Get "Country" Fit

About a year ago I attended a session at IDEA World Fitness Convention--a continuing education event for fitness professionals. During that session the presenter, movement smart guy and ViPR creator Michol Dalcourt, shared an eye-opening story. A former trainer of hockey players in Canada, he also hosted summertime hockey camps for boys. The boys would arrive from all over, but soon Dalcourt could easily make a glaring distinction between two groups: those from the city and those from the country. Generally, when it came to “natural” performance and aptitude, country boys scored the highest marks.

Why did the country boys tend to outperform the city boys? Despite less access to state-of-the-art training facilities, Dalcourt explains that country boys simply moved better. In lieu of gym workouts, they spent a great deal of time engaged in activities like tossing hay bales, chopping firewood and other similar activities. They didn’t regularly use machines, dumbbells, benches or weight belts, yet these boys developed stronger, fitter, more athletic bodies than the city kids. The city boys were strong as well, but much of their training involved exercises that required very little movement like the bench press or seated biceps curls. They also regularly used seated resistance machines with benches and back supports requiring very little core strength and stability. This type of training placed the city boys at a disadvantage.

So why is this story important? Most of my personal training clients tell me they want to develop an athlete’s body. Most people I meet have a similar goal. Yet those same people sit at work; sit in the car on the way to the gym; sit on a piece of equipment while at the gym; and then go home and sit on the couch for the evening. Most of us are amazing sitters. Yet, most of us also have pain, low energy and a less than desirable fat-to-muscle ratio. The truth is that you can’t develop a strong, athletic body from a seated position. It might not be possible to control your work environment (though more and more people are building stand-up or even treadmill desks) or excess sitting due to the long commute. It is possible to control your workout. Just about anything you do while sitting can also be done standing, and with greater benefit. For instance, instead of a seated preacher curl, try a standing biceps curl. You’ll strengthen your biceps, and burn more calories because your entire body must work to stabilize the movement. For an even greater challenge, perform the movement while standing on one leg. Instead of seated leg presses, how about some walking lunges or side-to-side squats with dumbbells? When the legs fatigue, drop to the ground and pound out some push-ups. Squat back to the other side of the gym and repeat the biceps curls. Your body’s ability to move and stabilize in a variety of range of motions will improve greatly. You’ll also have a greater chance of developing that strong, lean, athletic body you’ve been dreaming of.

So when it comes to your workouts, don’t be afraid to go a little country.