The answer from our perspective may surprise you. I sat down to calculate this out and came up with an amount that has nothing to do with cardiovascular requirements or calorie burning but rather what would it take for us to be able to maintain true physical health. True physical health meaning that our bodies are maintaining a high level of efficiency that allows us to be flexible, strong, have good posture, have high levels of endurance, and high energy levels throughout the day. We all had this at one point, it was called childhood.

Childhood was a time in our lives where physical activity was of premium importance. I am now 35 years old but I can remember how highly it was stressed in my Elementary Schools. Thank you Bear Creek in Lakewood Colorado! We had P.E. everyday along with multiple recesses all the way through 5th grade. Now my son who is in 3rd grade gets one recess if he is lucky and P.E. for 45 minutes 1x per week. So think back to being 6 years old and we begin to get closer to how much time we need to exercise during the week.

The answer is hours, many hours not per week but per day. Our Bodies were designed to be used, not occasionally sitting on a silly little bike reading a book but used, a lot. Playgrounds, fences, trees, and any other obstacle we could find used to be our training equipment. When we used them we were strong, had more energy than our parents could stand, and were as healthy as we will most likely ever be in our lives.

So how do we replicate this as adults now with kids of our own and full time jobs and the many other stresses we deal with on a daily basis? The answer is in smaller amounts. We no longer have the luxury of a 3 hour marathon game of Cops and Robbers. We now are luck to have 30 minutes. One of the many reasons I wanted to create this blog was to give you tools to become as healthy as possible regardless of your current situation. If you have not looked in the Store, go check it out. For the cost of going to a movie you can get some of our programs.

If you work at a desk all day, Purchase our AM/PM routines, the Complete Cubicle Workout Series, and the Abdominal program. You now have the tools you need to get an hour worth of exercise a day without making much of a difference in your current schedule.

Give us some feedback and let us know what other types of products will help you out in your goals to stay fit and healthy. In the meantime make sure you are doing exercise everyday. The ramifications of not doing so go way beyond not burning enough calories or needed to work your cardiovascular system more.

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Train2move would like to offer you an alternative this year. The style of muscular efficiency training we utilize at Train2move allows you to restore the performance of your muscular system. We have talked about this in hundreds of our posts but we want to take this New Years opportunity to actually show you how effective it can be and provide you with access to the training.

To provide this opportunity to you we needed to find people willing to go through the program and share their experience with you. Lucky for us we found Holly and Dan Migas. They are parents of Luke, one of our Hood to Coast team Members on our Runwithpower team. We selected them based on the fact that we thought they represented what this program is all about. They were both healthy individuals who cared about their bodies but noticed that they were starting to slow down physically. They both want to stay active for many more years but are concerned that they are not going to be able to .

Dan and Holly are perfect examples of what many people say is just the by product of aging. We are going to prove to them and to you that it is not their age but rather their current level of muscular efficiency that is making them, "feel there age".

Over the next month we will take you through their progress with updates from us about their training, postural photographs so you can visually see their progress, and most importantly feedback from them. We have told them to be completely honest about how they feel about the program and of course how they are feeling physically.

If you are looking to try something a little more successful than the annual weight loss goal this year we invite you to join Dan and Holly on their quest to restore their muscular systems to a level that enables them to feel great physically and maintain a level of efficiency for many years to come. As we get near the end of the month of January we will be giving you access to the exact program that Dan and Holly went through.

Check back here soon for the initial interview and postural photographs so you can get the complete look at where Dan and Holly started.

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There are a significant number of factors that can affect our posture and ultimately our spine. Genetics may be the biggest but also injuries, jobs, lifestyle, physical training we do or do not do, and sports we play can all impact the health of our spine. The key to keeping a healthy back is to keep it moving. The two major directions of the spine are the flexion/extension, and the rotation. Here are a couple of great moves you can use on a daily basis to keep, restore, or simply improve the flexibility in your spine.

The first is the Sitting Twist. It is a simple move that is very popular in the aerobics and yoga circles. Simply put both legs out straight, then cross one over the other and place the opposite elbow on the knee and twist. Hold it on each side for 30-60 seconds.

The second move is what we call a Kneeling Roller Coasters. Others call them dive bombers or even hindu push-ups. This is a fantastic move for the flexion and extension of the spine. Not only that but it will also help to maintain mobility in your shoulders as well. Start on your hands and knees and pull your hips towards your heels, then bend your elbows as you roll trough lowering your chin, chest, stomach, and hips along the floor. Once you reach the extended position, pull your hips back and roll trough again.

