Desert Barbell’s Exercise Model and Philosophy: Mindfulness!
Desert Barbell’s approach to personal training is holistic, tying the mental and the physical together to provide the best personal training and coaching possible. The end result and purpose of our approach is to achieve a balanced lifestyle. Individual goals are important but without addressing the three areas of our system, the results can be unsustainable and short lived. Hence, it is imperative to understand and achieve mindfulness.
Addressing the most obvious aspect of the trilogy is the physical aspect. Movement and movement quality is the main focus of training the physical body. We believe that moving up the Desert Barbell’s hierarchy of movement yields greater results due to the level of skill required to execute those movements. The movement hierarchy is divided into four components, 1) Basic Movements, 2) Strength Movements, 3) Power Movements, 4) Speed based Movements. The way to move up in the pyramid is by addressing the limitations our body might have in terms of joint mobility and stability (joint movement is assessed in your initial consultation). Doing such movements causes stress and discomfort in the body during and after because of the physiological demands of exercise. Lactic acid and later on lactate causes muscle soreness, cortisol, epinephrine and norepinephrine get secreted as a result of exercise. The muscle damage caused by such is a much-needed step to enhance growth and to head start a snowball effect of self-improvement and mental development.
Moreover, the mental aspect of mindfulness ties together with recovery. The cascade of chemical triggers, mentioned previously, turn on the body internal thermostat also known as the negative feedback loop to enhance recovery. When that switch turns on the feel-good hormones get released, Oxytocin, Dopamine, Serotonin, and Endorphin. Such hormones help the body deal with stress, enhance recovery, and promote sleep. Only through recovery adaptations and growth can occur. The four hormones listed not only have great influence in the way your body heals from the stress exercising provides but it has a greater effect in how our emotions are formulated and expressed.
Lastly, the component of our systemic belief to fitness is emotional, how we feel and take in the world around us. Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphin, and Oxytocin are hormones that make us feel good and they are addictive. Let's take Dopamine for example, when you exercise energy is used in the form of ATP. To access that energy our body goes through reduction processes that yield byproducts. One of those by-products is called Tyrosine Kinase (TK). TK is a precursor to the release of Dopamine in the neurons. Dopamine then triggers GABA receptors to enter other neurons making us feel great. However, the right dose of volume and intensity is necessary to turn on that response. Too much stimulation (exercise) puts the body into overdrive and enters a self-destruct mode where instead of losing weight you gain it. With the right exercise prescription exercise is a gateway to improve your emotional state.
To put it all together, a domino effect occurs when you take the leap into personal training. Starting with training the physical aspect, the body through movement, the body receives the stimuli as stress. This stress awakens the mind and forces you to be present in your session, aware of the movements and the discomfort. That same discomfort unlocks the biochemistry of the brain that directly affects our emotions. The resulting cocktail of hormones and chemical byproducts of exercise influences us to have a more positive, proactive, engaging approach to life. This energy is contagious, rays of positivity and good vibes make our lives more enjoyable. The ultimate result of the process is behavior modification and behavior change encompassing exercise to your lifestyle.