Top chef and trainer Pete sounds off that we need to get back to our primal instincts both for a better body and better life! Take his advice, get outside and see the results. If nothing else, it will at least make him feel better!
You walk into most gyms these days and you’ll see rows of treadmills and elliptical machines, people running hard but not going anywhere, trying to chase that elusive carrot that is weight loss (or whatever goal they’re striving for). Stale air and the smell of sweat circulate around these runners as they plod along on these single plane machines. The soft thuds of their repeated steps and whispers of the treadmill canvas and elliptical rotors create a dull background hum, to which people can read their smut magazines and school books. Blank walls, sometimes furnished with bad paintings or motivational posters bought from a cheap poster shop, beckon people to run faster and harder and… wait, what?
This doesn’t sound appealing at all but the majority of the average person’s cardio consists of this exact routine, which usually lasts anywhere from 20-90 minutes, up to seven days a week. How on earth did we come to this?
Go run outside!
Let’s tally this up:
Gym
Gym Studs(woohoo!)
Drinking fountains?
Air fresheners?
TV (if you’re lucky…)?
etc.
Outside
Fresh air
Scenic views
Varying and (if you choose) challenging terrain
Natural sounds
Sunlight (or rain if you’re lucky)
etc.
Frank Forencich, author of "Play As If Your Life Depends On It", hit it on the head when he said, “We are animals. It’s about time we got good at it.” At no time during our evolution have we been faced with conditions like the ones described above. Homo sapiens’ body type was developed by climbing hills, jumping over rocks, hunting game and running from tigers and not running inside a hut on a flat surface. So tap into your primal instincts and go play outside like a good animal.
Peter Bauman – Peter is a chef first and personal trainer second. With a background in the biological sciences and degree in psychology, Peter knows how to make food that tastes great and keeps you lean and healthy. On the personal training side Peter takes clients from where they are to where they want to be quickly and effectively.