I ran into a business acquaintance at the gym, the other day. This is a gentleman like others, who has no time and above all who thinks that he is in shape because he runs and does lots of aerobics and walking. But that is another topic, which I specifically addressed in the article: “Sustainable fitness for the working man, the bedroom body you dream of”.

So anyways, we said hello and began to chat a little, I told him: “You are doing great, but the only thing missing is the “Dr Fitness USA’s formula” to this he replied: “I am very stubborn, my health is my wealth but as an entrepreneur, I am a “Do It Yourself” kind of guy!

Would you go to a skilled Martial Artist and when they give you a tip, respond:” thank you for your tip, Sensei, but no need I am a DIY entrepreneur, I can teach myself very well and I certainly do not need your advice? Or

Would you plan to have a lead role in Swan Lake by practicing some ballet at home, by yourself, without any expert supervision? Or

Do you really think you’ll be accepted in any type of sports league or anything for that matter, if you hadn’t had any type of official training?

It sounds pretty ridiculous doesn’t it, even absurd. Well in fitness, and specifically in strength training, this is exactly what happens. As a matter of fact, just a few days prior, I ran into a young lady at a business networking event, you know those types of events where you are supposed to make business connections, meet people and exchange information about what you are doing. When I told her about strength training, she immediately cut me off and said: ” Oh, I am good, I don’t need this, I am a yoga instructor!” So I responded:” Well you’ll be surprised how much yoga practitioners benefit from strength training.” To this she answers:” Oh I do strength training”. In checking her arm, which she was proudly flexing, I noticed that she was showing no muscular development at all, worst, her posture was completely misaligned and she was seriously underweight, which, by the way, is just as unhealthy as being overweight.

Last year alone, 3 health aficionados acquaintances, people in the business of helping others be healthier, whom had the same attitude towards approaching their fitness, but had NO TIME or NO MONEY to dedicate a bit towards learning a new skill that would give them more time, money and energy long term, all 3 suffered an Achilles rupture. Now how much does that cost in time, money, suffering? We saw it coming, because you see, as experts, we can predict and see the injuries waiting to happen ahead of time. The funny thing is neither one of them even made a connection with the fact that it could have been avoided with proper training instructions.

Just like the person that ends up in the hospital with a heart attack or some kind of other illnesses. Yes you can blame your stroke on genetics but did you know that about 5.3 million of the 57 million deaths worldwide in 2008 could be attributed to inactivity? What is your lifestyle, are you too busy building your business, are you the person that will answer: “I have NO TIME! Lets talk next month.” In many instances, next month never comes!

So if you are a Do It Yourself kind of a person and you think that you got your fitness covered, I’ll encourage you keep an open mind and continue to educate yourself. The body can take so much abuse until it retaliates by breaking down in ways of an injury, an illness whether physical, emotional or mental.

And if you are in the business of helping others, shame on you to shut the door to the experts in the field like our young friend mentioned earlier.

In a past article we discussed the topic of intuition. Is your strength training based on intuition, which goes right along the lines with the DIY. That one we hear over and over again from the energy healers and Yoga practitioners. If you missed it, read it here. Why? Because it is time to stop fooling yourself and if you are a health coach in any field, with this type of attitude, you are doing those you claim to serve a real disservice.

So if you are a Do It Yourself kinda gal/ guy, Do yourself a favor, learn the skills of strength training so that you become independent yet efficient, it will save you lots of time because you will get the results you want faster, but above all, you will prevent future injuries. Strength training becomes also your insurance against falls or instances where one loses their balance and breaks their hip or breaks their ankle in tripping or falling down.

Fortunately for you, we put together self-educating online programs that will do just that: teach you step by step

• Proper form
• Proper sequence
• Proper way to manage weight and rep scale
• Everything you need to know do it right

So that you will have no need for a personal trainer or anyone else, yet you will train like a pro.