Weight Loss - Part 3: The Team Trainer

It was clear to me I was going to need to figure out some sort of exercise program, something I could stick with over time, something that took a long term approach. I shopped around. I went to every gym within about 10 miles of my house, walked in, looked around, talked to people about membership, talked to some trainers...it was kind of intimidating - not the least of which happened as some oversized human monster muscle machine leaned over me, trying to peddle some new 5 gallon jar of protein powder. But I was committed. I didn't know what my workouts would look like, what I would be doing...I just knew I needed a structured exercise routine I could learn and eventually execute on my own. After being all ready to sign up and join a prominent local Athletic Club with a juice and health snack bar, a sitting lounge with wifi and TVs, a hot tub, a pool, tennis courts, and whatever else not, I decided to check out one more final place around the corner from me, called, simply, "Functional Fitness". One final stop on the way home.

And that's when I met Sam.

Functional Fitness is not defined by specific exercise, but rather more broadly in terms of body mechanics and health outcomes. Functional Fitness takes into account your body, your abilities and limits, and works with what you've got to make it all work as well as it can...from body posture to gait mechanics, from endurance to performance, from weakness to strength, from metabolism to muscle groups...in short, age is irrelevant for practical purposes.

Functional Fitness is about making your body perform as well as it can for you as an individual. Functional Fitness is about longevity. It's about well-being, for the rest of your life.

When I walked in I asked Sam what his workout routines would look like, how he might start with me, how long it would take to transform my body into some storybook version of a roman gladiator physique, I had a thousand questions...he laughed, and said, "Here...walk on this treadmill for a bit." And so I did. He "hummed" and "haaawd", smirked, smiled broadly, made casual conversation, walked back and forth, crouched down, looked at me from all these different angles, then said,

"Yeah...ok...how about we start by fixing your posture."

Um. Wait, whaaaaaaat???? "I'm here to lose weight!" I declared.

"Yeah, I know, and you will. But here's the thing...,"

And then he explained it to me. And it made more sense than anything I had ever heard about working out, getting healthy, and being well. It made FUNCTIONAL sense.

That's Sam. He had the insight to realize that after a spinal fusion surgery, my subsequent weight gain, and years of carrying all this extra weight, I had become flat-footed, walked like a duck, and thereby threw my entire spine out of alignment. The net result is that your muscles get "squished" and can't be oxygenated properly (hence all my cramps in my legs and back). He explained that I was hunched over from working at a desk job, most likely (which was true), and that most trainers would start me on exercise to strengthen my pectoral muscles to open up my chest. But he explained that was counter-productive..."actually, we want to strengthen the back muscles so they pull up your shoulders, and that will fix your posture on top. Fixing your posture will allow your body to align properly, which will allow it to function properly, which will make everything else, including your metabolism, work properly. So, yeah, let's fix your posture first."

Sam was the first person who didn't see me as a monthly membership fee. He saw me as human being in pain from years of neglect and unfocused physical attention. He saw the potential and how I needed to fix my body so I could lose the weight, and succeed.

And he knew how to fix it. So, yeah...Sam's been my trainer now for two and a half years. I have one very important piece of advice for anyone setting out on a weight loss journey like this..and it's simply this:

Get yourself a Sam. You need a Sam on your team.

Oh, and if you live in Boulder, Colorado, here is Sam's number:

Sam Iannetta

Functional Fitness

2868 30th Street

Boulder CO 80301

Tel. 303-440-1440

www.functionalfitnessusa.com

Because...in life as in food...flavor is free.