The One on One Fitness Blog
Do your behaviors line up with who you really want to be?
It was Steven Covey’s book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that originally introduced me to the idea of having a Personal Mission Statement. Today, I find that having my ideals and values documented is one of most powerful self-improvement tools one can have. As with most endeavors, if you don’t know where you are going, you can’t begin to create a strategy on how to get there. Before I formally documented who I aspired to be and made a commitment to do all I could to be that person, I often came up short. Defining who you aspire to be takes careful consideration. As you go through the process, ask yourself a few questions, including; Who is important to you? How can you impact their lives [...]
Anterior Knee Pain – Pain Site vs. Pain Source
By Mike Boyle Anterior knee pain goes by a large number of names but unfortunately seems to have relatively few effective treatments. Chondromalacia Patella, Patella Tendonitis and Patella-Femoral Syndrome are all names used to describe various types of often debilitating anterior knee pain. A large part of the problem in treating anterior knee pain may be that treatment has often focused on the knee joint or what would be described as the primary pain site. In reality, the knee may be the repository of pain that emanates from issues at the hip or the foot. A knee-centered approach to treatment of anterior knee pain becomes a symptom-based approach versus a cause-based approach. In other words, treatment often focuses on eliminating a key symptom versus trying [...]
Back in the Swing: Learn how to help your patients avoid injuries while golfing!
(This article was published in the July 2009 edition of the American Chiropractic Association News.) Golfing is a common summer-time activity that those of us who live in the northern parts of the country don’t participate in year-round. The physical demands of golf are much different from what most of your patients experience in their daily lives. Therefore, it makes sense that at least a portion of their fitness training should be spent preparing the body for the specific physical stresses, so they can enjoy the time spent golfing and participate as much as they would like. Below you will find specific training that can be done to prepare the outdoor enthusiasts for playing golf, while avoiding any acute or overuse injuries. Endurance Training The [...]
Health Care – Prevention is a First Step to Reform
By Bruce Burke As a small-business owner of a fitness facility, I have experienced the extreme increases in health insurance premiums. From 2000 to 2004, our insurance premiums increased 100 percent. In that time, none of us ever came close to spending more on health care than we did on our premiums. I learned it didn’t matter how healthy we were. We were “community rated,” meaning we were lumped in with the community at large. Why? Wouldn’t it make more sense to provide a financial incentive to people who eat right, don’t smoke and exercise regularly? While I understand this is how insurance works (they make money on some and lose money on others), the fact is that this system is broken. It must be [...]
The Evolution of Personal Training
Personal training and program design have come a long, long way since we began our careers some 24 years ago. What we do today bears little resemblance to what we did back then, particularly for baby boomers and seniors. What was thought to be safe and effective back then has proven to be anything but! For starters, we have learned how the isolation approach towards strength training places far too much stress on individual joints. This often results in overuse injuries such as shoulder-impingement syndrome and patella-femoral syndrome. This style of training can clearly make you bigger and stronger, but at what price, especially for boomers and seniors? It also fails to address one's ability to produce force while maintaining balance through functional ranges of [...]
A Winning Approach: Focus on the Prize
By Bruce Burke Like any other endeavor, you will only enjoy the fruits of your exercise experience if you honestly work at it. It takes a little time and will often take you out of what you currently consider your "comfort zone." Ironically, this so called comfort zone is often anything but! People are a product of their environment and the stimuli they encounter. Life in their comfort zone reflects how they look and feel on a day-to-day basis. Can you tell the difference between someone who sits at a desk all day and someone who works out regularly? You bet you can. They are products of their environment and easily identified. If they want to look and feel differently, they have to be willing [...]
Stay Fit and Have Fun on Vacation
By The One on One Team You've worked hard all year, and now you finally get to enjoy your summer vacation. Getting away from the daily grind is rejuvenating and beneficial to your health. Besides taking a break from the stresses of work, you get to take a break from your usual workout routine. Why not try something new? There are a variety of ways to get a great workout without even feeling like you're exercising. Here are some suggestions: •Walk on the beach - Not only does the sand feel good under your feet, but your body has to work a lot harder to move across this unstable surface. •Water skiing - Holy core exercise! Simply getting up to a standing position requires mucho [...]
Weight Loss – How to Get the Most Bang for Your Exercise Buck
Did you know that Metabolic Resistance Training can provide the most "bang for your buck" when it comes to weight loss? Weight loss is a complicated animal that requires attention to many different variables. Correct nutrition is so important that it holds the number one and number two spots on fitness expert Alwyn Cosgrove's "Hierarchy of Fat Loss." Cosgrove states that "There's pretty much nothing that can be done to out-train a crappy diet." That being said, how you spend your time training does make a difference. Current research shows that high intensity (metabolic) resistance training performed in a total body format is one of the most efficient ways to lose weight. Metabolic Resistance Training utilizes many of the traditional means of exercising, such as weight [...]
Get Fit for a Good Cause
(This article appeared Friday, June 19, 2009 in the Centre Daily Times column "On Centre" featuring State College and Centre Region news.)By Stephanie Koons A lot of people in the Centre Region are interested in getting fit, but running on a treadmill or doing mindless repetitions of weights isn't for everyone. Many also want to give back to the community, but may not be able to fit volunteer work into their schedules. One on One Fitness Consultants Inc., 424 W. Aaron Drive, State College, has made it possible to accomplish both goals. The company started its Give Back Group Fitness Training program earlier this year to raise funds for Centre Volunteers in Medicine and the Centre County Youth Service Bureau. CVIM provides free medical and [...]
