| Pick up a newspaper or turn on the local news | | | | Research in Dallas, Texas, "There is a |
| on any given day and you are liable to hear a | | | | misdirected obsession with weight and weight |
| report on how Americans are getting fatter. | | | | loss. The focus is wrong. It's fitness that |
| Government statistics tell us that | | | | is the key." |
| approximately 60 percent of Americans (127 | | | | |
| million people) are overweight. Many women | | | | Fitness is also a word that has been |
| who enroll in martial arts or fitness clubs | | | | presented to the public at large. Go to any |
| have a primary goal of losing weight. | | | | gym in America, what do you see? Weights and |
| Unfortunately, some expect instant results. | | | | cardio machines, not much more. The only |
| If they don't see immediate weight loss they | | | | thing you can do is train strength and |
| become discouraged and inpatient. Some even | | | | endurance; that's not enough for true |
| drop out altogether. | | | | fitness! And how about the gyms with Yoga |
| | | | classes? Great, add flexibility to the list, |
| In my 20 plus years of training men, women | | | | if your lucky. You see Yoga teachers are a |
| and children of all shapes and sizes, I have | | | | dime a dozen in America, especially in |
| learned that diets just don't work. If they | | | | fitness gyms. Finding a good teacher is like |
| did, we wouldn't have an obesity epidemic. | | | | finding a needle in a haystack, and they're |
| The diet industry continually makes promises | | | | not at your local "Fitness" Center! Truth is |
| that they can't deliver and is fleecing the | | | | many of the "Yoga" instructors in gyms don't |
| public at the tune of $40 billion dollars a | | | | know a great deal and could actually end up |
| year. The diet industry doesn't want to tell | | | | hurting you. |
| you the truth. And why should they with the | | | | |
| kind of money they're taking out of people's | | | | Fitness is far more in-depth then most people |
| misery? The truth is that weight loss is | | | | are looking at. If your not improving in all |
| difficult for many people to achieve. Weight | | | | areas of human performance: strength, |
| loss is a personal struggle, complicated by | | | | endurance, flexibility, coordination, |
| an individual's upbringing, eating habits, | | | | balance, body unity, grace, speed, hand eye |
| metabolism, genetics and psychology. Yo-yo | | | | coordination, reactions (and the list goes |
| dieting and subjecting the body to strange | | | | on) you are not completely improving your |
| eating regimes is much more detrimental to | | | | fitness. |
| one's physical and mental health than | | | | |
| maintaining a steady weight. | | | | You will notice that with a good well rounded |
| | | | system of exercise, you will start having |
| I'm not here to sell you the same bill of | | | | more strength, more endurance, and more |
| goods as the diet industry. What I will do | | | | flexibility, and all the other benefits |
| is encourage you to develop a healthy | | | | mentioned above. If you want to lose weight, |
| lifestyle and feel better about yourself. | | | | it will take patience, exercise, sensible |
| When you train, go with the attitude that you | | | | diet changes, and sacrifice. There is no way |
| want to move, breathe and stretch. What's | | | | around it. Focus on fitness, moving, |
| important is that you focus on wellness. | | | | breathing, stretching, feeling strong and |
| According to Steven Blair, director of | | | | enjoying your martial arts or fitness |
| research at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics | | | | routine. |