FLO FITNESS

Remember order of operation from math class. Do you divide, multiply, add or subtract first? There were reason and rules as towhy one came before the other. This same concept should be taken when writing an exercise program. Certain exercises should come before others in order to prep the body for success. Obviously it will all depend on the clients end goals. Too often I'm seeing trainers just putting a ton of random exercises together with no rhyme or reason. This could be the same reason many of the athletes or people they train are getting injured. Your using the Wrong order of operations to solve your fitness equations.      Let's be honest about fitness, anyone can make a person sweat and feel drained from a workout. This does not mean the workout was effective. For example, if you superset 100 jumping jacks after every exercise you do tomorrow, I can bet you will be sweating and feel dead after your workout. (I bet some people are actually going to try this) Do y...

            In my experience in the fitness industry there have been many terms that have lost their original meanings.   At first they were used to separate the “elite” trainers from the “average” trainers.   But as time goes on they just become terms with no meaning and no real purpose other than being catchy marketing words. I will be the first to admit using these terms to draw attention to my business but I have since tried to stay away from using them because I feel they hold no weight anymore.             I will first tell you what has sparked the writing of today’s blog.   I work at a High School as an Athletic Trainer, so I get to talk to all the kids about their injuries.   Since it is preseason, one of my very first questions of my evaluation process is, “What kind of training have you been doing over the summer?”.   I use this question t...

Are you a flashlight or a Star?  When I say star I do not mean it in a hollywood way. Let me explain further. A flashlight can only light the way for one person. It shows that person how to get by in times of darkness. On the other hand, a star can light up the night sky, so that everyone can be given a chance to use its light. So which one are you? Many people will probably say that they are stars and help everyone all the time. That's great if everyone wants your help. You see in order for a flashlight to work a person has to put in batteries (give it ENERGY) and learn to use it. So therefore a person must be willing to allow you to help them, and they also must give you some of their energy so that you can help. A star may just give off light but no one wants or needs it, meanwhile the flashlight is there in times of need. The flashlight guides you in times of darkness but also allows you to go it alone if you no longer need it or want it. So which one are you?  There ...

Did you ever read a statement that made you stop in your tracks and rethink everything you have ever done? I just now at 8pm on July 18th, read such a statement. I was sitting on my porch enjoying a cigar and reading a book called Mindset by: Carol Dweck. I am only on chapter 2 of the book and i came across this statement that made me put the book down and just sit. I had to let it settle and somehow wrap my brain around how powerful yet simple it is. I also thought; "why did I not think about it before?".  The statement is: "BECOMING IS BETTER THAN BEING.". Just read that a couple of times over and over.  Ok, maybe it doesn't hit you the way it hit me.  I should tell you the rest of the story and maybe it will make sense why it struck me. I had just finished watching the HBO documentary on Derek Jeters 3,000th hit. If you watch the documentary you will know how wonderful of a story it is. The one thing i noticed is that the whole show was about him getting ...

It appears that with the extreme popularity of Metabolic Training, many trainers have forgot their purpose for training.  Trainers are starting to just throw a bunch of crazy exercises together and calling it Metabolic Training. Sadly, there is no rhyme or reason for the exercise selection, other than to make the people sweat like crazy and fail to finish. Have we forgotten our purpose at trainers? We are suppose to make people feel better about themselves and enjoy happy and healthy lives. They should walk out of the gym feeling great and ready to take on the day. They should not crawl out of the gym  barely able to lift their arms and walking like they just got off a horse.  This is the same thought process that scares people away from exercise and makes them think its to hard for them to stay in shape. People have talked about the economy and how the middle class is gone. There is just rich people and poor people. I feel the same is happening in fitness. The average person is slowly...

You didn't get to where you are by doing what you're doing where you are. You got to where you are by what you Did.  -FLO  Something hit me the other night when I was thinking about the fitness industry. Most people are giving advice to people from where they are and forgetting the part of the story about how they got to where they are. Let me explain.  For people that know me, you know I am a huge Jay-Z fan, so I will use his story to help me explain what I mean.  If you have followed the career of Jay-Z , you have heard his dark stories of selling drugs and being in trouble with the law in his younger days. He has told many dark tales of a street life that he no longer lives. He also tells many stories of enjoying the spoils of wealth like women, cars, homes, parties, etc. He paints many pictures from different angles. To often people only listen to the glamorous part of the story and they forget what it took for him to get to this level.  So in order to be at Jay-Z you wo...

Simple, Complicated and Complex Problems While reading The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawand, I came across this part in the book that talks about Simple, Complicated and Complex problems. I just read the part and it sparked a light bulb in my head to write todays blog post. The one phrase that kept jumping out of my head is, "Trainers and clients both want Simple Solutions to Complex Problems.".  Let me first try and define each type of problem and then discuss why trainers are not evolving the way they should.  Todays blog will start by talking about what each problem is and then I will try to  relate it to fitness. For a simple problem the book  uses the example of baking a cake. There is a recipe to follow and if you follow it, you will most likely get the desired result. In this case a simple problem gets a simple solution. For a complicated problem the book uses the example on sending a rocket to the moon. There are many steps and different groups of experts invol...