Integration VS Isolation

It seems the fitness industry is full of opinions, experts and programs that are suggesting one modality over another.

Machines or free weights? Fasted morning cardio or traditional treadmill? Sets and reps? Isolation or Integration exercises? How deep to squat?

The arguments and confusion seem to have no end and it’s very easy to see how a novice fitness enthusiast could easily become confused as to what to do.

I’ve been in the industry for three decades and have seen many passing fads with diets, workouts and supplementation and with all that experience I have come to this conclusion…

Do what works best for you!

People always ask me, “Clark, when is the best time to do cardio morning or night, before or after my workout”? My response is always, “when is best for you”?

If their response is “the morning” , then my response would be, “that’s the best time”! Why create another obstacle for someone who is interested in becoming healthier? We have enough to worry about in life so adding a complicated system that doesn’t fit your lifestyle makes no sense to me what so ever. I’ll let the “experts” argue over the little details that really only apply to someone who is really trying to be precise as it relates to their particular goals.

There are some recommendations I do have in regards to time efficiency and getting the most out of your workouts, especially how it relates to how we function as humans. The title of this article is “Isolation VS Integration” , so let me take a few minutes and elaborate on what I mean.

There are tons of machines built that we see in gyms all across the world… Biceps curls Triceps extensions Lateral Shoulder raises Ab Crunches

so on and so forth….While these machines are widely used and accepted by most trainers, it’s seldom in life that we are required to do anything functionally that would require total isolation of a single body part.

Our bodies are designed to be integrative in nature…different muscles assist others all in an effort to create balance and disturb strength requirements evenly to be strong and safe.

Think about it for a second… if you are putting away Christmas boxes in the attic storage, you are gonna use your arms, legs, shoulders, triceps, core and so on. When you hold a baby, pick up a heavy object, run, jump or pretty much any human function you are integrating not isolating.

Now, the functionality aspect is one point, let’s look at time. Most objections I hear from people about starting or maintaining a fitness program is, “I don’t have the time”. I get it, most people are limited on time and the easy answer is, “make more time…get up earlier” Well, that doesn’t always work either, so why not just minimize the amount of time you are working out by performing exercises that are integrative in nature as opposed to going from one machine to another isolating individual body parts?

OK, now let’s discuss metabolic efficiency…doing “compound” or integrative exercises will increase caloric expenditure and provide more bang for your buck and get your metabolism working for you instead of against you.

I hope this little dissertation has helped you realize a few things:

1. You do have the time if you do the right exercises

2. Efficiency is something we all can benefit from

3. Not all exercises are created the same

4. You should always do what’s best for you, not get confused by “experts” suggesting their way or now way.

5. Your body is amazing and will either get better or worse depending on how you treat it.

In closing, my recommendation would be to find time efficient, compound exercises that will not only save you time, but be more effective in producing fast and lasting results.

#Integration #MetabolicEfficiency #makemoretime #Bodies #Isolation

Perfect Doesn’t Exist

Our western culture has really messed a lot of people up, especially as it relates to “what is healthy.”

Nearly every magazine cover, Instagram model, celebrity diet or fitness fad has many thinking that health is about looking a certain way and that couldn’t be the furthest thing from then truth as far as I’m concerned.

Photoshop, apps to smooth wrinkles and whiten teeth in one swipe, perfect asses and big boobs are all we seem to see these days and it’s a bit frightening honestly because it gives many the wrong image when it’s time to set fitness goals and priorities.

Here is the truth… a perfect body doesn’t exist. Don’t get me wrong, there are some very beautiful people who are totally natural but we don’t often have the privilege of hearing from those people and how they approach life… we are just inundated with unrealistic images and place our hopes and dreams on the desire to one day look like them.

Listen, I’ve seen, known and been around so many models and most are very insecure people and very typically have flaws and issues with their bodies that they would love to improve upon. It seems that the most beautifully fit are the most unhealthy many times.

