10 years of the Fitness Pro

By DAN STRAYTON
As published March 19, 2008

This month marks the 10-year anniversary of this column in the Mt. Airy Messenger. During that time I have received great support from Editor Becky Ricketts and plenty of positive feedback from many faithful readers in the Mt. Airy community – thank you! In today’s column, let’s look back on those 10 years and see what’s happened in health and fitness during that time.

First, perhaps the greatest change during this past decade has been the proliferation of news stories supporting the benefits and necessity of regular exercise. While those of us in the “fitness industry” have known for many years that exercise is a vital part of our own personal health care, it now seems that you can’t go two days without reading an article or seeing a news story reinforcing the fact that exercise is medicine and one of the most beneficial things you can do for yourself.

It is now common to read about how regular exercise is good for your heart, your brain, your muscles, your bones and pretty much everything else that is working inside you to keep you healthy and functioning at the highest levels. And, as a result, it seems like this information is finally sinking in and we are seeing an unprecedented number of people engaging in regular exercise – that’s progress.

Second is the fact that strength training has also finally found a following among all kinds of exercisers because they have learned that it takes real muscle to live our lives and strength training is the only way to get and maintain that muscle. More and more women, seniors and even younger kids are now engaging in what I have always preached is a form of exercise just as important as aerobic exercise, if not more so, to our overall health, fitness and functioning.

Strength is what we need everyday to help us climb stairs, carry things, take part in active hobbies and just move with less aches and pains.

The third change in the past decade is the increased popularity of more low-key exercise methods like yoga and pilates. In health clubs and private studios across the country, yoga and pilates have developed a loyal following. These activities help increase strength and flexibility while managing stress and improving moods.

You’d be hard pressed to find a person walking out of a yoga or pilates class who isn’t smiling and feeling much better than when they went in – that’s the kind of exercise we could all use!

Fourth is the explosion onto the health club and home exercise scene of elliptical exercise equipment. When I first began writing this column I believe I had just attended a trade show in which I saw my first Precor elliptical machine and thought “this will never be very popular” – boy was I wrong.

Our club now has close to 20 ellipticals of one kind or another and they easily rival treadmills as the most popular piece of equipment in health clubs today. Pretty good for a type of equipment that didn’t even exist in the mid-90’s.

Speaking of equipment in health clubs, another tread has been the infusion of more and more technology into exercise equipment. There are now treadmills with personal TV’s built right into their consoles, virtual reality bikes, interactive games for kids, strength equipment that tracks your workouts for you and more.

Recent advances include treadmills that allow you to plug in your iPod and the treadmill’s screen becomes your iPod screen where you can choose your music or even watch videos or TV shows that you may have downloaded to your video iPod. This trend will continue as new technology is integrated into equipment and we search for ways to make exercise more enjoyable and, dare I say, fun.

Finally, after all of that, we’ve still seen a significant increase in the number of individuals battling weight issues. These weight problems have lead to “epidemics” being declared for obesity, childhood obesity and diabetes.

Some experts have predicted that the current generation of children could be the first to live shorter lives than their parents due to the negative consequences of an inactive lifestyle that involves too much of the wrong kinds of foods and not nearly enough physical activity.

So, while we seem to have learned and read about the benefits of exercise and more people than ever believe they should be exercising and eating better and exercise has become more entertaining and varied, we are still losing the battle for our health. Our access to an abundance of food and the ease with which we can avoid physical effort during our days, has sent us in the wrong direction.

Hopefully, with all of these positive changes over the past 10 years, we will begin to see a reversal of this last trend and a gradual improvement in the overall health of our country – that’s what I’d like to be writing about 10 years from now.

Thank you again to all my loyal readers and I look forward to writing for you for another 10 years. I don’t know where we’ll be then but I do know that exercise will still be important, eating in moderation will still be required for weight management and, while technology will be even more advanced, nothing will feel as good as a long walk with a good friend.

Good luck over the next 10 years and keep moving!

[Dan Strayton, general manager at Health Unlimited on Century Drive in Mt. Airy, holds a master's degree in exercise physiology and would be happy to answer any questions you may have about exercise, health and fitness. Write to him in care of the Mt. Airy Messenger, P.O. Box 897, Mt. Airy, MD 217710897; or send e-mail to dans@myhealthunlimited.com.]