Kick-Start with a Sound Foundation

Column #2, 30th September 2006

Welcome to the second of your fortnightly columns with Exercise Coach, Jack Walton of ‘Functional Trainer’.  Here we will take steps to achieving our full potential in living a happy and healthy life.  Two weeks ago we focused on the importance of getting it right from the start.

A good place to begin, which you may have done before, is to think of what your core values and goals are.  How are you going to get there?  An easy step for most of us is to list a few lifestyle habits to change.  Difficulty comes when deciding on the best way to change them.  Together, each week we can make these changes positively and effectively.

To embark on getting fit we must appreciate that it is not just a case of joining a gym and going a few times a week.  This will contribute, but it is more than that.  Making small, manageable changes to your life, taking on board sound advice and information and learning why things work and the effect they are having on your mind and body, will lead to the greatest success.

Luckily for us, the human body is generally designed to work perfectly and stay free of injury.  This includes being able to effectively think, move, digest and utilise food and many other functions.  Although it has an amazing capacity to do this, the often repetitive and sedentary jobs that we have and sometimes the choices we make, take their toll on healthy bodily function.  Treated correctly, the body has the ability to repair itself enabling you to successfully perform all the tasks you need to do, from D.I.Y. to digesting food.

Knowing all this, it’s time to figure out where to start.  Whatever your commitment level to your goals, it is essential to have some sort of programme designed.  The best way to obtain an individualised programme is by working with a qualified exercise specialist.  Without a program it becomes hard to progress from your initial foundation and we inevitably end up back at the beginning.  Typically with poor training there may also be injuries, which are setbacks for your physical and mental health.

As with my clients, many human performance practitioners use the pyramid model shown here to develop performance.  It states that before we think about anything else, the body must have Function.  This essentially means that we have the capability to do what we want to be able to do.  In terms of movement it includes the ability to effectively twist, push, pull, bend, squat, walk, lunge and move in all planes of motion.

In my experience, this is easy to take for granted, but if we do not condition ourselves forfunction we are unlikely to avoid injury and reach our full potential and this goes from the gardener right up to the elite athlete.  Due to the typical jobs and lifestyles we lead there are often imbalances throughout the body, which need to be ironed out so that we can function properly when running, playing sport, doing the gardening and playing with the kids.

Once we have achieved function we can then build on fitness levels, and further skills and techniques.  We will be safe in the knowledge that we have a foundation that is strong, stable and mobile, preventing injury and enabling us to achieve performance potential and optimal health.

Before the next article try to think more functionally: What do you need to be able to do to function for daily activities?  Is your existing exercise program functional?  In a fortnight’s time we will discuss this more and also find out the ‘Reasons to Walk’ and all the benefits associated with this great way of increasing vitality.