ProBodX Part II - Lesson from Dr. Heus
After receiving a lot of mail and inquiries about my article on ProBodX I decided to write an update on my experience with the program. I want to make it clear that I have no business relationship with the authors other than as a customer (i.e., this isn’t a shill).
After 8 months on the program I can definitively say that I will not go back to traditional workouts. I believe the core principles of this book - Instability, Multiple Planes, Reversing, and Resistance - will form the foundation of all athletic training programs in the future.
As luck would have it, Dr. Edythe Heus (one of the authors) lives near a family member in CA and I was able to take a personal lesson from her in May. I was a bit nervous about the meeting, figuring that my form was probably horrible since I had never taken formal instruction and learned from a book.
We met at her home studio and worked through a number of the exercises. She was incredibly encouraging and - to my surprise - complimentary on some of my technique. She also pointed out some of the key weaknesses in my exercises, namely that I wasn’t correctly activating my lower abdominals while doing them. We reviewed some minor changes and improvements in the exercises as well as some new routines. For example, we worked some balance exercises on the Bosu ball.
Integrating these technique changes into my workout was harder than I anticipated. In many ways it felt like I was starting from scratch. I experienced the feelings of nervous fatigue just as I had when I began ProBodX.
Two months later, the exercises are once again getting easier. The technique changes were very helpful and I am finding myself pushing harder and harder with some of the exercises, using more ballistic energy to generate resistance.
It is difficult to describe the results of this program simply because it is so different. Several people have commented to me that “it looks just like my ball routine”, “just like power Yoga”, or “just like Pilate’s”, etc. Based on my experiences the exercises may look similar but the feeling and results are totally different.
I have been doing personal fitness regularly since I was 14 years old, and the modest results I gained from Yoga, weightlifting, etc. took a long time with regular setbacks. The progress I made - however small - did not readily translate to the athletic field. I basically assumed that my lack of progress resulted from not being much of an athlete (I am not, but that wasn’t the reason).
Somehow Dr. Heus’s routines stimulate an internal signaling system that allows us to coordinate motion (she calls this a prime blueprint). When these signals are properly engaged the routines quickly get easier and I notice results week-to-week. At times the changes appear almost magically and I surprise myself at the difference in feeling. This nearly instant, positive feedback is a great motivator.
Several people mentioned to me that ProBodX is out of print. Fortunately Dr. Heus is developing a new program called The Heus Approach based on the same principles. She also has a DVD of the basic ProBodX workout; it is a great complement to the book, although I don’t think it would have helped me if I had not read the book first.
If you want to get a copy of the ProBodX DVD, order any of the equipment in ProBodX, or find out about the Heus Approach you can reach Richard, her assistant, at “edytheheus AT cox DOT net”.
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