Mix these two moves into your daily routine to help keep your spine healthy. If you are looking for something more complete check out our Low Back Program and our AM/PM Program in our Store.

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The true answer is whichever one works for you. To often I see people who end up being unsuccessful in their workout regimens because they choose to force themselves to do something they really do not enjoy. The best type of exercise is the one that you are willing to do. Better yet the one you would look forward to doing. I also often see people who get stressed out because they feel they have to do more than is really necessary. Clients will come in for their initial visit and often they say, "Well I used to work out six days a week for 2 hours a day but I got really burnt out.".

Something to remember is that all exercise is good exercise. This is a very general statement and I understand that based on various situations an individual may have like injuries and other physical limitations, there would be some exercises that would not be appropriate. Someone with a herniated disk in their back would not be wise to do some barbell squats. But in general terms it is better to exercise than to not. Understanding your current ability levels simply helps determine some things you should not do.

If you are someone who is struggling to exercise because you simply do not feel motivated to go for a run or get out the old universal gym to do some resistance training, start by picking something you are interested in. There are so many options to chose from these days there has to be something for everyone. I get that some people simply do not like to exercise but have they tried many different forms of exercise? Training Modalities such as Yoga, Pilates, Spin classes, and even recent innovations like the Wii Fit for the Nintendo are all great. They each have their own plusses and honestly there is something for everyone out there.

If you are currently struggling with boredom in your current routine, try something completely new. Working in this industry for almost two decades I have had a chance to try it all. There are so many great possibilities, I challenge you to go out and try them. You never know you might find what you have been searching for all along.

So what is your best type of exercise. If you had to choose just one style of exercise what would it be? I had to give this quite a bit of thought but I ended up going with Integration training. Doing obstacle course style workouts are my favorite and if I had to only chose one I'll go with this.

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Now that I have had significantly more time to learn about the performance of the human body and getting a more complete understanding of the 4 Laws of Training, I realize that these numbers can prove to be very misleading. Just like everything else in relation to our ability levels in fitness, our heart rate is completely dependent on the amount of muscular efficiency you have in your body.

The way our body moves is determined by several key factors. First and perhaps the most predominant is our genetics. At conception I think our body has a predisposition to have a certain body type. Different body types will react different to the stimulus of exercise. Some will react better to strength training, others are more adept at cardiovascular training, and some even respond best to stretching. This is of course being very general. We have discussed body types in the past so follow this link if you want more specifics.

The next major component of our bodies that can impact our heart rate when we exercise is the current level of efficiency in our bodies. The muscle patterns we develop can either work for us or against us. When we are young (1-6 yrs old) and consistently putting a tremendous amount of stimulus to our muscular systems we typically are able to go for hours without getting tired. Many people think this is youth, I think it is that they have a high enough level of muscular efficiency that the act of playing is not very challenging to them. Think about this, when is the last time you went out and played on a playground? When was the last time you asked your body to climb things and crawl under things? The way we exercised at kids kept our bodies working extremely well. We consistently asked our joints to go through their full range of motion and we consistently trained every muscle in the body to work together as a unit, not isolated training on over priced machines.

I feel this can also have a very major bearing on how our heart rate is impacted by our efficiency. If you have a body that due to poor training habits such as not warming up or doing very isolated muscle training is no longer capable of taking our joints through their full range of motion and keeping our skeletal system aligned, you will have to work much harder than necessary to perform basic exercises such as running.

The less efficient you are, the higher your heart rate will be to accomplish whatever task you give it. So when you are training at a certain target heart rate zone, are you in that zone because it is truly appropriate for your training goals or are you in it because your body is quite inefficient and unable to perform the task you are giving it? I realize there are many important reasons to check your heart rate, especially if it is regards to a specific health issue such as blood clots or many major heart issues. If however you are just looking to get in shape, stop allowing your heart rate to determine your effort level and instead focus on getting your body more efficient. Once you attain this, the Heart rate training will be much more applicable.

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Using ankle weights can be a tremendous advantage to your current training system when used properly. When worn to do exercises like leg lifts, lateral leg lifts, fonda Lifts, Prone leg lifts, or even hand leg opposites, the added demand the ankle weights provide can make a tremendous difference. Beyond these types of supported moves however, you start to enter the realm of negative returns on your exercises.

