Just Say No to 'Cookie Cutter' Exercises

Last weekend I was flipping through the TV channels of all the NCAA football games that were going on. As I flipped back forth between games, I came across a news segment/infommerical on how to get Heidi Klum’s 'Butt' with trainer David Kirsh. I found myself saying "Just what the American people want to know. Not how to start an effective, functional exercise plan, but how can I get butt like Heidi!"

Really?! You're kidding me, right? Heidi Klum gets paid millions to shake her 'butt' down the runway. In the real world....most women don't.

The segment begins and the anchor men and women (all suits and heels by the way) are getting ready for the 'butt workout'. I just sit there shaking my head thinking, "Are you guys for real?!" Out comes trainer to the stars, David Kirsh, with his book and 2 exercises that "everybody should add to their program to get a butt like Heidi." As he's talking the news people are joking around with him and by the time he gets to the exercises, 10 minutes have gone by, which is wasted time! He demonstrates the 2 'must do' exercises - the Platypus squat and the Platypus squat with side kicks. 'What the ....?' I asked myself. These are some of the most ridiculous, impractical exercises I've ever seen! Why not just do squats, lunges or deadlifts?

Although the exercise is somewhat creative, it doesn't help the majority of the people exercising or those wanting to start. I deal with clients everyday that have orthopedic issues, some physical limitations due to past and/or current injuries and I'd never have them do those 2 'must do' exercises. The entire segment was a joke!

We should be spending more time in the media discussing REAL exercise and wellness. Instead, we show squats in our suits and heels and call it "quality air time." I call it BS! Maybe that's why there's an obesity epidemic and why we're totally unfit as a nation. We make fitness out to be a joke and sell a workout that doesn't work for everybody.

You want to get fit and get results? Put your time in the gym or outdoors in your personal 'fitness playground', amp up your intensity, use HIIT protocols, put forth every ounce of intestinal fortitude to maximize the end result of max calorie output!

I don't know about you but cookie cutter workouts aren't 'cutting it' for me!

-AR