Was Richard Simmons the Best Fitness Pro?

It may sound like I am being sarcastic with today’s blog title. The truth is that I am actually being honest about Richard Simmons maybe being one of the best fitness professionals of all time.

How in the world can I even suggest such a thing?

Richard Simmons may not know what the posterior chain is, what the three planes of motion are, but he did certainly know one thing…he knew how to empower people and to use fitness to be a positive motivation in people’s lives.

He knew how to get the best out of them, he knew how to get them to believe in themselves, and he didn’t have to demean them to accomplish it!

There is a disturbing trend in fitness. We have seen fitness go from people smiling and being encouraged to be the best version of t

Did you know there is a pretty extensive gallery of pictures for personal trainers yelling at clients?

hemselves possible to being screamed at and an attitude of work harder so you can be better than others!

I hate to say it, but I think the example that Richard Simmons set forth in many ways is a far better version of fitness than we see today.

Somehow fitness has more and more blurred the lines of obsession and dedication.

I have missed workouts and in the past I may have felt guilty for them. I didn’t miss them because I was lazy, because I didn’t want to work hard. Rather because the reason was often in relationship to a family event. In my world at least, fitness is a commitment because I want to be better for my family. Not because I need to prove myself to others.

I remember once listening to a guy talk about how he hadn’t missed a day of training in ten years. He was proud of it, actually bragging about this. I wouldn’t have actually cared except it was followed by him stating that spending hours at the gym and being unwilling to compromise, it cost him his family. Yes, his wife divorced him and took the kids, scary enough, he felt that the training outweighed the consequences.

Now I am not suggesting that fitness is bad, that it is something that you should not commit yourself to, not at all! However, fitness is something that is suppose to make your life more well rounded. It is something that should inspire yourself and those around you to make positive changes in their own life. Making yourself one dimensional is far from making yourself better for your family or those around you.

I never wanted DVRT to become anything else but a solution. A solution to how you were able to achieve such balance. You wouldn’t have to choose having a life or having fitness, but rather seeing how DVRT could bring the two together.

I lost an important relationship in my life because of DVRT. It wasn’t that I worked too much, it wasn’t that it cost us too much money, it was because this other person didn’t believe in our mission. They couldn’t see how this could be something more than a workout program and they were consumed with other important things.

For such things I think standing up is great! The important fact is that you find what is important to fight for and what is something that create balance and an overall better life.

I recently heard a commercial on the radio (yes, I still listen to the radio) that was trying to guilt women to exercise because otherwise no guy would really want them. How horrifying is that! How about exercising because it makes you feel a certain way about yourself, it brings out the best in you because you are able to achieve things you may have never thought possible?! How about exercising because it gives you the confidence to pursue other things in your life that can bring you such great joy!

I will never forget a young man I worked with years ago (we will call him Tony). Tony’s first session with me was when he was 13. His grandmother brought him because she thought he needed some exercise because he was getting severely overweight. I remember the first session so well because he was crying. He was so use to bailing out on things when they got challenging, but I never put him in a position where he couldn’t succeed.

After we got past that day of crying we had an understanding. He was going to try his hardest and I was always going to lead him down a positive path. Over the almost three years that I worked with Tony he completely transformed. Sure, he lost some weight, but Tony the person grew so much more.

We are proud that DVRT instructors represent this desire to inspire the very best out of people!

He went from being an introverted, shy young man into a confident, outgoing teenager. He was trying out for plays in school and other activities that his grandmother said he would have never tried in the past. It wasn’t because he was stronger physically, but rather Tony learned how to overcome challenges and found how to become the best version of himself. He found he was capable of so much more than he ever imagined!

That is what I hope DVRT becomes for all of you. Whether you are using at home to achieve the fitness you once had a lost, or using it as a professional to inspire others to have the same experience as Tony. It should become a powerful means to empower people to find how they can achieve the best out of themselves. All of a sudden fitness is so much more than burning some calories and getting a good sweat on!

Was Richard Simmons the Best Fitness Pro? is a post from: Ultimate Sandbag Training System

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