Is It Rehab or Fitness?

Jessia Bento, Physical Therapist

Is it rehab or is it fitness? A good system of functional strength training may make it hard to tell if an exercise is either one! The truth is that the smart fitness programs use principles and progressions to make an exercise fit into the category of rehab or fitness. 

Even if you don’t have an injury this concept is super important! That is preventing an injury follows many principles as treating an injury. Everything comes back to understanding how movement is created. In order to have success with such a philosophy you have to appreciate how the body moves. 

While we have made progress in not prioritizing bodybuilding anymore and isolating body parts, people still miss how integrated the body really is when it comes to real life and sporting movements. You might wonder how in the world activating your lats is important in getting your glutes stronger and your low back feeling better. Well, if you appreciate things like the posterior oblique system things make more sense. 

Why are your obliques so darn important? They play an integral role in creating stability and power for the body. As spine specialist, Dr. Stuart McGill, explains, “Specifically, the gluteal muscles on the stance leg were confined by the lateral core muscles on the swing leg side of the body – in this case the lateral obliques and quadratus lumborum. Good training always addresses the elements that assist and potentiate one another throughout the body linkage. The core is home base for strength and speed.”

This means that oblique training should work in conjunction with your glutes. A profound example is a DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training Half Kneeling Arc Press or how about a little MAX Lunge? 

I’m calling it NOW! The obliques will become the new focus in a few years in fitness like glutes are today. The reality is it isn’t an either or situation, but rather how you teach them to work together! 

Once you understand how the body works, you can create exercises that actually address this mysterious thing called movement rather than just trying to smoke your muscles. Does this mean you don’t get fitness results?! Absolutely not! 

Exercise physiologist and fitness coach, Tanya Miszko Kefer, shared the following interesting information with us recently….

” I definitely have more motor control in each plane of motion, stronger core activation in anti-rotation movements, more upper body strength without shoulder or back pain (arthritis in shoulders and low back; congenital fusion of L5-S1; bulging L2-L3 and L3-L4), and without a doubt better balance (i.e. front loaded reverse lunge to single leg balance). In March I ran my Advanced class only using the Ultimate Sandbag. They were used to the agility ladder, kettlebells, dumbbells, balls, bands, etc. They were quite skeptical of the ability of DVRT to give them a “real” workout until the end of their first week. Each one of them was sore, tired, and realized much they still needed to improve! I run a small studio in the Hudson Valley in NY, but it packs a powerful workout in 30 minutes! Country folks are learning all about the Ultimate Sandbag Training and the DVRT system, as well as NYC weekenders! Thank you to you  for changing the fitness industry.”

That’s some of the coolest information we could ever ask for! Helping reduce long-term pains/aches AND improving fitness. That is what we want DVRT Ultimate Sandbag Training to be all about and what we teach in our educational and digital programs. So, when people don’t know how the body works, they just see more exercises. We see BETTER movements! 

It is also why we are excited to work with cutting-edge therapists who are changing how therapy is done. Recently, Dr. Craig Liebenson, was introduced by our wonderful DVRT Master Instructors (Travis Johnson, Kaori Tani, and Raymond Lee) to these ideas and he immediately fell in love. Best part, is he is making it part of his practice and helping change the way people move, live, and perform. 

We want YOU to experience the same benefits and that is why we continue to share great programs like “DVRT Better Backs, Knees, & Shoulders” as well as Body Armor! (Check them out HERE and save 25% with “MEMORIAL”) These programs are meant to be transformative because they are based on movement, real human movement. 

Try to see fitness differently, you will not only dramatically change other’s fitness, but your own as well!