I see many commercials about topical creams, pills and special wraps to alleviate pain in muscles, joints, etc. The idea is to apply these agents when the pain is bad and this will help you through the discomfort. This, in turn will allow the user to achieve relief from pain and perform as if the problem did not exist. Does this work?



What about the diet supplements that an overweight user is supposed to take to help them shed unwanted pounds? Are we to suppose that the answer to a slim body rests in a bottle?

Doesn't the individual going to the doctor for high blood pressure really just want medication that will take care of the issue? The problem is just numbers on paper. Take a few pills throughout the day and everything will be fine. As long as the numbers look better next time they see the doctor? right?

Are we that lazy? Are we always looking for the quick fix? Or are people just lacking adequate knowledge?

I think knowledge is the key to everything mentioned above.

Knowledge of the source of the muscle or joint pain (i.e. what is causing the pain); knowledge that being fit and/or losing weight is a result of much more than just supplements (if at all); and knowledge of preventing high blood pressure with proper health habits versus trying to battle the effects of it.

Having the "know how" to do these things is the key to getting past all of them.

There are a lot of ways to gain knowledge/learn new information: libraries, bookstores, seminars, teleseminars, home study courses, college, universities, and home study courses.

What is the best way to learn?

For me and according to many self-help gurus, the best way is to be told, shown and then to be guided through a learning process.

Mentors.

My greatest successes in life have come at the hands of a great mentor. A great teacher can give you invaluable knowledge; he/she will be a good leader - one that empowers you to be a teacher yourself.

Concerning the above mentioned issues on health and fitness, a good mentor can help prevent health problems. They can educate on a proper starting point and an awareness of areas on which to focus to be successful.

I myself like to lean through books, articles, videos and teleseminars and live seminars. I will gain the biggest benefit from coaching or mentorship relationships? a long way from instructions on a bottle.

Clients will come to me with these ideas and notions of how to lose weight and become fit that are so far from reality. Most leaned from commercials, infomercials and advertisements they see in magazines and the internet. The biggest reason for their thinking this way is they don't take time to research its validity.

Clients rarely look deep enough into the "core" or "root" of any program or fitness plan.

Pills, creams or quick fix notions are never looking at the root cause of any problem. They are more of a band-aide approach, masking the underlying cause.

Just like medications will only control high blood pressure, topical creams will not fix the cause of muscle pain and diet pills will not improve fitness levels. There is an underlying core issue in all of these problems and a "quick fix" is not the best or even a justifiable solution.

The term "core" has been made popular in the last several years when reading fitness literature. Although sometimes used mistakenly, the core is a great place to focus when attempting to improve health and fitness. The term is a good one because it is again going back to getting to the "root" of how to be healthier.

The core to me is the hip musculature (including the groin area, abdominals, and back musculature). This is the area of the body where gravity and ground reaction forces meet and where forces are originated and dissipated (or controlled). There is much more involved that we will not dive into during this article (including muscles and joints above and below the pelvic area) but for our purposes this is the core area to address with fitness enhancement.

When discussing a muscles or joint issue, I will almost always begin at the core and work out to the area in question when addressing any problem.

Harv Ecker talks about changing the roots to bear better fruits. Stephen Covey calls it an inside out approach. Both of these success coaches talk about changing yourself from the inside first before you can expect the results you want on the outside.

I feel it is similar when addressing the health issues I spoke of at the beginning of the article. Those issues are not acute in nature. They are all chronic. And until you attach the core issue you will be working on a temporary fix which ends in less than adequate results. It goes back to having improper information or lack of knowledge as the root of the problem. Isn't it ironic that the root of the problem is failing to notice the core of the problem?

When it comes to fitness, the core is where you need to start - both mind and body.

I addressed the hip complex as the core and where I like to begin (and end, actually) when working with clients of any ability level. However, when it comes to fitness a whole body approach is necessary.

The mind is very critical to good health and wellness achievement. Again, change the roots (mindset, knowledge, and attitude) and you can improve the fruits. No cream can achieve this.

Improving knowledge through whatever medium is critical to improving yourself and the world around you. Ignorance has led to many problems the world over.

When it comes to health, know that quick temporary solutions are just that - never lasting.

Proper fitness is a lifestyle choice that begins with a proper understanding/knowledge of health, a proper mindset of why it is important and an understanding that having good roots and working form the core out is the key to health and happiness.

If you get nothing else from this article know this? knowledge is crucial.

Knowledge is the root that defines the fruit. "Where is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" T. S. Elliot