Reasonable Fitness
Shortly before my mom died, she came up with the title ‘Reasonable Fitness’ as a description of what I do. It’s poignant that she could see it that way, given that she never worked out. Yet she pinpointed what I was trying to deliver, even before I knew it.
In the 1980s, I pounded students into the ground with high impact aerobics on a concrete floor. In the early to mid 1990s, I was known as ‘Scary Mary’ because I would try to beat up the students in my Step Classes, Boot Camp Classes, and Kickboxing Classes. I was proud to have people burning in pain.
In the late 1990’s, I got hurt with a severe back injury and was barely able to walk. Pilates was just gaining mainstream attention when this happened. Joseph Pilates, wow, what a man! He was way ahead of his time given that he developed his method in the 1920s. He embraced stretching and strengthening simultaneously with no impact on the body, the main focus being the health of the spine. Pilates changed my entire fitness regimen into something I didn’t recognize, but yet could do well enough. Surprisingly to me, I ended up in my best shape ever.
My style of delivering exercise now stems completely from Pilates. I open the body up, never use impact, and focus primarily on core strength to protect the spine. Even when lifting weights, it’s all about posture and putting space in the body. We can all do this type of workout. It doesn’t have to be intense, but yet it can be. It is accessible to everyone but not necessarily easy if you don’t want it that way. To make it harder, step a little bigger, move your arms higher, add small weights, or more weight in general. Inches, and even centimeters, matter in fitness. If you squat a couple of centimeters more, or move an inch wider when you step, the workout ramps up significantly. The opposite is true if you need something milder.
FLEX-IT (Fitness Loft EXtras In Training) brings ‘Reasonable Fitness’ to a whole new level because, not only is it something everyone can do, it eliminates the time factor deterrent. The videos are short and efficient on their own, or can be combined for longer workouts. There are even one to two minute clips of individual body parts for a quick burst. The idea is to think of exercise as part of daily life and not something that needs hours of time carved out to achieve.
Sounds like ‘Reasonable Fitness’ to me. Thanks mom.
If you would like to join FLEX-IT and get some quick bursts of exercise in, consider joining today at only $15 /month
