I attended a functional training seminar recently at the Athletic Business Show that was held in New Orleans. The room was filled with trainers from all over the country. Most of the crowd in attendance was affiliated with the military either active duty, or non-military contract fitness trainers. The presenter, Anthony Wall, representing the American Council on Exercise (ACE), delivered a powerful and interactive speech on functional training.
During the presentation, Wall instructed the audience to form small groups so that they could role play as trainers and clients with various functional fitness exercises. A few of the exercises were new but most were traditional including various forms of isometric planks. As I performed these exercises with my group, I noticed how super easy the exercises were in the air-conditioned environment of the classroom. My form seemed so effortless to maintain for long holds.
The reason for that is clear to me…
I have been practicing these types of exercises for over three years now inside of an infrared sauna at 125º Fahrenheit.
Working out inside of an infrared sauna requires more energy and effort from your body. So, naturally, when you perform the same exercise in lesser demanding environments you will be stronger.
We have all heard of athletes who train in extreme climates, like prize fighters who train in high altitudes, for example. Athletes do this so they can supercharge their performance when they return to normal environmental conditions for their competition events. A good analogy might be the feeling of running with ankle weights and then experiencing the freedom and acceleration when the weights come off. Or, what about the batter who slides a weight on the bat while warming up just before stepping up to the plate. Your fitness program is like the ankle weight or the added weight to the bat. It should prepare you to better perform in life.
That said, it is important in fitness to challenge yourself, but not just with the fitness equipment or the exercise. The environment needs to be challenging as well so that when you return to normal life everything becomes easier to do.
The weights, bands and exercise movements are your workout tools, but the environment is your fitness tool too. Always consider the environment of your workout space. If you want to accelerate your fitness results, then think about changing the environment. Add heat and infrared, for example, to elevate results and to decrease the amount of time that is necessary to complete a good workout. It will make everything you do outside of the gym much easier!
After infrared training, everything in life is easier!
