What really is Your Eccentric Genius?
And how can such a simple concept be scientifically proven as the best system of
fitness for everybody and every body, including me and mine?
I don't know. It's beyond me. I mean, yes, I can explain it - probably in ten times the detail that you'll ever want to hear, let alone wish to absorb. But it still amazes even me that such a simple idea can be responsible for such a rapid and radically positive transformation in our level of health and fitness. I guess the only explanation is that Your Eccentric Genius (and the system of Eccentrics, for short) examines exercise from the inside out. It goes back to square one, looking inside the body, how it works, and then working out accordingly.
Eccentrics is exercise by design - as intended - on purpose. Eccentrics is the gift of fitness and I'm humbled that it's been given to me. And I can't wait to share it. I don't mind saying that my professional life has often seemed like an exercise in futility. At 40-gulp-plus, I have now been formally studying the physiology of exercise and the psychology of exercisers for over half my life. As a lab rat, I've worked my tail off at prominent universities, learning about the most efficient and productive techniques for improving health and fitness. As the owner of one of the largest fitness centers in Connecticut, I've also studied my share of gym rats, watching them chase their own tails as they try to achieve their goals with ineffective principles and programs.
And then there is you - probably looking for the best place to start your own maze
to better fitness or, more importantly, how to successfully work your way out. With Eccentrics, it really doesn't matter who you are, where you are starting, or where you are headed. The principles apply to everybody and every body. You and I are made the same way and it's what's on the inside that counts. Structure dictates function. How you are made determines how you should move. By design, Your Eccentric Genius is the best system of exercise for both of us - for all of us. So, don't skip ahead to the exercises - that's the easy part. Instead, settle in, spend a few minutes curled up with a good book, and let's think this thing through.
Though I can, and soon will, explain Eccentrics in more detailed detail, it is only to
justify the incredible scientific facts. And they are plentiful. If you can show me any single system of exercise that even comes close to matching the provable claims of Your Eccentric Genius, I’ll stop writing immediately. After all, I’m not writing this for my health − but for yours.
And though most other programs’ promises are downright ludicrous, completely
falling apart under scrutiny, Eccentrics’ declarations become synergistically stronger. Each and every individual benefit of Eccentrics supports the next. No longer do you have to sacrifice one component of fitness for the improvement of another. It all works together because it is how your body works. From this point on, you’re inspecting an unconventional perspective, where exercise sans Eccentrics is a complete waste of time.
Somewhere in the pages to follow, you’ll begin to accept the inherent genius of
Eccentrics. I guarantee it. And though I’ve been shouting these principles from my rooftop for over 20 years, and often wished I had a taller building and a louder voice, please listen closely; secrets are often only heard in a whisper. Don’t allow earth-shatteringly straightforward principles to get lost in simple translation.
And while stepping on toes usually gives me cold feet, I must talk my walk −
preach what I practice. But rather than pounding my chest with a “How do you like them apples?” tone, I must first apologize, in advance, for probably upsetting the apple cart. The exercises in futility that are currently on the market are abundant − a veritable delusion of dumbbells. It’s about time the bar was raised.
Also, please realize that Your Eccentric Genius is not My Eccentric Genius. This
is not about how to follow my ultimate program for fitness, but rather how your body is ultimately programmed for fitness. And, if I do say so myself, your body is miraculous! So said, fitness solutions have never been so smart, simple, or speedy.
On a wing and a prayer, what started in a humble home training studio in Wilton,
CT will hopefully transform the workouts of the world. Just as Aerobics, Yoga, Nautilus, Jogging, and Pilates have been ingrained into the mindset of America and beyond, Eccentrics is also worthy to be included in these all-encompassing paradigmatic systems of exercise and wellness. I think you’ll concur.
As I expand and expound the eminence of Eccentrics, and you engage your brain
before body, together we’ll observe the secrets to making your workout work out. As you’ll soon begin to understand, Eccentrics can very well change your life − today and beyond!
Perhaps more than any other method of exercise, the system of Eccentrics is a true
panacea, touted as the single best provable method for building muscle, burning fat, strengthening bones, exercising quickly, improving endurance, conditioning athletes, rehabilitating injuries, working out without effort, increasing flexibility, and safely training those with a variety of ailments, including cancer, arthritis, heart disease, asthma, and other cardiac, pulmonary, and metabolic disorders − to name a bunch.
Eccentrics is no respecter of persons. Eccentrics is exceptional, without exception.
