Publix GreenWise Market Magazine - December 2008
Real-Life Workout
Even a body that¿s fit to run a 5K may not be up to all the demands of everyday life.
 You’ve got a gym membership you actually use. You run three miles each weekend. So why does your back ache after you’ve hauled around one too many boxes? Or how come you get a sudden pinching sensation when you reach for something on the top shelf in the kitchen? You may be coming up short in a specific kind of fitness—functional fitness. It’s what’s required in order for the body to perform real-world activities in real-life positions. Lack of it is the reason you can end up with a sore or torn muscle or ligament when you move quickly or in an unfamiliar way. Fortunately, improving functional fitness is something you can do at home, and it requires almost nothing in the way of equipment.
Think of times you’ve moved quickly or in a new way and injured your body, ending up with a sore muscle or torn ligament. You can condition your body to make those movements with little effort and without injury.
“Functional fitness is training your body in a way that helps you perform activities of daily living—everything from vacuuming to picking up a toddler to taking out the trash,” says Robert Reames, official trainer for Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Weight Loss Challenge and author of Make Over Your Metabolism (Meredith Books, 2006).
Agility
Why it’s important: Agility lets you move your body in new and different ways, even when it’s not prepared to do so. Imagine that you bump a glass of red wine and see it falling to the floor. You suddenly lunge out, twist and bend to reach it. If you lack agility, your body will be shocked by these moves, and you’re more likely to strain or tear a muscle or tendon in your back, side or leg.
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 How to improve it: “Anything that involves multidirectional movement will help with agility,” says Reames. Try doing lunges while rotating your upper body, walking backward slowly or running side to side quickly, the way football players do during training. “I take my clients to a tennis court and have them run to one corner, then run backward to the other corner, repeating several times,” he says. He also suggests dancing. “Most any type of dancing has you moving in different directions.”
Training schedule: Do agility work two to four times a week, alternating with the days you do strength training.
Balance
Why it’s important: Good balance makes it less likely that you’ll fall and break a bone or otherwise injure yourself. It also promotes good posture, which can prevent back pain.
How to improve it: “I have my clients try to balance on an unstable surface, such as a balance board, and then I have them balance on a flat surface, like the ground,” says Reames. If you don’t have a balance board, try standing on one leg and timing yourself to see how long you can do it. Your goal is to gradually work up to holding the position for 3 minutes on each leg. Once you get the hang of it, add a challenge by standing on one leg and having someone throw a ball to you. “You can also go to a basketball or tennis court and walk the lines,” Reames suggests. It’s like walking on a balance beam, but you’re safe on the ground.
Training schedule: Practice balance exercises every day. |
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 Strength Why it’s important: “You want your body to be as strong as possible,” says Reames. “It will not only help you do things in everyday life, but strength training is also important for bone health.” Plus, strength plays a role in injury prevention. A loss of lower body strength along with poor balance can lead to falls.
How to improve it: Weight machines and free weights are among the most common ways to build strength, but you don’t have to curl a barbell to get strong. Reames says you can use resistance from your own body weight by doing exercises such as push-ups or leg squats. You also can use elastic exercise tubes or bands to add resistance to arm curls, leg lifts or other exercises. Or you can build upper body strength by lifting soup cans or water jugs.
Training schedule: Try to do strength training two to four times a week, alternating with the days you focus on agility exercises.
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More Ways to Get Fit
Many of the physical activities you already enjoy can help improve agility, balance or strength. For instance, tennis is great for agility because your body has to move quickly in a variety of ways. It also strengthens the lower body, which can help with balance. Here are some more examples.
| ACTIVITY |
HELPS IMPROVE |
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| Dancing |
Agility & Balance |
| Gardening |
Agility & Balance |
| Pilates |
Strength, especially in the core area |
| Tai Chi |
Balance & strength |
| Walking |
Agility & Balance |
| Yoga |
Agility & Balance |
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