Another year, another set of resolutions that we all say we’re going to complete, but how many actually do? “New year, new me”, but really we’re creatures of habit and breaking those habits are not as easy as we all would like it to be. One of the most prominent resolutions among most people is to not just get healthy, but to get fit. It’s the prime time to get in shape and look good for bathing suit season. Yet, about seventy-five percent of people maintain their resolution for the first week and as the as the year progresses, that percentage continues to drop. So the question is: How can you maintain your resolution to stay fit and healthy?

First off, one needs the proper attire and necessities. Personally, when you look the part it provides a sense of confidence that you know what you’re doing. Also, now there are many wearables

such as FitBit to keep track of your activity and progress. These wearables can track your heart rate, calories burned, your steps, and your sleep patterns. Unfortunately, some may purchase their so called “motivators” to just let them be a fad that go to waste. They’re hyped up originally, but just like those resolutions, they get old. Look good to feel good. Which brings us to why this is such a prominent resolution. Yes, we get it, you want to lose said number of pounds to look better, but many forget about the overall reason. Working out is not just about pounds, but to create a healthier lifestyle for the individual. Exercise is not the only aspect about being healthy and it does take dedication. The amount of sleep, what you consume, and the amount of activity are all contributing factors and don’t work alone. Anyways…

Most jump start into their fitness regime without a realistic goal. Nothing happens overnight and you have to be willing to put in the work and build up to your to goal. If you have not worked on cardio for a while, do not kick yourself when you struggle to run a quick mile. Some quit before they really get started because they don’t see fast results. Again, it’s all about the effort you’re willing to put in. When you start off, make a plan and schedule to stick to. It’s easier to follow a set schedule than just get on any machine that looks interesting. Lastly, resolutions lose their appeal over time and that easily could be because they are no longer exciting, new, and you miss the taste of chicken nuggets. With that, don’t be afraid to change it up. Find some different activities to keep you going and look into new recipes and diets that don’t taste like straight grass. Mostly, just find what works for you, gyms and everything that comes with it!

Overall, do not over do it and think about the positives instead of thinking you’d rather be in your bed watching Netflix. It’s a new year, and it may not be a “new” you, but it can be a better you. Happy New Years!

Omni Health and Fitness is five year old, 45,000 square foot facility that offers five lines of Life Fitness products, 75 pieces of Cardio equipment, Kids Zones, Locker Rooms, Saunas, Group X Classes, Pilates, Yoga and a Cardio Cinema Room.  Anyone traveling in Rock Hill, South Carolina should definitely stop in to see this beautiful health club.

“With Omni’s growth plan, we understand how important our exclusive advertising is to them, said Brad Bishop, President/CEO of soOlis.com.  We look forward to a long relationship with them.’

Coordination, Agility, Speed and Reaction all center around a person’s “Movement Vocabulary”.  Precisely like expanding your vocabulary of words, you expand your body’s “movement vocabulary” by being exposed to a wide array of biomechanical actions, using them in multiple planes of motion and under different stresses (such as against resistance and at different speeds of motion).  The three  components of “moving” the body are the nerves that convey what to do, the muscles that respond to the nerves and the bones that the muscles move.  As someone becomes more proficient in a motor pattern, the nerves, muscles and bones become better “coordinated”. 

Agility is “coordination” that’s used spontaneously or under chaotic situations like a basketball game or perhaps tripping and avoiding a fall.  It’s unplanned “coordination”.  More clearly, a lacrosse player needs coordination when he uses his stick to toss and catch rhythmically against a wall and agility to the same basic scenario in a game in an unbalanced position after spinning away from a surprise defender.

Speed is often simplified to describe how fast someone can move straight ahead.  While that is important,  speed more often needs to be applied in multiple directions, particularly laterally and rotationally.  In fact, in the vast majority of sports, an athlete averages sprints of between 5-15 yards before she/he must decelerate and somehow alter directions.  In those situations, you can only accelerate in a new direction as fast as you can put the brakes on first.  Certainly, speed can be applied similarly to all movements beyond running as well. 

Lastly, Reaction is speed applied in response to an outside stimulus like defending an opponent in a game or how efficiently and quickly you gather your balance in avoiding the earlier mentioned fall.

Someone’s Movement Vocabulary is very much like their vocabulary of words.  Some people don’t know many words but use what they have effectively.  Others know an incredible number of them but can’t speak well spontaneously or under duress.  Likewise with athletics and movement,  a person could be coordinated in a movement but not agile and could be could be “fast” but not have great coordination or reaction time.  

To optimally expand, and more importantly be able to use your verbal vocabulary, you would expose yourself to words through reading, writing, listening, conversing, speaking, taking quizzes, and even debating or arguing (as a verbal equivalent to movement under pressure in sports).  In doing so, you would be training all of the different nerves and wiring in the brain that are involved in the process.  If you only used one of those mediums to learn, you would shortchange the nerves involved only in the other processes and your results would be limited.  

The exercise equivalent would be trying to improve your movement vocabulary and how well you use by only doing yoga or limiting your training to bench press and squats.  You may get some benefits but nothing close to your potential if your training was more complete and effective!

So, to improve coordination, agility, speed, and reaction in any and all movements, you must train all of the different nerves or “propriceptors” that orchestrate movement.  There are some that only respond to changes in speed of a limb (Pacinian Corpuscles), some that only get trained near the very end range of a motion (Ruffini Endings), some that skip the brain and speak directly to muscles to move (Golgi Ligament Endings), and some that respond only to tension in the muscle tendon (Golgi Tendon Organs).  Some proprioceptors are in the capsule surrounding each joint, some are in the ligaments, and of course certain ones are in the muscles themselves.  Now your can see how only doing a limited scope of movements or training styles could dramatically restrict your improvements!  It would physiologically be boring to your body (and probably your mind too!!).

Proper training should improve your coordination by exposing your proprioceptors, the muscles they command, and the bones and joints that get moved, to a wide variety of motor patterns.  To get more agile, you would do those patterns under different circumstances…sometimes against resistance, sometimes at faster and slower speeds, sometimes when you’re fresh and strong, and sometimes when you’re tired.  To get faster, you’ll train in a multitude of directions and improve your “brakes” as well as your “gas pedal”.  And you’ll get more reactive because your proprioceptors and their muscles will trained predictably at first and progressed to spontaneous,  chaotic drills and exercises that more closely resemble how you have respond in athletic contests. 

The best resource that we’ve found for more background and applications of these concepts for the fitness professional and for the average exerciser is the educational information available online and dvds from the Gray Institute in Adrian, Michigan (www.grayinstitute.com).

At soOlis.com we have over 50 years of experience in the health club and gym field.  We understand how challenging finding the right health club/gym can be, and we are here to help!  If any time you can’t find a particular health club or gym, please feel free to contact us and we will help you any way possible.

http://soolis.com/contact.php

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According to Brad Bishop, President/CEO of soOlis.com, his job is to brand soOlis.com as the premier supplier of information for the health and wellness industry.  Hence, consumers consult soOlis.com for facilities in their area, and soOlis.com provides all the listings, but one EXCLUSIVE advertiser, in this case, Sport & Health, Inc.