Nervous System Training

When we talk about exercise we are usually thinking about three things: resistance training, stretching, and cardiovascular activity. There are hundreds of exercise programs, exercises and techniques within these three categories. These include lifting weights, yoga, running, isometrics, balance training, and so on. The majority of these techniques have been developed by experimentation through hundreds or even thousands (as in the case of yoga and tai chi) of years. A lot of these programs such as yoga and tai chi have developed huge followings because of their effectiveness and the philosophies behind them.

However, these days we are not getting a whole lot of real effective exercise programs developed by true fitness experts (these include physiotherapists, exercise physiologists, and physical therapists). These type of fitness experts have intimate knowledge of the body's anatomy and function. Most of the personal trainers in this country are not as well informed as you may think they are. So what do you do when a fitness expert (Marv Marinovich) and doctor (Edythe M. Heus) get together and develop an exercise program? You get ProBodX!!!

ProBodX stands for Proper Body Exercise. Marinovich and Heus have developed a program based on their knowledge of how the mind and body function together to create a whole. In other words, they utilize specific exercises that increase the ability of the nervous system to enhance muscular strength, coordination, balance, speed, agility, and flexibility (of both muscle and joint) in the entire body. Rather than tackling each body part separately as most exercise programs do, Marinovich and Heus take the body as a whole and searched for a way to develop it all at the same time.

With their knowledge of how muscles work and the necessity of the nervous system in conjunction with movement, they combined resistance training, stretching, balancing, and agility work. The only way to do this lies in their book ProBodX (Copyright 2003) and their respective websites. They take four factors that highly involve the nervous system. These factors are:

1. Instability

2. Multiple Planes

3. Reversing

4. Resistance

Instability - This means the body is continuously seeking balance. If you increase instability of the body, the nervous system must work harder to maintain balance. This increases the nervous system's ability to work the muscles faster.

Multiple Planes - The body moves in multiple planes in real life. These planes are usually termed sagittal, frontal, and transverse. Sagittal can be seen as movement of the body (whether the trunk, legs, arms, or neck) from front to back. Frontal movements are from side to side, and transverse is any rotating or twisting movement. When you workout or watch others in the gym notice that most work out in the sagittal plane. You will hardly see any transverse or frontal exercises incorporated in a customized program. ProBodX transforms this knowledge into a practical program of multiple plane/real life movements.

Reversing - All this means is that the faster you move, let's say, an arm from overhead to your waist the more energy you are storing up and using.

Resistance - Of course, we all know this means weight. In the case of ProBodX weights are usually small "hollow" weights with handles. They may range from 5 pounds to 35 pounds. The reason the weights are small are described in their book.

Taken together, these factors strengthen the nervous system and the musculoskeletal system faster than traditional programs. Not only that, ProBodX takes up less space, less equipment, less chances of injury, and increases power, strength, coordination, flexibility, agility, and confidence in being in one's body.

If anything, ProBodX seems to be the quintessential program for anyone looking to make progress almost immediately without being prone to injury, protecting the bones, and enhancing energy.

If you want to buy this book I suggest Amazon.com, or Edythe Heus' website at primeblueprint.com primeblueprint.com

Ben Wong is a personal trainer, alternative health writer, and part time lifestyle design coach.