Trainers Don't Exercise Enough? Functional Fitness Needed

A study making repeated news was that less than half the athletic trainers in a recent survey get a healthful amount of exercise themselves. Of two hundred and seventy five certified athletic trainers who work with athletes, only 41% themselves exercised even half an hour on five or more days a week.

The survey was conducted by graduate student Jessica Groth, now an athletic trainer. In the study conclusion she wrote that (these) athletic trainers, "…were not ideal role models in demonstrating healthy behaviors." However, the Los Angeles Times quoted Groth as saying, "By and large the results are not too bad," and that trainers couldn't exercise enough since, "We're on other people's schedules as far as practices and games are concerned. We work a lot of long hours, and nontraditional hours, as far as mornings, nights and weekends are concerned. You add in families and personal lives, and we're spread pretty thin."

The study was published in the December issue of the Journal of Athletic Training, Self-reported health and fitness habits of certified athletic trainers. J Athl Train. 2008 Oct-Dec;43(6):617-23.

Trainers making the same excuses as the sedentary for not exercising?

Lack of exercise and excuses can happen when you separate healthy movement from real life. Healthful movement and activity should not be something you have to stop your real life to "do." Changing from artificial exercises to how your body needs to move in real life is the realm of functional fitness. The Fitness Fixer, most of my research in orthopedics, the classes I teach, and our new international sports medicine academy deals with functional fitness.

Here are ways to change the myth of "exercise as separate" to movement as functional daily life. It is life-changing:

• Start with What is "Fitness as a Lifestyle?"
• Retrain daily movements with Bending Right is Fitness as a Lifestyle and Free Exercise and Free Back and Knee Pain Prevention - Healthy Bending
• Many opportunities for functional exercise - Ancient Shoe Exercise for Hip Stretch and Balance
• How can you exercise even when you are busy? How Good Would You Look From 400 Squats a Day - Just Stop Unhealthy Bending
• When can you squeeze it in? How Often Should You Be Healthy?
• Functional abdominal exercise done standing - Overlooked Ab Muscles in Overhead Lifts
  and Innovation in Abdominal Muscles and Good Life Works Better Than Bad Ab Exercise
• Another daily functional movement - Fast Fitness - Functional Agility, Flexibility, Strength
  
• What about during holiday rush? Fitness and Health as a Lifestyle for Thanksgiving and Healthy Christmas and Household Fitness in the New Year
• Think you can't exercise without a gym? Getting Stronger Without a Gym
• You don't need to do less exercise to prevent or rehab an injury - Exercise and Aging - Don't Limit the Patient to Limit the Pain and Autumn Yard Work - Limiting the Person Instead of the Injury Again?
  
• See the beginning of our new International Academy of Functional Sports Medicine - www.DrBookspan.com/Academy.

Labels: myths, performance enhancing modality, practice of medicine, weight loss

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