Why I developed Fit10 Fitness
Sadly, many Americans today are in declining health and out of shape physically. Our evolution from an agricultural society to an industrial society, to a technological society has left our bodies behind.
Most baby-boomers, now in or approaching retirement, appear to be equally concerned about their future-financial-health, and their future-physical-health. Yet, statistics show they invest much more in their future-financial-health. Most people take much better care of their financial portfolio, and the material things they own, than they do their most valuable asset—their body!
Have you ever wished your body came with instructions? In 1989, when I began lecturing around the country on health and fitness, I could not believe how uninformed most people were about the fundamentals of exercise and fitness, especially as it relates to its effects on the body.
After giving it a lot of thought I realized that most people have (A) very little scientific knowledge about the actual effects of exercise on the body, and (B) very little practical knowledge of the benefits of maintaining strength. I discovered this was especially true for anyone who has never participated in a competitive sport that required them to consistently push their body to extremes physically, to achieve peak performance.
I realized that I was taking a lot for granted. I grew up on a ranch. I learned how to work hard at a very young age. I had two older brothers, an older sister, and a younger sister who were extremely athletic. They constantly pushed me to compete against them physically in any, and every activity imaginable. I just assumed that everyone went through a similar situation growing up.
I came to realize, however, that only a very small percentage of people fit into that category. And, to make matters worse, P.E. (physical education) classes-that used to be mandated as part of one’s basic education-have, for the most part, been dummied down, and in some cases eliminated. This has left a huge portion of our population now taking better care of their cars and pets than they do their own body.
As an ex-NFL athlete, I have been at both extremes with my health and fitness. I’ve been in phenomenal shape physically, and I’ve been overweight and out of shape physically. Fit10 Fitness is about what I’ve learned both at, and between, those two extremes.
For the last twenty plus years I have enjoyed good health and am in great shape physically. It should interest you to know that I only workout for ten minutes a day. Do I have your attention now?
I strongly believe that if your workout takes longer than 10 minutes a day, you may be wasting your time! The key word in that statement is workout. In my opinion there is a big difference between getting some exercise and getting a “workout”.
A workout is that scheduled period during a given day, week, or month, that you set aside specifically to do what is necessary to get and stay physically fit. And, in my opinion, a workout should involve intense anaerobic exercise to build strength. A workout is not fun.
Exercise, on the other hand, can be any type of activity that gets your body moving. In this sense, and only this sense, exercise can be enjoyable.
An example would be doubles tennis. I love to play tennis; it is an enjoyable form of exercise. But it takes much more than playing doubles tennis occasionally, to maintain my strength and fitness. It takes a workout!
I grew up working out. We lived on a working ranch. We raised our own beef, and for many years grew our own fruits and vegetables. I got up early every day to milk the cows before going to school. There where chores to do every day. On the weekends there were more chores and typically a project or two that required hard work.
Because I grew in height so early (I’m 6′ 7″), I was not as mature physically as my peers. Consequently, I learned to compensate by spending hours in the weight room. I venture to say I worked out more than most. In fact, I was lifting weights before it was popular, or even mandated for an athlete as it is today. Eventually it paid off for me in a big way.
Years later, when I stepped out of professional football, I felt like I had worked out enough for several lifetimes. Married and with children—in a sedentary job—my fitness began to decline. Then, after a serious back injury, it really went south. I found myself in a place I had never been before—out of shape physically, and with little time or motivation to turn things around.
Fit10 Fitness is about what I have learned through that experience, and what I did to get back on track physically. On my journey I discovered something about me and others as it relates to the conventional approach to exercise and fitness.
I consider myself the everyday-normal-person-fitness-guy. In other words, when I pull my shirt up you will not see washboard abs! I do not look like the fitness fanatics that you most often see associated with getting fit. I am, however, in great shape for someone in his late 60s, with a bad back and bad knees.
The Big Idea
One day I had an epiphany. What if the approach most people were taking was not the best? Could there be a radically different and ultimately much better way for people to get and stay physically fit in the 20-21st century? What follows is the secret to my success, and since 1993 the success of thousands.
Since 1989 I have been motivating and educating people to get fit for life. I enjoy teaching people the truth concerning how their body works—either for or against them—depending on how they exercise.
I am huge on education! believe it’s best to first exercise your mind before you exercise your body. Comedian Emo Phillips once said, “I used to think that the brain was the most wonderful organ in my body. Then I realized who was telling me this.” Very funny! But seriously, it is your brain that tells you what to do. So, if you expect your brain to instruct you accurately, it must receive accurate information.
Whether you realize it or not your brain is filled with hundreds of thousands of soundbites of information on health, fitness, exercise, nutrition, etc. These bits of information have entered over many years of reading and watching so called “experts” give their advice on the latest greatest technique or discovery.
Is it possible everything you’ve learned about exercise is wrong? Probably not everything, but a lot of what you’ve learned may be incorrect. Why does it matter? Because many people are wasting time doing things their brain is telling them to do to get fit, and it’s not working.
Over the years I developed a formula that I believe is essential for anyone wanting to develop a new habit. Especially a habit they intend to continue for the rest of their life. The formula is as follows: Education + Motivation x Application = Results. Get any of those out of order and you’re likely to fail.
As it relates to exercise, typically people become motivated to make a change because of an upcoming reunion, etc., and then quickly jump onto the current fad solution. Then, after several failures, they give up.
It is my hope that Fit10 Fitness will challenge your thinking and change your life regarding how, and how often, you exercise. The old saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” That’s true, but you can salt his oats!