We have discussed the importance of posture and skeletal alignment in regards to your training programs. Many athletes have various imbalances in their bodies that create variations in their gait pattern and their efficiency of movement laterally as well. If we think of one of our athletes who has a gait pattern that is not overly efficient such as poor muscular engagement in the hips causing them to generate linear motion by whipping the lower leg in a circular fashion for example, adding resistance to this will create more harm than good in our opinion.

The ankle weights obviously apply more resistance to everything you do when you are wearing them but unless you have an athlete with a perfect gait pattern and no inefficiency in their movement in any direction you do not want to have them train in them. Lack of efficiency in your movement comes from poor muscular development or muscular imbalances. These imbalances can put your joints into a compromised position where they are beginning to suffer some wear and tear.

Problems like tendonitis, shin splints, chronic ankle sprains, and the plethora of other lower body ailments are all from improper muscular function. Adding the ankle weights will only enhance these imbalances and make the potential for these injuries even greater. The additional weight added down by the ankles will create higher levels of stress around the knee and ankle joint. Many trainers think this will make them stronger but like always we look for the potential negative side effects. Imbalances that you may have in the legs will only become more prevalent if you do movement training with them on.

Use Ankle weights as a tool to help build some strength in supported positions. I know of many great abdominal moves and hip strengthening moves that are perfect for the ankle weights. Playing basketball or running in them are not two of them. This is dangerous and foolish in our opinions. Goal number one in all training you do should be to improve the efficiency of your athletes, not enhance their imbalances.

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The reason I bring this up is prior to each chapter there is a quote from various philosophers and other great minds of the past. The one I liked the most was from Aristotle. The Quote went like this, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.". I liked this because it instantly reminded me of the 4 Laws of training and the fact that we are a living adaptive organism that constantly changes based on the stimulus we give it.

This also reminded me of a Robin Williams quote from a movie, it might have been Patch Adams but don't hold me to that. He was talking to someone who was thinking about quitting smoking. In the scene he looks at the person and says, "Are you a smoker, yes or no?" The person gave him a puzzled look but then said, "No." So Then Robin Williams then asks the Person," Then why are you smoking?" It was a funny scene because it was so true, you either are or you are not. Being caught in between can prove to be very unsuccessful.

I have always felt this way about exercise. Either you are someone who likes to exercise or you are not. The fact is that we all ned exercise but many of us simply do not want to do it. It is impossible to ignore the basic laws of the human body that it responds to stimulus, changes based on the stimulus it receives, is designed to receive stimulus in a progressive manner, and is always trying to achieve homeostasis.

If you are not someone who is currently exercising you are what you repeatedly do. In this case it means you are a person who is in a state of constantly losing your muscular systems efficiency which leads to lack of strength, flexibility, balance, posture, and enables pain symptoms such as arthritis, tendonitis, and many other skeletal and muscular issues to take over your body.

If you are not someone who exercises I highly encourage you to become one. There are so many different options for how to get some form of fitness that I believe everyone can find something to do. A little bit can go a long way so if your current activity level is zero, try taking it to a one.

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There is not groundbreaking discoveries in the article, just more proof that the best remedy for pain is more often than not, exercise. e have been talking about the 4 laws of training that more or less govern our training system. In them we refer to exercise as stimulus and how our muscular system is in constant need of stimulus in order to perform at its peak. This is an exercise blog so of course that is going to be our emphasis but these laws go beyond training.

Our bodies are in constant need of all types of stimulus in order for it to perform the multitude of tasks we ask of it. Proper nutrition, sleep, exercise, cognitive challenges and countless other activities are all designed to challenge and assist our bodies to make it work effectively.

A lack of providing these things to our body will also have the opposite effect. By depriving your body of various amounts of necessary stimulus it will begin to break down on us. there is a quote in the article that I had to laugh at, it went like this, "While pain is poorly understood, many experts now recommend physical exercise to combat many types of chronic pain, in addition to medication in some cases." How can pain be misunderstood? Last time I checked pain was a defense mechanism in the body to alert you that something is not right. If your knee is in pain, probably should look at what might be causing that. Remember the body is always in a state of reaction and response to stimulus, joints just do not hurt because they are bored. They hurt because something is not right with them.

What I did like about that quote was that since I recommend exercise for many pain symptoms I am apparently an expert. Think I may go ahead and add that to my new business cards. We have mentioned this many times but remember that when something is wrong in your body, always stop and ask the question of why. The answer many times is actually the best treatment option. If you travel on an airplane and get to your destination and have lower back pain, rather than look for the first massage therapist or chiropractor you should perhaps get your body moving so it gets itself out of the tight seated position it was just in for many hours.

