This is the time of year when everyone has made his/her New Year's resolution that "this year is going to be different." If you are one of those people, that is awesome. Even if I did not have a calendar, I would always be able to tell that it is this time of year due to the exponential growth of joggers/runners I see on my short drive to and from work. I kind of feel sorry for them as they relentlessly pound the pavement, likely for several miles at a time, traumatizing their joints and burning off precious amounts of muscle. The phenomenon of running to lose weight never ceases to amaze me because jogging/running long distances at a slow pace is far from optimal in terms of achieving desired body composition results. The good news for those of you who may have already started or are contemplating jogging/running is there are better ways to make "this year different." I am going to introduce you to a more desirable training method that not only addresses fat loss more effectively but also addresses the issue of time efficiency. This training method is referred to as GPP. It stands for General Physical Preparation. In basic terms, this type of training is intended to increase your capacity to do generalized work (i.e., to be "in shape").

In my estimation, 90% of the American population is deficient in this type of physical preparation, athletes included. Therefore, everyone can benefit by adding a bit of this training to his/her regimen. Not only will it help you drop some body fat, it also will help you function as a human being. I don't care who you are. You are going to be required to do some sort of physical labor in your life, whether it is carrying boxes of files up four flights of stairs, lifting and carrying several bags of cat litter or food to and from your car, or just chasing your young one around in the backyard. Not only will performing some GPP help to prepare you for these events, it will also help prevent injuries (fatigue and injury go hand in hand), and it will help you keep from being totally wiped out after such work.

I would like to relate a quick story about my experience with GPP. I have been an athlete for the better part of my life and lifting weights for physical preparation has been an accepted norm during that entire time. However, during my high school years I rarely touched a weight. It was not because of a lack of desire, but more because I lived 45 miles from my high school weight room and there was always plenty of work to be done on the farm. Well, during the summertime when everyone else was going to the gym, I would be in the mountains with my family hauling 50-200 lb. logs all around the forest for the better part of an eight hour day. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was doing some serious GPP. It crossed over to my athletic endeavors and allowed me to perform at optimal levels on the playing field in the fall. Needless to say, I am a big fan of GPP both for athletes and non-athletes alike. We are all human beings and we all have to do physical work at some point in our lives, so why not be prepared.

Copyright (c) 2008 Anderson Training Systems