Agility is an essential, and often overlooked, construct of physical, mental, and emotional fitness. This agility training video will help you get on track — and it’s fun!
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My job as a fitness coach entails designing and implementing research-based programs for individuals or populations to improve nutrition, health, and physical fitness. As an educator I also implement curriculums to deliver appropriate knowledge for agencies, professional groups, or students. Therefore, I am committed to this lifelong passion for wellness as a career and a ministry.
My journey as a fitness coach began when a hit-and-run car accident nearly took my life. The vehicular perpetrator said, “I was too afraid to stop,” but that night was only the beginning. It was the beginning of a time when the origins of wellness and the reality of its miracles would be revealed to me. At the same time, my desire to be a fitness coach was catalyzed.
As a fitness coach, I encourage people to follow what their hearts tell them and show them how to read their own physical abilities to determine what they can do.
It’s really about what people desire for themselves. Then a fitness coach can design exercises around those needs. For my clients, agility and core exercises will typically be central to their training regimens.
But for me it started with desire and faith, perhaps the most effective tools in the beginning stages of my rehabilitation. It took months of therapy and waiting before I could participate in agility activities again. I had the obstacles of metal rods and screws in my leg, plus medical reports predicting that I would never play sports again.
I spent months meditating and praying while looking through a huge window of my parents’ country home. I pondered the possibility of healing. Then one day I decided to wheelchair myself into the YMCA. I used the body parts that were working (my upper body) and the rest of my body seemed to follow. I estimate that my recovery rate tripled after beginning weight training, a discovery independent of my education, and training that I implement even to this day. I also read daily devotionals and educational fitness materials between exercise sessions. All together, it turns out that my tragedy was very quickly turning into my triumph.
Now with the desire to get up, nothing could stand in the way. I knew that if I got up that I could also get lots more people up too, especially those whom I love and whom I desire to prosper with. Consequently, I think that agility is not just for us, but also for the people around us, and when we lead by example it actually helps us to reach new heights.
There are six stages that psychologist describe which help individuals better understand my experience. They are called, “The Stages of Behavioral Change.” Specifically, “The Maintenance Stage” involves perseverance through lapses and teaching others to achieve their goals. This behavioral model of change states that people who teach others are more likely to reach “The Adoption Phase,” which is the highest level of change related to the fulfillment of one’s goals. And while most of my clients experience personal success, I want them to experience the reward of “Adoption.” With adoption we must lead by example and become accountable in the public view for desired changes in our lives.
As for me, the hit-and-run car accident became a catalyst for my role in fitness leadership.
Next, it came to pass that my transformation and my healing were complete. One day I was playing basketball – it was nearly the first time I played since the accident. One of my teammates missed a shot and the ball bounced perfectly off the rim. My desire to finish my teammate’s basket surpassed the fact that the ball was five or six inches above the rim. So I jumped, caught the ball, and slam-dunked! Feelings of joy overwhelmed me as I had just dunked in the face of my tragedy. That’s the feeling that agility can provide and that’s what desire can do.
In closing, agility is essential for physical wellness and the optimization of life. As a fitness coach I am committed to teaching others about how agility applies to life, sports performance, or almost any recreational activity. Furthermore, I believe that anyone who includes agility exercise in their pursuit of wellness will experience life-changing results. Good health and wellness to all…
Citations:
King, K., & Klawitter, B. (2007). Nutrition Therapy (3rd ed.) Baltimore, MD: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Howley, E., & Franks, D. (2007). Fitness Professional’s Handbook (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Sizer, F., & Whitney, E. (2014). Nutrition Concepts and Controversies (13th ed.). Wadsworth, CA: Cengage.
Pitching Biomechanics Evaluation. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.asmi.org/bioEval.php?page=bio_eval
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