What is Fit and Healthy?

How do you define fit and healthy? All to often the skin deep notions are used: Men with large, well-defined muscles and skinny, well-endowed women with toned legs and tight rear ends. There’s much more to being fit and healthy, though. In the eyes of The Department of Argiculture, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and many organizations in the health and medical industry, being fit and healthy is composed of:

• Three key areas of exercise:
• Endurance—exercising, like running, for longer periods of time
• Strength—lifting more weight with muscles throughout your body
• Flexibility—Increased range of motion for all the joints and muscles in your body
• Proper Diet

The more you work on each of these areas, the more benefits you realize. You don’t just see changes in the shape of your body. You have more energy and don’t get tired as easily. Any back or other muscle pain is typically reduced with increased strength and flexibility. You lose fat, keep muscle, reduce cholesterol and lower blood pressure.

There is no guarantee of these results, of course. We’re not all built the same. Not everyone puts the same level of effort into their health and well being. However, you really can’t overlook your health and fitness. Exercise and eat right today or look forward to a potential host of issues like:

• Continued weight gain and adult onset diabetes
• High cholestrol and blood pressure, coronary disease and heart attacks
• Joint and back pain / premature arthritis
• Increased medical costs
• Liposuction and other cosmetic surgeries

If you understand the benefits of getting fit and healthy and you’re ready to put in the effort, we’re ready to help. We’d like to start by providing you with The Seven Qualities to Look for in Your Fitness Program.

The Seven Qualities to Look for in Your Fitness Program

1. How many exercise sessions are there each week?

Five days per week is ideal. Your metabolism will maintain a more consistent, high-calorie burning state. You are also building a routine, a habit, that is easier to maintain and integrate into your lifestyle.

2. How long is each training session?

When exercising to lose weight, your body only begins to burn fat after approximately 20 minutes of aerobic/cardiovascular exercise (running, cycling, etc.). A 30 minute exercise session barely gives you time to get into the fat burning zone, let alone allow time for strength training, flexibility exercises and cool-down. Look for 1 hour sessions minimum.

3. Is there an adequate amount of cardiovascular exercise?

Your body gets energy in a progressive, three-step process. For the first minute or so, energy in your muscles is used. From about a minute up to as long as 20 minutes, a substance called glycogen is used for energy. At or around, the 20 minute mark, your body finally starts burning fat. To lose fat, a daily dose of at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise is needed.

4. Does strength training cover all major muscle groups?

The body can be broken down into the following muscle groups: shoulders, arms, upper back, lower back, chest, abdomen, hips, thighs and calfs. It’s important to build muscle evenly by working on each of these areas consistently. In fact, not doing so can make you more prone to injury when one muscle group must overcompensate for another.

5. Does the exercise progress in difficulty and does it progress safely?

The more you exercise the stronger you get. If the program doesn’t keep changing with new exercises, more weight, longer runs, your results will plateau. If the exercise progresses too quickly, especially the length of and terrain for running, your risk for injury is increased. Your muscles must be balanced in strength to prevent one muscle from compensating for another, which is a common cause of injuries.

6. Is diet and nutrition training included?

At minimum, general guidance on what to eat and what not to eat should be given. Eating too many fatty or sugary foods quickly negates the gains made through exercise. Ideally, more thorough education on correct foods to eat should be given as well as regular, if not daily, monitoring of your diet.

7. What’s the real cost?

Understand what you get for your money. For example, health clubs cater to self-directed fitness. You take on the many roles discussed here or pay extra for the help of a personal trainer (typically $40-$60 per hour). On the other extreme, you could pay the premium price for the dedicated attention of a personal trainer but very likely can get the help and guidance you need for less with a group fitness trainer. Also consider the additional costs of clothing and equipment you may need to purchase.

The Core Program

At Fitness Troops, we’ve designed a program around The Seven Qualities. We call it, quite simply, The Core Program.

The Core Program begins on orientation day where you meet our team, have your measurements taken, execute some basic exercises to assess your initial level of fitness and receive your Recruit Companion—an educational guide that also includes your food journal.

The Monday following your orientation is the start of your six-week tour. You join us five days a week where you’ll literally jump, run, bend, crunch and much more. At the beginning of each week, we change parks. With each new park, the difficulty increases.

The exercise isn’t everything. There’s also your food journal within the Recruit Companion. You keep track of each meal in your journal and bring it with you to class every day where we inspect your eating habits and offer advice on how to make any necessary adjustments for the better.

Finally, there’s homework. The Recruit Companion must be read cover-to-cover. Research completed on the Internet and more. When you’re done with your tour, we expect you to have a much firmer grasp on your health: How to exercise, what to eat and when to eat.

Fitness Programs

Core Program—$449

The introductory program for new recruits includes six weeks of daily exercise and the Recruit Companion with diet journal.

3x3 Budget Program—$179

Exercise with us three days a week for a three week mini-tour. The 3x3 Program does not qualify for any discounts.

Referral Discount—$50

For each friend you refer to Fitness Troops that subsequently enrolls in The Core Program, you receive a $50 discount on your program fee. There’s no limit to the number of friends for which you can receive a discount. Additional restrictions apply.

Veteran Programs

After attending The Core Program, your costs are progressively discounted:

• Second tour: Graduate Program—$399
• Third tour: Officers Club—$349
• Four tours or more: Four Star General—$75

Four Star General Package—$999

You’re ready to dedicate yourself from day one. In doing so, you can receive your first four programs for a discount. If you pay $999 as you enter The Core Program, you save $285 vs. the cost of paying for each program independently. You get nearly six month’s of daily training at a great discount.

Maintenance Program—$239

After completing The Core Program, you may choose to attend sessions three days per week for $239.