Structurally Sound

As a medical exercise specialist with more than ten years’ experience in a clinical setting, I have been fortunate to work with a number of experienced physiotherapists. Through the years, I learned that when it comes to training and strengthening the body, traditional training principles are a secondary component. We need to train the body “from the inside out,” placing greater emphasis on core stability, flexibility, and the strengthening of stabilizer muscles. It is not until we have accomplished these goals that we should look further ahead to strengthen our outer shell.

York County Physiotherapy and Sports Injuries Clinic was essentially my laboratory where test results and findings were established and proven. Even though the clinic deals with patients of all ages, each with his or her own unique problem, it would be safe to say that our largest patient pool consists of middle-aged people.

Patients come to our clinic because of work-related injuries, motor vehicle accidents, or from fitness and lifestyle injuries. I will be dealing specifically with fitness activities and injury prevention. Whether from injury, medical conditions, or social pressures, middle-aged people eventually come face to face with challenges that call for them to improve their level of health and fitness. This getting-fit process of becoming healthier often leads to setbacks, injuries, or abandonment of the activities altogether. They have the right intentions, but their fitness regimen creates more harm than good.

Why is this the case? This is where my laboratory (the clinic) provided me with great insight. Most often, when something physical happens to an individual (e.g., injury, illness, aging, weight gain or loss), there is an increased awareness of the need to improve or create a new fitness regimen. However, sometimes with limited resources or knowledge on the matter, the big question is how to go about it.

A majority of people seeks information through the media, the Internet, or from supposedly knowledgeable people. Self-help books, fitness and wellness television shows, and other information sources are endless. Sounds easy? Not at all. The trick is to find a fitness program that considers individual needs and goals. Classes, courses, and programs are created for mass audiences, but audiences consist of individuals with different goals and limitations. What works well for one is not guaranteed to work well for another.

Have you ever thought about the instructors who teach and illustrate such programs? In most cases, they are in good physical shape, have had a long-term commitment to fitness, and are usually young. Middle-aged men and women frequently show me exercise routines or articles that display fit individuals flashing impressive biceps and washboard abs. They say, “I want to look like this.”

It will not happen, even if you try to resurrect an old exercise program that you performed during your high school days. You may have been able to perform a hundred push-ups and sit-ups when you were much younger, but jumping into a program like that today will only guarantee you a trip to an emergency ward with a herniated disc.

By middle age, the way the body functions have changed dramatically. Yes, the body has become stronger, but its flexibility has decreased. The body is more than likely carrying a higher percentage of body fat, and it would not be a surprise if it has seen a health setback or a sports injury. This combination will often result in muscle imbalances and weaknesses. Muscle imbalances promote poor posture and potential problems of the lower back. With a limited range of motion because of reduced flexibility, you have become a perfect candidate to cause more harm than good when participating in a fitness or wellness program. More than 80 percent of the population have experienced or will experience some kind of a bio-mechanical injury. However, our fitness, health, and wellness industry continue to saturate the market with gadgets and programs designed for the healthy uninjured minority.

Structurally Sound—Renovating the Middle-Aged Body is not a book with a quick fix. In fact, it provides no prescribed program at all. It does not guarantee that you will walk away with six-pack abs or “Arnold’s” biceps.

This book uses the analogy of a custom-built home to illustrate its concepts. Before construction of a new home, essential steps are necessary, such as creating a blue print, obtaining proper permits, hiring a supervisor and trades people. These steps are comparable to developing an exercise plan of action, having a medical check-up and doctor’s clearance, hiring an exercise specialist, and getting additional support groups. Construction of a custom-built home focuses on establishing a foundation, stabilizer joints, wiring, and the exterior shell. Such steps are comparable to developing and strengthening of the core and stabilizer muscles, harnessing the power of the mind, and training the primary muscle groups.

 Structurally Sound emphasizes that in order to succeed, the mind-body unification process known as the “fuse principle" must be achieved. The mind is a power source. The body uses this source of energy to function and participate in daily events and activities. The mind and body, two separate but vital entities, unify and are regulated through the inner self. This essential role is in comparison to that of a fuse panel, which regulates the power line (mind) that is linked to the home (body). This book illustrates the intricate balance orchestrated by the inner self, that being the ability to train the body as well as the mind. It will determine whether a new exercise regimen, program, or any other goal-orientated activity will become a success or failure, and whether it will be safe and pro-active or plagued with injuries.

Structurally Sound is a systematic guide on how to reach fitness goals injury free. It is a book designed for the masses, for those who have not witnessed beneficial results, for those who have injured themselves or who live a life of restrictions and setbacks created by the fitness industry’s minority train of thought. With this book, you will learn all the know-how that our patients learn, without having to injure yourself in the first place. Structurally Sound is about seeking health care professionals and working with them to build a body that has a strong foundation, unshakeable stabilizers, and an appearance that guarantees people will notice.

I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and I hope you will benefit and become, or remain, injury free.