December 3, 2021 “Get out of the MAN CAVE and get active”
Over the years I’ve trained 10 times more women than men. I get a lot of calls from men however many of them are calling because they want me to train their wife, woman, or mother. When I ask, what about you? They either give me a bunch of excuses as to why they can’t train or they will say, Oh I train myself.
I believe it’s because men have an ego when it comes to fitness. Most men grew up playing on some organized sports team or playing in the streets or neighborhood park/open field. Growing up you would also see a group of guys working out in someone’s garage or having a push up contest. I know because I was a tomboy and would run and beat the best of them.
I remember Rico and Craig (we all lived on the same block) walking down the street for an entire summer with the same karate outfits on with nunchucks. They genuinely thought they were Bruce Lee with all their moves. Now, let me just tell you, neither one of them had ever taken a karate lesson however they watched every Bruce Lee movie and swore that they were now masters with a black belt. LOL
So, like Rico & Craig, most men think that THEY KNOW how to train themselves. I find that more men go to a gym and more women join a fitness program. And when they do go to the gym, they do a lot of chest and arm exercises. Legs, cardio, resistance, and flexibility training is usually little to nonexistent.
The truth is we all need to join a structured program until…we know how to train safely and properly by ourselves. Have the self-motivation to push ourselves like a trainer would. Have a fitness buddy that will push and hold you accountable like a trainer would. Until you are consistent, and you understand proper nutrition and stop dieting and cutting corners.
For most people this will never happen and that’s okay. It’s just not in us, that’s why God made trainers. For example, no matter how many times in my life I’ve done my own hair I still find myself sitting in a salon chair because that’s not where my talent lies. I still need a professional to cut, color and style my hair to keep me from damaging it and to help keep it healthy. This is the same thing your trainer does for you. They understand what it will take to help you reach your goals, train you how you need to be trained and to do it in a safe manner.
Now let me give you some statics:
· Black men in the United States suffer with the worse health than any other racial group in America. For example, as a group, Black men have the lowest life expectancy and the highest death rate from specific causes compared to both men and women of other racial and ethnic groups.
· Discrepancies in health statistics for the more than 17 million Black men, when compared to others, highlight a great need to better address their causes. There are several reasons that can be pointed to as causes for the issues of poor health among Black men. Racial discrimination, high rates of incarceration, unemployment, a lack of affordable health services, poor health education, cultural barriers, poverty, access to health insurance, and insufficient medical and social services catering to Black men all negatively affect quality of life and health.
· 44% of Black men are considered overweight
· Black men suffer more preventable oral diseases that are treatable
· Black men have a high suicide rate; it's the third leading cause of death in 15- to 24-year-olds
· Black men are 43% more likely to have high blood pressure compared to 34% of white men and 28% of Mexican Americans.
WE MUST BREAK THESE STATISTICS!!!
In my 13 years of training, I can honestly say that I’ve had to use my emergency nursing training skills on more men than I have on woman, which is alarming being that I train 10 times more women than men. I have literally had to perform CPR in my gym on a 38-year-old man and just this week I had to save a 42-year-old man’s life. Let that sink in.
It is not that the workout is tougher for men and or that we are pushing them harder. When the men finally do come into my gym it’s usually by force from their doctor or a persistent significant other because they see their loved ones, stamina and happiness declining. And although most men think that their weight is good living, or good eating, it’s one of their biggest factors. Most black men start training when they are truly at the worst shape of their life.
When men come into our wellness center for services or join our bootcamp, and I ask them about their medical history as Nurse Tadda, these are some of the most typical responses.
· Most men haven’t been to the doctor in years.
· Majority will say “I hate doctors, or I can’t stand needles.”
· When asking about their lab work, they often say if they have results, to refer to their women, they don’t know.
· Admit they haven’t exercised in months to years.
· Many refuse to get a prostate exam or colonoscopy, with the mentality, “I ain’t letting nobody put anything up my butt.”
· Do you have life insurance? Most look at me like I am crazy, remember the statistics, this is a question everyone should know the answer to especially if our men choose to not take care of themselves.
WE MUST BREAK THIS MENTALITY!!!
I am putting out a call to action. I would like each one of you reading this article to have a serious conversation with the men in your life about health and fitness. If they have not seen a doctor this year encourage them to make some appointments. If they refuse to go to the doctor, bring them to TFC and get some basic lab work done in a matter of moments and they will know about their cholesterol, if they are diabetic or what their blood type is so they can eat better for their blood type. Get a fit3D body scan to get a baseline and to see what is really going on with them and lastly bring them to the gym for FREE for their first workout session. We have lots of male trainers if they prefer for a male to train them, group fitness classes like spin or powerlifting and of course our award winning bootcamp. Encourage our men to get out of their man caves and get active. No Mess
