Day One Fitness
There will always be debate as to what the most ‘popular’ fitness program is at any one time, but to my mind, there will always be a clear winner: Day One Fitness. I’ll go into this concept a bit more in the text below, but it all starts with the correct mindset!
What is Day One Fitness?
Day One Fitness is simply that day that people decide to ‘have a go’ at getting fitter. It could be the day they suddenly think they can jog, or the day they put that yoga DVD in the machine.
I don’t for one minute want you to think I am knocking Day One Fitness, far from it, everyone needs Day One Fitness at some point. My problem with it is it is VERY rarely followed by Day TWO Fitness (you knew where I was going with this, right!).
The Best Day One Fitness
The best way to learn ANYthing is to break it down into manageable chunks and work on each chunk until you know it off pat (i.e. to know something so well that you can do it without having to try or think).
One of the selling points of Walter Camp’s Daily Dozen (and a point Internal Force Fitness has taken to its heart) is to:
Be so simple to remember and complete that there becomes no excuse NOT to do them!
In my opinion, this is KEY – we all struggle to fit fitness into our day sometimes (regardless of what a lot of fitness journals tell us about there being PLENTY of time in the day). Even when we DO have the time, a full-on sweaty workout is not necessarily how we WANT to spend that time.
An Example of a GOOD Day One Fitness Program:
If you want to make TODAY your own Day One Fitness – have a go at the following exercise: Stand up straight. Yep, that’s it. Just stand up straight. Set a timer on your phone (or just count in your head) for 30 seconds, then just stand up straight and breathe in and out through your nose.
DON’T worry about not being able to bench press 500 lbs by lunchtime tomorrow.
DON’T worry about that ‘thing’ you have to do at work tomorrow.
DO think about the here and now, and how each breath is making you feel stronger and straighter.
You’re probably going to be surprised how long that 30 seconds seems!
The Importance Of Standing Straight
Standing straight is the subject of a favourite poster of mine that I purchased from a school sale some years ago. This is the perfect tool to explain why the first movement of a lot of our routines – simply standing to attention – is such an excellent exercise in itself!
Stand Erect – The Muscles Which Help You To Stand Erect
The poster really says it all, but just to confirm, by standing straight you are going to work the following muscles:
• Muscles of the front of the neck
• Erector spinae muscles
• Rectus abdominus muscles
• Hamstring muscles
• Muscles of the front of the thigh
• Calf muscles
• Shin muscles
Not bad eh? A low impact exercise that you can do anywhere and that works seven different areas!
Image what the other exercises in the Daily Dozen or one of the Radio Taiso routines could do for you…
Ready for more?
Good! Maybe that means you will be one of the few who progresses to Day TWO Fitness. Too many people treat fitness like a race (or more particularly a SPRINT). It IS possible to get fit quickly of course, but it is equally possible to LOSE fitness quite quickly when you inevitably give up the exhausting ritual OR get injured.
BUILD your knowledge.
FIND what you like doing.
ENJOY the hell out of it!
Richie Neville | Director
Internal Force Fitness
Look Fit by Feeling Great
