How Do You Define Fitness?

Allen Lawrence, M.A., M.D., Ph.D.
Advanced Wellness Medical
Phone 310-879-9266 or 844-222-577
info@AdvancedWellnessMedical.com

How Do You Define Fitness?

I believe that everyone defies fitness differently. It is likely you have your own personal definition. Maybe however, most of us can agree that fitness relates at least to the individual being “physically fit and healthy.” Many people might expand this definition to say: Fitness is the condition of being physically fit and healthy and that it involves a series of attributes that can include, but are not limited to, mental acuity, cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition, and flexibility. Others might add to this list that it also could include the individual’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment. That they are fit enough to survive and thrive. Finally, others might consider that any definition should include that the individual should also have the ability to fulfill a particular role or task, or groups of tasks in society, that they are healthy enough to do this and ready for anything that may come their way.

For most fitness instructors, fitness means what each of them choose it to mean. For me, as a physician, fitness is about being optimally healthy with the capacity to heal his or herself, to thrive and to make their life work for them. In my own personal definition, there is little room for illness or physical incapacity or disabilities. Unless caused through an accident or a birth defect and overcome by the individual to the best of his or her ability. While these situations may occur, being “fit” allows us to problem solve, recognize and find strategies to undo physical, mental, emotional and spiritual problems, go around them, by pass them, and of course, deal with and solve them.

Defining and Building Your Practice

Your definition of fitness ultimately brings clients to you, allows you to create a series of training programs and become successful as a fitness practitioner. Maybe you are only into physical development, possibly you are also into helping your clients find modalities of prevention so that you are not only helping them build a better and healthier body, but also a healthier and happier life and future. I see the process of attaining total fitness as the following:

Prevention—>Healing—>Wellness—>Longevity—>Quality of Life

In fact, my professional mantra is Prevention—>Healing—>Wellness—>Longevity—> Quality of Life which constantly reminds me that creating total fitness includes, for me, not just treating my patients’ symptoms, not just prescribing medications to reduce, eliminate and or cover up the signs and symptoms of illness, and their unresolved conflicts cause their illness, but recognizing that these signs and symptoms are intelligent communication from their body which are trying to tell them they have one or more unresolved conflicts which are either causing or potentiating their illness(s).

Most physician unfortunately see these signs of symptoms as the illness itself and immediately go into treatment mode …writing prescriptions to manage and/or hide them. I see the signs and symptoms of illness as intelligent communications from the individual’s body, telling them and me that they have one or more unresolved conflicts AND if these conflicts are not dealt with and resolved, they can or will ultimately cause damage and injury to their body, mind, emotions, even spirit. These initial signs and symptoms, often referred to as “acute illness,” are completely reversible, 100%, especially if and when we can find the conflict(s) that they are pointing to and we resolve them. These indicators are the earliest level of communications (signs and symptoms) our body can give us (obviously, it can’t tell us in words). If we help the patient to solve the underlying unresolved conflict they are pointing to, as the signs and symptoms are clues to what the conflict is, then we help the patient not only Heal their acute illness, but we also help resolve their underlying problem, they grow, they evolve and they move into a higher level of themselves, a problem solver and self-healer. They become fit to take care of and manage their own life.

If the patient or if we as healers and helpers, can’t or don’t recognize what is happening, then these signs and symptoms (the acute illness) may go away or they may end up being covered up by medications, and the unresolved conflict(s) will likely smolder in the individual’s Subconscious Self and will likely, years later, ultimately resurface as one or more Chronic Illness(s) and/or Chronic Disease(s). This therefore I believe is the genesis of many chronic diseases. Along the way we will likely see irreversible damage being done to their body, they often have physical, mental, emotional loss of ability, temporary or permanent disability and not unusually, premature death.

The unresolved conflict I talk about above can be anyone or more of many types of things from nutritional deficiencies, emotional traumas, exposure to toxic chemicals, injuries or even genetic problems. Some are not solvable. Statistically, most problems seen in medical practice are stress-related (70% to 80% of all problems seen in medical practices), nutritional, emotional, spiritual, all of which are resolvable if recognized and dealt with appropriately.

While Western medicine confuses these initial signs and symptom as being illness, and yes, it is a form of acute illness, the real illness and the real problem is their failure to recognize this as a form of intelligent communication from the individual’s body to them trying to help them regain their “fitness,” health and well-being. This process and its various stages are often missed as they take place over many years and are rarely recognized and considered related.

As a fitness instructor when you convey physical fitness, optimal diet, problem solving you are acting as a healer to help your clients create an overall condition of Wellness and Healing, if they learn from you, they can sustain wellness for a very long time, even the rest of their life.

Hormone Replacement, recognizes that when hormone levels are low or deficient, they act as an unresolved conflict that undermines and sabotages the individual’s body, their immune, repair, maintenance and healing systems. Cells, tissues, organ and systems damaged by illness, normal wear and tear, decay and aging are either less than adequately repaired or left unrepaired or only partially repaired. This accelerates aging, normal decay, chronic illnesses and premature death. When hormones are attended to and kept at normal levels our body works more effectively and efficiently and we have long- term, even life-long wellness and optimal health. In truth, few, and maybe very few, people can maintain full and complete WELLNESS, HEALING, LONGEVITY and long-term QUALITY OF LIFE, UNLESS their hormones are ADEQUATE and well BALANCED.

Building and Maintaining a Great Fitness Practice Requires

I believe and offer to you that building a great fitness program today includes not only a great physical fitness program but also helping your clients to make sure they are physically capable of doing all of the exercises they need to be doing. If your clients have low hormones, males (testosterone and DHEA) hormones or female (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and DHEA) hormones or suffer any negative signs or symptoms of hormone insufficiency or deficiency they likely need to be treated as part of a well- rounded fitness program. When your clients’ hormones are poorly balanced, low or deficient, they are not perfectly healthy. They are not fit and will never really become fit until this conflict is resolved.

For more information on hormone replacement therapy and its benefits and risks or to set up a consultation for yourself or for a client, contact Advanced Wellness Medical by calling 310-879-9266 or 844-222-577 or e-mail your questions or search for information to info@AdvancedWellnessMedical.com.