Since we started our group functional training program over 3 years ago, we have had many women take the ‘risk’ and try this great exercise program. It was definitely new to them with all of those functional training toys…. tires…. battling ropes… carpet sliders….kettlebells… Little did they know, they would come to love the program. The same women who took the leap of faith 3 years ago still participate in the program today. Why? Because they love the workouts. They can’t imagine doing anything else but functional training. Most importantly, they have felt, experienced and understood how it has helped them and changed their bodies, how they have gained strength and lost fat, how they have increased their energy levels, and how they just don’t want to do any other type of workout. So with their testimonials, why don’t more women follow their lead? Why go backwards when you can go forward?
That’s precisely what this blog post is about. If we as the women’s fitness gurus in the Chicagoland area are telling you THIS program is the latest and greatest, THIS program will get you results, and we have overall found a way to exercise better and smarter, why won’t our women change? Especially if they are frustrated because they are not seeing results, why won’t they CHANGE what they are doing and do what the experts recommend for them? It comes down to this: women perceive the risk of changing their fitness regimen and failing is TOO high, so they stay where they are, what they are comfortable doing. Here are the issues and the irrationality of this dilemma:
1) If what you’re doing isn’t working, do something else. If you’re not getting results with what you’re doing, what really is the risk of trying something else? (especially when the trainers are telling you it’s what you should be doing!)
*Remember the definition of Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results!
2) The real problem comes into play when the member experiences burnout. She won’t change her fitness routine… so she continues to do the same thing… and continues to NOT see results… so what happens? Frustration levels increase and she drops out of the program completely, which will set her back even further. It’s a vicious cycle.
3) If we have found a better way of doing something, why stick to ancient philosophy? Granted, that’s a little extreme. Fixed equipment and cardio machines aren’t necessarily ancient. We know it’s hard to keep up with an ever-changing fitness industry, but we have found something now that makes sense. Functional training simply makes sense. Why wouldn’t you train your body functionally to perform your daily activities with ease? with no pain? without injury? Men and women were not created to sit and work one muscle group at a time in a fixed plane of motion. We were meant to run, jump, crouch, crawl, lean, squat and move easily without pain. So why wouldn’t you train your body to be strong and do those daily activities without ever being injured?
Sometimes it’s hard to believe new research when it comes out, but in this case, this new research just.makes.sense. If a new technology came out that made life so much easier and you had access to it, would you honestly just keep using your current technology that isn’t enhancing your life at all? That doesn’t make sense! It’s the same case with exercise and functional training. If functional training will get you results and literally make your life easier AND you have access to it, are you honestly going to keep doing things the old way? Think about it…. Why go backwards when you can move forward?