And though defined by a single meaning − coming soon − with methods to its madness, Eccentrics is able to individually and systematically synergize the following four unique components of a balanced and well-rounded fitness regimen:
BACK TO TOP
STRENGTH: The Foundation
Improving bone and muscle strength and structure with resistance exercises
STAMINA: The Fortitude
Increasing endurance of the heart, lungs, and vessels with aerobic exercises
STRETCHING: The Flexibility
Enhancing the range of motion of each joint via muscle lengthening exercises
SUSTENANCE: The Fuel
Nourishing the body for optimal health with simple exercises in self-control
Is that it? Strength − Stamina − Stretching − and Sustenance. You’re probably
wondering what’s so special about lifting weights, doing cardio, staying limber, and eating right, right? So far, Your Eccentric Genius looks like everything else out there. No! I object! I guarantee that it is different − and that I am different.
Uncertainty is understandable. With the thousands upon thousands of fitness
books, websites, videos, magazines, DVDs, TV shows, trainers, and health clubs in the marketplace, even I can get overwhelmed and under-certain. And I’m supposed to be a “professional.” Just keep an open and active mind. Please don’t let this messenger get in the way of the message. Focus on the train-ing, not the train-er.
Quite often, people don’t know what to believe because they don’t know whom to
believe. Does a new face or a new fad really justify anything? Why should you listen to any of us? We can’t all be right. What can I do to make you listen to me? What if I was a different age, body type, or even gender? Would you believe me then? Should I train a list of celebrity personalities, or work a lot more on my own?
Just remember, I’m not bringing anything different to the table. Eccentrics builds
you a brand new table. Your Eccentric Genius has been created and engineered to give you an original and innovative platform, a fresh foundation to permanently change your body from the inside out.
So what is it? What is Your Eccentric Genius? BACK TO TOP
What is this simple “Off-Center Secret to Smarter Fitness for Every Body”?
Simply − it’s just that.
The word “Eccentric” (ek-sen-trik) literally translates:
EC – “away”
from CENTRIC – “center”
Lexicon: “to one side − off-center − going from the inside to the outside.”
Therefore, Eccentrics is truly an “off-center” approach to fitness, unconventionally
refreshing in both physiology and psychology. Yes − it’s truly different, genuinely ingenious, often the opposite of what you’d expect, but it works.
While each quadrant of fitness is uniquely off-center, and justifies a separate book, the collective explanation and application of the divisions of Strength, Stamina, Stretching, and Sustenance is the true muscle behind the system of Eccentrics.
Nonetheless, Strength, the most important component, is where we need to begin; for this reason, it is the sole focus of this first book in the four-part series. The science of strength substantiates the series’ systematic synergism.
Thus, starting with this strong foundation for Eccentrics, let’s briefly explore the basic beliefs and benefits behind the magic of muscle.
Eccentrics... in Strength (In Short)
• The greatest single force-producing and bone-producing exercise ever invented • Proven to be the ultimate training technique for building strength and muscle tone • Sufficiently stresses muscles without overly straining the cardiovascular system • Responsible for noticeably firmer and tighter muscles from a single workout session • A reprieve for the aerobically limited, due to its extremely low oxygen demand • Essential tool for the exercise-intolerant since it is easier than lifting weights by 40% • Ideal for individuals with arthritis and injuries because it is gentle on the joints • Mandatory for athletes by preferentially working the powerful faster-twitch muscles • The most flexible form of strength training, stretching muscles from start to end • Potent form of permanent weight control, raising metabolism in short and long-term
Eccentrics… in Strength (At Length) BACK TO TOPA few months ago, a couple of my gym rat clients, who work out at least every day and still can’t seem to get big enough for their own britches, posed a question to me out of desperation: “What else can we do to get bigger and stronger?”
Ears open? Brains engaged? This is what I told them. “The greatest technique for
improving muscle tone, size, or strength is to stop lifting weights and to work out less often.”
Now, of course I thought I was pretty clever, and I basically had to chase them
down to explain my response; yet, it’s the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Focusing on lifting weights and training too often are definitely not the best uses of your energy and your time. There is a smarter, simpler, and speedier solution − Eccentrics.
Here is Eccentrics in Strength in a nutshell:
1. The only reason you lift weights is so you can lower weights.
2. The only reason you lower weights is so you can stop.
So why should you lift weights? So you can lower weights and stop. It’s that easy.
Then − go home and rest, a job well done. And what happens to your body during the rest between workouts? This is the time when your body is truly most active, positively adapting to the challenges and demands that you’ve placed upon it.
Muscle-building exercise, followed by adequate rest, has repeatedly been proven to
rapidly and dramatically change the body in a positive way. The list includes an all-out smorgasbord of incredible benefits of muscle-training exercise, such as: • Fighting osteoporosis by increasing bone density or by slowing its decline • Reversing or reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis • Improving blood lipid profiles, blood pressure, and blood sugars • Enhancing performance, rehabilitation, and injury prevention • Increasing muscle tone, strength, metabolism, and balance • Combating depression and slowing the aging process • Looking great and, more importantly, feeling great
What if achieving all of these incredible benefits took only two hours a day?
