started playing football at age 8 and continued competitively through college and into the semi-pro leagues for 4 years. Gray also an established bodybuilder and strength competitor, he has truly has made his mark in the sports. He has also competed nationally with an elite team of professionals in the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge competing in 3 World Championships on featured on ESPN.

His very unique kettlebell training center located in Dover Delaware, is literally changing lives using techniques and equipment never before seen by most.

After years of witnessing people struggle every day to lose weight and get in shape Gray realized that most gyms and fitness programs set people up to fail right from the start by not providing them with all of the key elements needed to achieve success. It’s the failure to provide these tools that results in most people’s failure to accomplish their fitness and health goals.

Gray and his team have made it their mission to provide life changing results with their highly sought after training methods as seen in the Delaware State News, Dover Post, Wilmington News Journal, USA Today Magazine, and ESPN.

At Punch Kettlebell Gym Dover, Chris Gray and his team use integrity as the backbone of their life changing program, ensuring to provide all the essential tools that most programs miss and offer guaranteed results or your money back!


www.punchgymdover.com
www.doverpersonaltrainer.com