Stop searching for the “latest” workout and start choosing a fitter body. There’s a better way to do this!

The structural reconditioning training we incorporate give our clients (including celebrities, pro-athletes, olympic athletes, industrial athletes, and models), the edge they need to have a decided advantage.

Beyond this, we’ve helped countless people re-structure their workout into something more meaningful, opening up a whole new level of fitness, resilience, and strength in a way they never imagined.

How does your exercise routine stack up? There are three major factors that must be considered for a workout to be truly intelligent for your body. All three are essential; but I’ve listed them in order of importance:

1) Does it contribute to sound biomechanics, along with improved posture and alignment?

Whether you want to eliminate neck and back pain, or throw a football fifteen yards further down the field, biomechanics and alignment are crucial. Even as you sit and read this, an unseen force is bearing down on you, fatiguing you, weakening you, and wreaking havoc on your joints and muscles. This force is gravity.

Every joint and muscle in our body is working under constant tension to fight gravity. Add to that a lopsided exercise routine, repetitive motions, body positioning at home and work, and we’re left with an all-American posture.... a painful one.

This goes beyond standing up straight. Sadly, most clients I see don’t even have the ability to truly stand straight! We all develop muscle imbalances over time that drastically increase load-bearing on our joints. As our muscles compensate by weakening or becoming hypertonic, we begin to lose our natural range of motion. Gravity bears down on us with increasing vengeance the further our bodies stray from perfect alignment. Our bodies have the capacity to withstand incredible forces when our muscles are balanced and our joints are in proper alignment. But even small deficiencies in this area can lead to major problems.

Good alignment and muscle balance is the true foundation of functional strength.

Good alignment and muscle balance is the true foundation for pleasing symmetry and beauty.

If you think you’re already beautiful and strong, then adding an intelligent structural reconditioning program will only amplify that! Next time you go to the gym or workout class, ask yourself: does each exercise have justification in your routine? Does it contribute to improved biomechanics and neutral alignment? Or is it going to overtax already shortened hypertonic muscles, resulting in antagonistic muscle groups weakening and increasing asymmetric load-bearing? Simply put, some otherwise good exercises can actually be damaging to your body because of failing to take into account your unique structure!

How do we know what our bodies need? The answer is thorough evaluation, measurement, tracking, and re-evaluation. Your performance and health is worth it!

The age-old debate over what modality of exercise is best stops here. The answer is simple: purposefully select exercises that will return your body to neutral alignment and negate unnecessary load bearing.

This is the fastest route to becoming a functionally strong and competent athlete capable of pursuing any training preferences you may have. Powerlifting? Pilates? Bicycling? Bodybuilding? ...great. Whatever exercise gets you excited! Restore your body to proper alignment and enhanced mechanics FIRST, then you will be qualified for any mode of exercise you prefer. You can then proceed with the knowledge that your risk for injury is minimal. Any other approach to exercise would be to simply follow outdated traditions and concepts.

Train intelligent, eliminate pain, look beautiful, and be truly strong.

2) Does your exercise challenge you?

Exercise should challenge you. The question is, how do you know when you are sufficiently challenged? I believe it’s important to have specific and attainable short-term goals that keep you focused on pushing yourself. Part of being challenged is mental, not just physical. It’s more important to select the right exercise for your individual needs then to simply choose based on whatever exerts you the most. Still, a good exercise program blends your specific needs with a good level of challenge and intensity appropriate to your abilities. Beware of exercise programs that emphasize intensity over specificity. An intelligently designed program can accomplish both.

3) Is your training functional for you?

Training that is functional means it should translate well into whatever your daily activities are. Some believe this to mean emphasizing core muscle groups. However, it is much more than that. Most athletes share some common “core” needs relating to balance and stability, but beyond that they must focus on elements unique to their on-field (or on- court) activities. Training needs to be specific to the athletes' duties, and implemented in an environment borne of individual evaluation for it to be truly functional. The needs of a quarterback are going to differ from the needs of a power lifter.

Keep in mind, not everyone trying to get fit is setting performance goals as their number one priority. What is functional to one person may not be a priority to another. Training that is functional can mean many different things, but ultimately means designing a program with the individual's personal goals in mind. Each of my female clients' unique training is functional for them, because it allows them to achieve the goal they are working towards. Often it’s an aesthetic goal. For some of my clients, functional means a program that allows them to simply look nice in their formal black dress. To be specific, the type of training one needs to emphasize - is often quite different - than if they asked instead for increased hip stability or thoracic flexibility for an improved golf swing. True, often times crossover training exists between someone interested in performance vs. aesthetics. Yet, time is still limited. We need to make important decisions about what training techniques we spend time focusing on. Making these decisions intelligently is what leads to training that is unique, specific, and optimally functional.