Youre going to do it anyway why not get good at it?

Copyright Stephen V. Faris, Stephen Vincent LLC

lo-fi Fitness

Executive Summary
In this summary, we focus on a few key elements of the lo-fi Fitness approach to health and fitness and our vision for the proposed lo-fi Fitness facility. Youll find much more information about lo-fi Fitness in the chapters that follow. If we were to sum up the problems we plan to address with our lo-fi Fitness program in a single word, it would be diabesity (DIAbetes + oBESITY)especially among aging baby boomersand its role in the metabolic syndrome (sometimes referred to as "syndrome X"), a problem that seems to be ever-increasing among aging boomers. The formal definition of risk factors associated with this syndrome, such as a large waistline, high blood pressure and a high triglyceride level, are under debate. However, it seems clear that these risk factors are affecting many more people in the United States and have a significant impact on the quality of life of so many of us as we age. There are no simple answers to the problem of obesitya main component of diabesityor the metabolic syndrome pandemic. The problem is much more complex than simply overconsumption of calories combined with prolonged inactivity. There are many factors that enter into the equation, such as genetics, activity level, social and behavioral environment, types of calories consumed, hormones, emotions, and perhaps still unknown elements. However, improving the mobility of aging boomers can only help to be part of the solution and improve their quality of life. This retention and enhancement of baby boomers mobility is the primary focus of lo-fi Fitness.

Why lo-fi?
Why do we use the term lo-fi? When we know that today, most people favor things that are high-tech, modern and state-of-the-art, why take a lo-fi approach to fitness? Lo-fi typically refers to music without slick production and characterized by a rough or unpolished sound quality. Our interpretation of lo-fi in relation to fitness is this: simple to understand, uncomplicated, not over-produced, easily recognized and to the pointno filler, just what you need to accomplish your goals. Most importantly, our lo-fi Fitness system doesnt require a huge financial or technological outlay on the part of our clients. Clients can always add more complex progressions later on if they wish. And the lo-fi label certainly doesnt mean that were avoiding high-tech tools such as heart rate monitors, GPS systems and MP3 players, as all of these technologies are well-ingrained into our training methods.

2013 Stephen V. Faris All Rights Reserved

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The lo-fi Fitness credo

lo-fi Fitness, our planned health and wellness facility in Fond du Lac, Wis., is committed to improving the quality of life of our clients by helping them obtain optimal physical and mental well-being through varied physical activities surrounded by like-minded individuals. We want our clients to live life with passion and vigor and not be regulated by counting calories, fanatical diets, avoiding foods they love and being chained to long, tedious exercise sessions. Our particular niche is working with aging baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) like us. Were convinced that if you slowly begin you lose your mobilitythe ability to get down to the ground and get back up againyou could soon become dependent on others to care for you, and this loss of mobility could cost you your freedom and independence. This is something that were very concerned aboutthe overwhelmingly large percentage of boomers who are not only overweight but also extremely physically weak, a dangerous combination inviting a potential accident to occur from which the ensuing recovery could rob someone of his or her mobility. We plan to create a fostering environment for boomers to begin building a solid foundation through bodyweight training and then move on to adding various forms of resistance training. A unique aspect of our training philosophy is the addition of endurance training, especially incorporating triathlon training methods, as a way to cross-train the body and reinforce mental steadfastness. We intend to offer a kinder, gentler form of the many HIT (high-intensity training) and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) programs on the market today, with the primary tenet of our program being injury prevention. We hope to establish a refuge of sorts, offering a nonjudgmental community where egos are checked at the door, an atmosphere free of petty jealousies, cliques, unnecessary whining and adolescent-type drama. An environment where friendly competition is encouraged, but where we also emphasize the only butt really worth kicking is your own!

The lo-fi Fitness methods

Our methods are simple and easy to understand. We suggest paying attention to what you have to do anyway, and put some grace and forethought into everyday movements and daily living activities. Even the most inactive among us still have to lie to sleep and rise to wake, climb stairs, get in and out of furniture and cars, carry groceries, kids and grandkids, and so on. We think youll be amazed at how fluidly you can move with a little practice and relaxed attention to detail. Thats what we mean when we say youre going to do it anywaywhy not get good at it? By addressing three things that you must do anywaycontrolling your breathing (depth,

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duration and frequency), staying adequately hydrated, and relearning how to properly squat you can begin to positively change your life today. We dont like to use the word exercise, referring instead to physical activity. To maintain a healthy mind and body, consistent, wide-ranging physical activity is not optional but rather a prerequisitesimply normal maintenance for the human body. In keeping with this, lo-fi Fitness focuses on relearning our approach to physical activity as not something we choose to do or not to do, but rather something that is inherent in our being, the same way a child looks at play. In other words, live life as a responsible adult, but never forget how to play like a child. Children dont warm up and stretch before going for a run. They push open the front door and go! They dont see a hill and worry about falling down as they climb . They want to see the view from the top and run down as fast as they can. We want you to have the same mentality, and we apply stair-step methods to build your fitness level gradually to a point where you can safely play like a child again.

The proposed lo-fi Fitness facility

Our focus is to help our clients maintain their bodies relatively easily through gradually ramping up activity levels, attention to a good diet, adequate rest and encouraging them to berate themselves as little as possible. We feel that we produce effective results using uncomplicated methods based on timeless principles, much in the same vein as the physical culture movement of the 19th century. The look and feel of the proposed lo-fi Fitness facility will be much like the gymnasiums of yesteryear. Our visual image of the lo-fi Fitness facility is similar to the image in Figure 1, which depicts a turn-of-the-century gymnasium. These gyms contained simple apparatus that allowed users to perform natural movements using their whole body as a unit to lift, carry, jump, throw, push, pull, punch, kick and climb. In the chapters that follow, we describe how we plan to incorporate similar types of equipment in our lo-fi Fitness training program.

Figure 1. A look back in time at a depiction of an early 1900s gym with vintage equipment.

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All of the natural movements of lifting, carrying, jumping and similar movements are basic to our evolution and have allowed us to survive and adapt to this point. However, very few of us today could even attempt to use any of the equipment depicted in Figure 1. And thats why were suggesting that our clients relearn basic movements such as squatting down, climbing and descending as if they were a toddler againlearning from the beginning. We like to use the term toddler conditioning in reference to beginner-level adult fitness training for the deconditioned among us, which means that were starting over again at square one and gradually building from that point.

Keeping it fresh
Throughout this e-book we provide links to relevant data, journal articles and products, as well as links to websites maintained by individuals active in the fitness arena whom we feel possess keen insight and a depth of experience on various subjectsour mentors, so to speak. These links will be updated as we learn from our results and adjustments in techniques with our client base, providing new perspectives and highlighting advancing scientific knowledge as it becomes available. We developed this e-book to be a living, breathing document. Periodically well verify the links appearing here and provide new copies of this e-book to our subscriber list.

2013 Stephen V. Faris All Rights Reserved

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