The Box Gym is Dead

After years of experience in many different traditional gym facilities, executing my own strength and conditioning workouts along with training hundreds of different clients, I have found one commonality in all of this.  I never use ANY machines.  In the standard Box Gym you find about 75% of the floor space covered with machines that can isolate, fully support, and simplify the body's movements.  This unfortunately is not how the body is designed to work whether you are an athlete or not.  The body is a very integrated system of multi-functioning joint structures that are designed to operate together as a unit in many dynamic patterns of movement.  Life doesn't demand a greater ability to execute bicep curls, calf raises, quad extensions, and ab crunches.  Working in an isolated manner on equipment that provides all the assistance for you mimics no demand in everyday life.  The body is continually placed in circumstances where certain muscles are providing work (strength), certain muscles are assisting mobility (movement), and certain muscles are providing stability (protection), all at the same time.  So it makes sense that the body should be trained as a unit for the purpose of improving it's capabilities in everyday life.

This is the basis of what BT Fitness is out to achieve: true harmony within the way the body moves, stretches, stabilizes, produces force, and balances itself.  Using equipment like the Proformer, TRX suspension trainer, Kettlebells, Stability Balls, Medicine Balls, and Band Tubing, we can not only effectively improve an endless amount of movement and strength capabilities but also deliver the personalized instruction that allows you to understand how and why all of the application makes sense.

This brings me to the other issue I see with the traditional "box gym".  People get their tour, they sign up for a membership, they get their free 30min slam bam session with a trainer, and then they are on their own among an endless sea of complex designed machines and heavy dangerous looking equipment.  Most of the time people get so intimidated, they end up paying however much a month to use the elliptical for 30min 3x a week and maybe do a few of the safer looking machines.  On a long term scale this will not equate success.  This formula will ultimately lead to frustration, lack of results and sometimes unnecessary injury and a waste of money.

That's why we at BT Fitness are striving to deliver not only the most effective selection of exercises for performance and health, but also to use equipment that is basic and easy to understand yet capable of giving you a truly significant challenge.  We strongly believe that if you transform your fitness... you will transform your body...from the inside out!      

Co-Owner Adam Tombelaine
NCSA: CPT & CSCS