My recommendation to you would be to set realistic goals, don’t paste an image of a perfect body on the fridge as your “inspiration” but instead, seek living in a highly functioning, healthy body and let the other things fall into place after deciding that “true health” is your first priority.

Truth health, to me, can be defined as having your blood work come back clean, having a great relationship with where you are currently, living a balanced and happy life, appreciating what you have as opposed to what you want.

A healthy body will not always manifest itself into a swimsuit body and a swimsuit body is not always healthy.

Take a step back and re assess WHY you are deciding to exercise and adjust your priorities if necessary and understand that perfection or looking like someone else isn’t what you should be striving for…you should be striving to be the best YOU CAN BE and embrace every flaw you have with the understanding that even the girl or guy on the magazine cover or instagram page must do the same.

#BeHappy #PerfectBody #DailySuccess #StayingStrong #NeverPerfect #StrongWill #FrogFitness #BuildingaBetterLife

Start Right, Choose Wisely

Start Right, Choose Wisely, Fitness One at a Time, All things Considered

Making fitness and health a priority is easy when it is your career. Their income becomes dependent on performance or physique. What about the non-athlete or non-fitness model? When making lifestyle changes they must be accommodating to the individual. NO, I am not saying making the change is easy. I am advising everyone to make goals realistically challenging. Don’t fall for glorified marketing. We have all seen “Get Shredded” “Get Lean” “Burn Fat” “Tone up” ad campaigns on Fitness Products and supplements. If these ads are true, they are increasing the body’s metabolism. The options are overwhelming to the average person but thinking through molecular terms they exhibit the same outcome, cutting fat storage by spiking the metabolism. DNA and fingerprints are all different. Why would we all follow the same diet? In order to make the decision process a little easier we must figure out what will fit into our lifestyle and gradually add new challenges one at a time. DO NOT try to flip your diet overnight. This will lead to negative side effects that will convince you to retract to your old unhealthy habits. In order to prevent this, we must understand that the human body is very adaptable. The differences between everyone is how stubborn the body is to adapt. Dramatically changing the diet overnight only shocks the body. Tracking our diet for two weeks before we make changes is the best way to start. This is how we get a grasp on what kind of macros we are eating. Then we must start by eliminating certain unhealthy foods while adding in a healthier alternative ONE at a time. We all have those foods we love but know we should hate. An easy solution is to find a healthy alternative or limit how often we indulge. No, artificial sweeteners are not considered a healthy alternative. No, organic does not always mean healthier. An easy example would be, stop eating canned vegetables and grab some fresh produce instead. After making these changes we can focus on meal prep. This can be extremely stressful so initially meal prep one meal a day. No meal planning doesn’t have to be plain and tasteless. Spice up your meals to what you desire. Add one meal to your planning as they become more habitual. UNDERSTAND your physical limitations are low in the beginning. Use it or lose it, is a very true statement. If our body has not been under physical stress in a long period of time your gym or activity time will be extremely short. This discourages people in the beginning but it should encourage. No you don’t have to start off spending one to two hours in the gym. YES, it is ok to only spend 15 to 30 mins on small simple movements. Our bodies adaptability is phenomenal. In a matter of weeks the body will be able to last a lot longer, especially if we are starting from the bottom. LEAVE the supplements alone. Unless we are talking about a daily vitamin or fish oil. It is very obvious that that we have a hard time making sure we get what the body needs on a daily basis so a quality multi-vitamin is GREAT. NO, I am not against the supplement industry by any means but, in the beginning we DO NOT need any supplements. Yes, they do help a lot, especially when you find a company that has quality ingredients. No, they are not needed in the beginning stages of any fitness program. After four to six weeks of consistently being active and eating healthy that is when supplements can be implemented. Positive life changes are a common desire that must be added one at a time. Make the changes permanent by adopting an active lifestyle that fits your unique individuality. Taking the same ideals when altering your diet. This will be the solid foundation you need in order to have a positive lifestyle you are proud of.

#Adapttoyourgoals #Setyourgoals #betteryourself #ChooseWisely #berealistic