Youth Athletic Readiness Training – Question and Answer
The following is an interview between Kerri Smith and One on One team member and Adam Pangborn, CSCS. KERRI: What is athletic readiness training?ADAM: The foundation of every sport includes fundamental movement skills such as running, jumping, throwing, balance, agility, and hand-eye coordination. Athletic readiness training focuses on the development of these basic motor skills. KERRI: Why do our young athletes need readiness training? ADAM: Unfortunately, games of tag and backyard baseball have been replaced by video games, TV, and surfing the internet. Studies show that children between the ages of 10-12, for instance, are spending up to 6 hours per day in front of the television and/or computer. The price tag for this sedentary lifestyle is very high. Not only are our nation's children [...]
Gardening Exercises and Photos
Bent Leg DeadliftPosition your body with feet slightly wider than shoulder width, knees slightly bent, spine in neutral, and shoulders back and down. Grasp a barbell or light dumbbells just outside of the knees. Gently lower the bar towards the floor by first shifting your hips backward then downward while creating a hinge-like motion at your knees. As you move upward to complete the exercise, keep the barbell or dumbbells close to the body and repeat 10-15 times. Forward Reaching Lunge Set a lightweight dumbbell on the ground and stand about three to four feet from the dumbbell. Position your body with feet close together, spine in neutral, shoulders back and down. Slowly lift your right foot off the ground while stabilizing your body on [...]
Gardening – Getting in Shape for the Summer
Gardening can be an enjoyable summertime activity if you know how to help your body adjust to its physical demands. Since we live in the Northeast, our long winters prevent us from working in the garden all year long. This article will focus on the specific physical stresses we encounter while enjoying this hobby and ways to address them. Although some heavy lifting can be involved, most of what we do in the garden is considered low-intensity, long-duration lifting, carrying, lowering, bending and reaching. The most common injuries reported from gardening are due to the repetitive load on the spine and knees. A training program that emphasizes proper mechanics of movement will serve the gardening enthusiast well. Teaching the exerciser how to properly hinge at [...]
Golf: Getting in Shape for the Summer
By Kym Burke and Ryan Burke of One on One Golf is a common summertime activity that those of us who live in the Northeast can't participate in year-round. The physical demands of golf are much different than what most of us experience in our regular daily routines. Therefore, it makes sense that at least a portion of our fitness training be spent preparing our bodies for the specific physical stresses we will encounter while enjoying this hobby. Although there are many issues we address at One on One to get a golfer ready for the season, poor hip mobility is one of the most common. If a golfer lacks the ability to internally rotate their pelvis, they will "slide" through the ball on both [...]
Healthy Corporate Culture Starts with Integrity
By Bruce BurkeIntegrity is everything. Lie one time and you're a liar. The lumps you take for making a mistake are nothing compared to losing respect and trust by trying to cover up that mistake. In another life, honesty was not tops on my priority list. My philosophy was, if you could get away with it, it was OK. It didn't take long for me to crash and burn. Not only was I not succeeding in the material world, I was totally empty inside. I am fortunate to have crashed, burned, and come out the other side considerably stronger. Today, being honest is as easy as I want it to be. As long as I don't behave in a way that is shameful or that [...]
Are You REALLY Trying to Succeed?
I wish I had a dime for every time I have had somebody in my life justify mediocrity by explaining that they were "trying their best." I might not know what someone's "best" looks like, but I know what it doesn't look like. When my son was a freshman in high school, he came home with a "C" in Geometry. He explained that it didn't come easy to him (I know where he gets that from!), but that he was "trying his best." I inquired if he had asked his teacher for help or if he had checked into getting a tutor after school. Of course, the answer was no. Yet in his mind, he was doing his best. He, like most people, didn't have [...]
“Give Back” is Off and Running
We feel extremely fortunate to live and prosper in such a vibrant, exciting community. State College has been very good to us. Accordingly, we have always looked for ways to share our good fortune with others. This year, we have decided to take our sharing to a higher level through our “Give Back†initiative."Give Back" is simply our commitment to be leaders in our community; to do our share to care for it in ways more significant than just donating money. Our first step has been to create a Group Training Program here at One on One where the participants make their payments directly to one of our favored charities, either the Youth Service Bureau or Centre Volunteers in Medicine.It has been quite successful and feels great! [...]
“Give Back” Initiative
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Bruce Burke One on One, Fitness Consultants Inc. 424 W. Aaron Drive State College, PA 16803 When Times are Tough...Give Back! State College, PA, February 13, 2009 - One on One, Fitness Consultants Inc. is starting a group training program as part of their "Give Back" initiative. With a donation to either Centre Volunteers in Medicine or the Youth Service Bureau, community members can benefit from One on One's unique brand of Group Training while giving back to State College charities. "In difficult economic times, it's easy to focus inward and keep our blessings to ourselves," says Kym Burke, co-owner of One on One. "We want to do the opposite. We know donations are down for these great charities and [...]