Lady considering working out with us: "Will this kind of workout make me have big muscles?"
Me: "No...,but kind of..., but not really..., but yes..., but no."
I overheard a conversation the other day. Two GPP'ers were commenting on how sad it was that several of their friends don't come down here anymore, or follow along on the web site.
"She says it is just too hard." Said one to the other.
"That's OK." Chimed in the other..."GPP workouts aren't for everyone"
"No doubt about that." The first one said back. They both nodded.
I COMPLETELY disagree.
The workouts we do at GPP are specifically for EVERYONE. Through my experience and education I believe the physical needs of humans are relatively the same across the board. It is our belief at GPP that the kind of exercise we participate herein is the type that prepares us for enjoying all experiences and enduring the rigors of life.
Yes, ALL of the experiences and rigors, both known and unknown.
We believe the physical needs of individuals who wish to attain optimal health whether, short or tall, male or female, heavy or light, old or young, differ only by intensity of the exercise. Not by the type of exercise.
The fact that some may find these workouts "too hard" speaks more to the inefficiencies of their own current health and activity levels than they do of our workouts. These inefficiencies reflect, if nothing else, glaring gaps in ones physical abilities. The contradiction of this is that these gaps are the very reason most of the quitters sought us out in the first place.
It never offends us when a person quits GPP, because we get it. We get that these individuals aren't necessarily giving up on us. More directly, they are giving up on themselves - again.
Instead of being offended, we become sad. It saddens us when others give up on dreams of improved health and body image. Improving ones health and body image can go a long way toward improving quality of life in other areas of the health spectrum (mental, emotional, social, spiritual & financial). It is even more saddening to see someone get so close, as in actually showing up for workouts several times, then go away to leave another dream unrealized. It doesn't take much to begin to change your body. It doesn't take much to begin to change your health. Unfortunately, many do not realize how much momentum they have built toward their goal of improving their quality of life, only to give up after completing hardest part of all - getting started.
Is GPP for everyone? YES IT IS. In fact we will go as far as saying it is the ONLY type of program you can participate in to create and maintain optimal health and fitness. This is because we focus on all aspects of fitness. These include: cardiovascular endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, speed, power, agility, balance, coordination & accuracy. EVERY other program has gaps. Yoga, for example, focuses mainly on flexibility, balance and stamina. Body Building focuses mainly on strength. Marathon training focuses mainly on cardiovascular endurance. Each of these types of exercise philosophies are incomplete. Each leaves MANY aspects of optimal fitness left un-addressed. This makes other programs sub-par. This means that these other programs will leave a certain aspect of your health and/or fitness out. This means that these other programs will take longer and deliver less than you expect.
GPP training is rough. There is no doubt about it. Being so rough is exactly what makes it EASY. In the end, it is the easiest workout on the planet. Trust me, you would have to put much, much more time into differentiated workouts, ie. Yoga, Pilates, Running, Strength Training, Circuit Training, Agility Training, and many other types of training done EVERY week for hours on end to even approach what it is you will achieve with 20 min. workouts at the GPP 5x per week.
We at GPP will trade rough for efficiency and undiminished results every time. It seems to me, if those who quit on themselves realized all of this...they might too.
by Neil Anderson
Ever wonder where the old saying, "I feel it in my bones" comes from? Turns out this old saying had to do with surety one might feel in certain situations. More specifically, weather situations. Before radar charts and detailed weather maps,"old-timers" used to predict the weather by the pain they had in their joints before a weather event occurred. Were they accurate?
YEP!
It is well documented that people can predict weather systems occurring within 1-2 days of the actual event. Consider that of 92 year old Pennsylvania resident Edna (no last name given). She hasn't been wrong about a weather event for over 12 years. As recent as 2007 Tufts University discovered some of these reasons to be temperature and barometric pressure. Scientist now know why.
Whether they know it or not, most people who can predict oncoming weather events suffer from some form of arthritis (osteo or rheumatoid) or another type of rheumatoid disease (gout, lupus, fibromyalgia). These conditions cause inflammation. The inflammation each individual experiences may be mild to severe depending upon several factors. One of these factors has to do with barometric pressure. What most people don't know is that there is a slight negative pressure inside of each joint capsule of the body. This negative pressure is responsible for keeping articulating surfaces away from each other thereby reducing friction and potential injury to the joint. When a low pressure weather system comes in, it causes these tissues of the joints to expand due to the lower weight of the surrounding air. This expansion causes slightly more interference in your joints. For most, it goes unnoticed. For those with inflamed joints (even slightly) it does not. More interference equals even more inflammation. More inflammation equals more pain and Viola! You're a barometer!
It turns out that learning to trust the feeling in your bones may be instrumental in keeping you out all types of trouble. Even if the trouble may only be weather related.