So, I’ve been thinking about the style of training that you’ll find at Fun Intelligent Training.  One of the first phrases that pops into my head when I think about what people do at F.I.T. is “useful work.”  Now, before you beat me over the head (although I am at a pretty safe distance) and tell me that I’ve already been over how training at F.I.T. is more useful and productive than what your standard gym offers, let me say that I am not just talking about useful in the arena of the “gym scene.”  Bear with me while I pitch a scenario your way …

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It’s Saturday morning.  The clock reads 9:07 from your bedside table and you are sleeping soundly (pretend that you don’t have to get up to go grocery shopping, or have kids jumping on you, or have to walk the dog, etc….).  Suddenly, you hear a loud beeping sound.  You reach for your alarm then slowly remember that it’s off because it’s Saturday, and as your mind clears you realize that it is actually your cell phone that is ruining your sleep.  Through bleary eyes you read the caller ID.  It’s your best friend, Bob.  You decide to answer it.  “Hey Bob,” you say.  You try to hide the sleepiness in your voice and hope you sound like you’ve been up for hours and are on top of your life.

“Hey, ____!” says Bob.  “I hope I didn’t wake you.

“No… uh… what’s up?”

“I know it’s Saturday, but I REALLY need your help.”

“Everything OK?” you ask, waking up just a little.

“Oh yeah!” Bob says quickly.  “Nothing bad.  I just need your help.”

“Waddya need?”

“I have a bar in my basement with seventy-five pounds on it.  It needs to be curled.”

“Gosh,” you say.  “It needs to be curled?”

“Yeah,” says Bob.  “Like 8-10 times.”

“Wow,” you reply.  “This morning?”

“Yeah.  Sorry to do this to you.  I just didn’t know who else to call.  Can you make it?  Maybe pretty soon?”

You wipe your eyes and try to hide the yawn that is creeping up your throat.  “Sure, Bob.  I understand.”

“Great!  I appreciate it.  I have some stuff that I really need squatted too.  I mean, if you don’t mind…”

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So how often have you had that scenario play out in your morning?  Chances are that it has not been often.  You may, however, have been asked to help move a washing machine, or move boxes, or any number of things like that.  The training at F.I.T. prepares us for that kind of real world “work.”  We lift heavy stuff for sure sometimes, but we also train to develop all the muscles that work behind the scenes in the effort to get that stuff off the ground and keep us balanced and injury free.  I say “behind the scenes” not in the sense that we don’t realize that they are being worked (it’s sure easy to feel them the day after an unprepared back tries to hoist a washing machine through a basement bulkhead), but in the sense that they are too often neglected when people do basic movements at the gym that are only useful inside the gym for that one specific exercise.

So there is my two cents…  Maybe three.  What can F.I.T. prepare you for?  Hauling boxes off the UPS truck?  Unloading shipments?  Carrying around children?  Lifting patients in a hospital on and off their beds?  Stocking shelves?  Spending an eight or ten hour day on your feet?  Sitting at a desk (muscles that know their place and are aligned and strong won’t cramp as easily and will help you maintain good posture)?  We do all kinds of work throughout the day.  It’s good to be ready for it.

Tags: Adam Zobel, Article, Bootcamp, Common Questions, Education, fitness, informational, results, Workout