Would you do it − whatever it takes? You’d really be crazy not to. Of course
you’d have to drastically change your entire lifestyle and, to many of you, it may not be worth it − at least not until you have no other choice. Eventually you will have to exercise, on your terms sooner or someone else’s later. Agree?
…personal training today or physical therapy tomorrow?
…cardio routine today or cardiac rehab tomorrow?
So, are you going to make the decision to work out two hours a day to get the
healthy carrots and avoid the harmful sticks? Thankfully, this isn’t necessary. Unless you have nothing else to do, two hours a day is downright farcical. But what if it took only two minutes? Yes, two with a capital 2? I’m not saying it can, but imagine if you could. Would you do it then? Well, it can and you could.
BACK TO TOP I do realize that there are days when finding even two minutes to exercise seems impossible. This is true for me as much as it is for you. I have a wife, four children, multiple businesses, and many other interests that I am trying to juggle. Add to that the fact that my avocation is my vocation. Can you imagine me trying to work out in my own club? I have no other choice but to limit my workouts to literally minutes in duration. I need to use whatever works the fastest and the best.
Eccentrics is the only way I can personally fit fitness into my over-obliged life.
Eccentrics literally takes away the excuse of having no time. Do you need to see it to believe it? Then let me start by showing you the mechanics behind the method. This is the nitty-gritty. Read slowly! Understand completely!! And get excited!!!
Muscles move during movement. If a movement lifts a weight upward, against
gravity, as in lifting a dumbbell, the muscle fibers shorten. This is, in lab rat language, a “concentric contraction.” Don’t worry about it. Just remember that when weight goes up, muscles contract and shorten. As this weight is then lowered in a controlled manner, the muscle fibers, though still tense, are no longer contracting. They are acting, but not contr-acting. Instead, they are lengthening.
As a weight is lifted, a muscle shortens toward its center as a result of a
phenomenon scientifically termed a “concentric muscle contraction.”
As a weight is lowered, a muscle lengthens away from its center as a result of a
phenomenon scientifically termed an “eccentric muscle action.”
You’ve just read what is arguably the number one secret of exercise! This
sentence alone is worth the price of admission. But let’s make sure you get your money’s worth by repeating and rephrasing:
“As a weight is lowered…”
The secret is in lowering a weight, not lifting it.
“… a muscle lengthens…”
This is the key physiological strength training principle.
“… away from its center as a result of a…”
The muscle’s ends move in an “away from, off-center” direction.
“... phenomenon scientifically termed an eccentric muscle action.” The muscle is no longer contracting; it is now “acting eccentrically.”
Yes, Your Eccentric Genius is based on factual, scientifically-utilized terminology.
Since Eccentrics literally translates as “off-center” exercise, physiologists use the expression to represent muscle “lengthening.” When lowering a weight, the two ends of the working muscle are moving “away from center” as the muscle actively lengthens. Muscle fibers are still trying to contract and shorten but, instead, they are being forced to extend and elongate. The fibers are actually being pulled in the opposite direction of the force being generated. Force In. Fibers Out. The internal ingenuity of muscles’ “eccentric actions” is the secret to Your Eccentric Genius.
Eccentrics is analogous to gently pulling apart two connected pieces of Velcro. By
design, the internal friction within Velcro creates greater strength when being pulled apart than when being pushed together. It’s a natural action for the Velcro to resist being pulled apart. It’s easy for it. Ditto for muscle. Resisting a weight, as it lowers, is always easier than lifting that same weight. Just as Velcro friction helps Velcro stay together, muscle friction helps fibers stay together as they lengthen.
It is this reaction, the action of Eccentrics, which provides the best stimulus for a
better body in every instance. While Velcro is marvelous, Eccentrics is miraculous.
Can you imagine our lives if our muscles could only shorten, not lengthen? Lift
but not lower? Jump but not land? We’d literally have no springs in our steps. The myriad benefits, obvious and obscure, derived from lowering weight, make eccentric muscle actions the most remarkable phenomena in the discipline of exercise physiology. As you’ll learn in the next section, one reason at a time,
Eccentrics deserves to be the foundation of any fitness regimen, including yours.
Regardless of whether you are beginning anew or another, your program must
embrace this number one secret of exercise, slowly lowering weight. Hopefully you’ll soon agree and help me spread the word about Your Eccentric Genius.
“If exercise could be packed into a pill, it would be the most widely prescribed and
beneficial medicine in the world,” Dr. Robert Butler, the first Director of the National Institute on Aging, once said. As he leads, please follow my direction… DOWN. That which we call Eccentrics, by any other name − Lowering Weight, Resisting Resistance, or Discouraging Gravity − would smell as sweet.
Lengthening Muscle is the result and the remedy. Eccentrics is exercise packed in
pill form − the panacea − the greatest medicinal fitness prescription available. Let’s open it up and examine the side effects of taking a regular dose of Eccentrics.
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