Integrated Fitness

I feel so strongly about this topic, that I have decided to give the readers of Qwickly.com a free excerpt from my book, Open Your Heart With Winter Fitness.

Many people find themselves “stuck” in one dimension of fitness. For these folks, venturing out into other realms of conditioning is akin to visiting another planet. When you decided to learn skiing as an adult, you made the decision to break the pattern of your daily activities. Wouldn’t it be logical to break the pattern in your fitness routine?

Today, many fitness programs are described as “disciplines.” Logic would then imply that the followers of these programs are “disciples.” Indeed, the fitness industry is not without its self-proclaimed gurus, whose followers embrace the principles of the program as doctrines requiring strict, unyielding adherence. The quest for the “best exercise” and the set of Absolute Truths that accompany it can only be paralleled by the quest for the Holy Grail! Alpine skiing skills represent an integration of a variety of aspects of fitness. No single exercise technique can fulfill all of these aspects.

At this point, you are probably wondering how on earth you will find the time to integrate all aspects of fitness. It’s actually easier than you think. Let’s begin with one of the most popular aspects of sport-fitness training today: Dynamic Balance. While there are a multitude of balance devices on the market, simple changes in your regular routine can suffice. For example, if you use the aerobic equipment, try it without holding the bars. Changing your position on the machine can also enhance balance and activate different muscle groups. If you enjoy using the treadmill, try it standing sideways at an incline. Step up with the uphill leg, and then bring the downhill leg up to meet it. This will strengthen your abductor and adductors (inner and outer thighs) while enhancing lateral balance. In fact, exercising in different planes of movement is an excellent way to create a versatile workout. By varying your positions, you will also improve your functional flexibility.

Multi-tasking is another way to add new dimensions to your fitness routine. This workout method involves exercising various muscle groups simultaneously. For example, you can perform a lunge with one leg forward, while performing a one-armed row with the opposite arm. Since we never isolate muscle groups in real-life activities, multi-tasking is yet another way to make you workout more functional. There is also an added side-benefit: By using more muscle groups at once, you will be burning more calories than you would by performing traditional strength training exercises.

Integrated Training is a technique that was popularized by the National Academy of Sports Medicine. In the early stages of training, you are working on postural correction, as well as techniques to enhance balance and stability. As you progress, traditional weight training exercises are followed by a balance exercise that uses the same muscle group. Once a significant amount of strength, stability and alignment are achieved, you can integrate a traditional strength exercise with a plyometric exercise.

There is great beauty in the inherent logic of this program. Correcting muscle imbalances, and providing movement sequences that change the faulty recruitment patterns enhance postural alignment. This facilitates stabilization, which is this next phase of the program. Since your posture is improved and muscle balances are corrected, when you come to the strength- training phase, the exercises will be done in good form. This hastens the strength- training process. At the final stage of training, you have excellent alignment and stability. You are strong in both your concentric and eccentric phases of contraction, which improves your landing mechanisms for plyometrics.

Resource: Integrated Fitness

This entry was contributed by Lisa Mercer.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2007 at 12:15 pm and is filed under Food & Nutrition, Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.