You can be in charge of your own pain rather than your pain being in charge of you. Start by getting yourself moving and then we will help you figure out the rest from there.

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Regardless of what progression you want to believe in , the fact is they are all the same. Think of a young child as they develop from infancy though the toddler years and then into the early school years. First obviously an infant starts out on his or her back. We realize they lack the strength necessary to support their head so placing them on their stomach risks suffocation. So as they lie there on their backs we play with them by making faces as they wiggle their arms, kick their little legs and wiggle all over the place.

This is the first stage we call supine meaning they are on their back. Secondly the infant is able to accomplish the big monumental task of rolling over. How is this accomplished? The wiggling cute little movements they did on their back wereactually building strength in their little arms and legs and throughout their core. Once they have established a high enough level of muscular control they are able to roll onto their stomachs in the prone position.

In this position, babies are able to accomplish a completely different level of stimulus to the muscular system since they are now able to put pressure into their joints. Also the first levels of movement are established as they begin to rock back and forth and then eventually crawl.

Stop and think for just a minute the last time you did any movements that would emulate an infant. When is the last time you crawled around on your stomach or laid on your back and initiated various movements in the hips or the shoulders. We simply do not train like that anymore. Instead we sit on thousand dollar pieces of equipment and isolate the muscles in the body. How far away is that from the way our bodies were intended to be trained?

Eventually the infants are able to stand, walk , crawl, jump, skip, climb and other the other fun things we loved to do growing up. None of this requires stairmasters or nautilus machines or giant round balls to do dumbbell presses on.

Now we have trainers that are doing a much better job of understanding that we need to do more total body training and even body weight training. This is a great pattern developing in the fitness industry and trainers are becoming more efficient in these practices. However I notice that the introductory level into these is much higher than the client is capable of performing correctly.

This is where we try to make sure we completely follow the 4 laws of training by using the strength progression. This means we will spend time in supine, prone, and loaded positions every workout we do. This, in our opinion is the way it is intended to be.

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We looked through everything we talk about from God's strength progression to us being living adaptive organisms. I could talk for hours or in this case type for thousands of words on this but I realize you would all fall asleep on me. So the guys and I have come up with a new simpler version of explaining the philosophy of our training system.

Technically it is not our training system, my personal belief is that we had a creator and in my opinion that creator was God. I realize however many do not believe that way but you must believe that we were created somehow. In that grand design of how we were created there are a few simple laws that to us dictate everything in regards to how to train the human body.

Here is a brief overview of each law, then for those of you who find it interesting I will dedicate a post to each of the 4 laws individually.

Law #1 – The first law is simple. We were created to be an organism that responds to stimulus. Everything we do in our daily routine is in response to a stimulus. An alarm goes off triggering sound waves that our body interprets and we wake up. Some of us look forward to summer so we can get a tan because the sunlight triggers chemical reaction in the body that changes the color of our skin. Even your heart beat is based upon the stimulus of an electrical impulse. So Law #1 is that our bodies respond to stimulus.

Law #2 – If our bodies respond to stimulus than we can elicit specific responses from our body based upon the type of stimulus we give it. By doing exercise that increases our heart rate and causes enough oxygen debt that we begin to breather harder, we will in turn burn more calories since there will be a higher requirement for fuel sources to keep up with the new demands we are placing on our bodies. So Law #2 simply says that we can elicit specific changes in our bodies by giving it specific stimulus it must respond to.

Law #3 – This is where some training systems begin to miss the boat. The third law is that in regards to training the body for optimum performance the stimulus you give it must be done in a progressive manner. Many trainers or training systems think they do this by using easier exercises than others or a lighter weight to introduce someone to a move. This is true but we think progressive means the amount of demand relative to an individuals current anatomical position is more important. This is the God's Strength progression I mention earlier. Think of an infant growing through the first 5 years of their life. That is truly the model that is in essence perfect for how to progress the body. It worked for everyone who was ever capable of standing and walking around. So law #3 says that the stimulus we give our bodies must be done in a progressive manner relative to an individuals current level of ability.

Law #4 - The final law is to remind us that the body is designed to at all times operate from the anatomically correct position. The 4 major structural joints of the body (shoulders, hips, knees, ankles) are all designed to be vertically stacked on top of one another and horizontally directly across from the opposing joint. With this the muscles should be able to fully articulate the skeletal system to produce proper, efficient movement. So Law # 4 says that our bodies are designed to be in the anatomically correct position.

This post is getting a little long as well. Like I said I could go on for thousands of words here but i will add to this tomorrow.

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