What is GPP?

GPP Fitness is the gym that I have been working at for the the past two and a half years.  Words cannot describe how much I love my job, and GPP as a whole.  I have progressed from just doing reception work, to becoming a trainer there as well.  The trainers at GPP are absolutely amazing, and the community is just as amazing.  Everyone is there to become optimally healthy and fit, and everyone works together to help each other reach their goals.  

Neil Anderson, my boss and owner of GPP Fitness can explain the program better than I can, so this is his definition of GPP straight from GPP's website (www.gppfitness.com):

"The stuff we do here works.  It is amazing.  If you have come here to change your body and your life, congratulations.  You chose well.  Know this:  If you apply our unique principles and methods you will see improvement in every aspect of your life.  

We would like to go on and on about the benefits you will receive by applying our trademarked methods & principles, but the cool thing is we really don't have to.  If you will simply take some time and peruse our little site, you can hear it from the horse's mouth.  Folks from all over the world have documented their improvements in their own words here.  

For the last several years people have been recording times, weights, rounds, reps, weight loss, inches lost, strength gains, workout improvement and etc. within the pages of our daily workouts.  They have also sent photos and testimonials which we have (sometimes) posted.  Sorry, but you'll have to look for them a bit.  We fear being lumped in with all the fitterati of the world and their bogus marketing hype, so we haven't gone out of our way to do this for you.  We doubt you'd believe it if you heard it from us anyway.  So, instead we invite you to discover it for yourself.  Our communities' improvements will boggle the mind.  In fact, if we were to present the healthy improvements we are seeing within our community at a conference of our peers - we would surely be laughed off the stage.  The traditional fitterati is not ready for this yet.    

It is not uncommon to find mothers of 4 (including twins) with perfect six-pack abs here.  It is not uncommon to find dozens who have lost 10-15-20-30-60-80-100 lbs here.  It is not uncommon to find recreational runners who signed up for 5ks, 10ks and even MARATHONS (some ULTRA-Marathons) and finished them with nothing more than the training they do here on a daily basis.  Oh, and many have WON or podiumed in their class!  Oops.  It is not uncommon to find folks in their 30s and 40s who have 20-30 pullups (YES, in a row).   None of this even speaks for the incredible health benefits (many of overcome disease and gotten off meds) or mental & emotional benefits obtained by our unique type of training.  You'll see all that within our site, also.  

We are different down here at GPP.  Different in ways that are better and special.  

We value community.  We value work ethic.  We value resolve, dedication and tolerance.  We value only what is healthy about the experience of daily activity and exercise.  And we eschew with great emphasis that which is bogus, needless, wasteful and greedy.  

Our point is your point.  All we do here is help to make you a better version of yourself.  

Below is an explanation of many of our key points and philosophies.  

GPP stands for GENERAL PHYSICAL PREPAREDNESS!

It is our goal to GENERALLY PREPARE you PHYSICALLY to do two things: 

1.  Physically prepare you to reap all the benefits of life.  These benefits are assigned by you and we respect what you choose to pursue.  For our part, we'll make sure that you have function and capacity to do whatever you want.  Want to climb a mountain - we've got you.  Want to run a 10 k - we've got you.  Want to lift heavy things, play sports, grab a pick-up game of basketball, go skiing, have more endurance to be a parent, work hard, chase your kids, reduce stress, lose weight - we've got you.  By participating in our unique training protocol there should be NOTHING (in general) you aren't physically prepared to do - and do well.  This is our entire purpose.  And we are VERY good at it.  

2.  Physically, help you avoid all the pitfalls of life.  Life is hard.  Injury and disease lurk around every corner.  As you know (probably all too well) being physically drained and tired all of the time (even some of the time) can lead to even more injury and disease.  It is a never ending circle that can take away from you in many ways.  When you think about it, most of the top 10 killers of humans is related to our lifestyles.  Even more of the top 10 ailments we face (diabetes, heart disease, depression, lack of focus, etc.) is also related to our lifestyles.  It is clear that with one of our simple (notice I didn't say easy), yet focused 30 minute (on average) workouts per day, most of this can be prevented.  Much of what ails you, or is going to ail you can be prevented with our unique training practices.  

GPP is about getting you healthy.  Period.  

We believe the only worthy reason to exercise and eat right is so that we can lead richer, fuller lives.  Lives not limited by capacity and/or self-induced disease.  

At GPP we realize that health isn't about who the fittest person in the world is.  It isn't about who can lift the most weight, run the fastest, or obtain the highest work capacity imaginable.  These things are silly, wasteful pursuits.  They have no meaning.  They serve no purpose. 

Instead, get your workout in and go home.  Go be a human.  Do things that interest/edify you.  Contribute to your family, your community and/or society.  

Staying at the gym and pounding out more workouts, so that tomorrow you'll have more capacity to perform even more working out, so that then, you will be able to do yet ANOTHER even more difficult workout, only serves the workout.  It can also become a black hole of intention, focus and purpose.  This black hole is filled with everything which is opposite of health.

At GPP we do NOT serve our workouts (read, "the Demotion of Exercise).  For we realize it is our workout's job to serve us.  We would much rather put energy into activities which are less based on self and more focused on what is truly important. 

Our Goal

To help you achieve OPTIMAL HEALTH.  Optimal Health encompasses all objectives of healthy living.  These may range from: having more energy, to losing weight, to becoming fit, to participating in sport, to conquering disease.  Our definition of Health is truly groundbreaking in this industry.  Few others even address it, let alone have a working definition of it, or programming intended for its achievement.  

Optimal Health is only acquired by gaining perfect balance of the six aspects of health.  These are:

Mental Health
Emotional Health
Social Health
Spiritual Health
Financial Health 
Physical Health

What most fitness programs do not address (much less understand) is that for one to be healthy, truly healthy, you must strive for balance within these.  Too much, or too little of any one, or of several combinations of these aspects will leave you miserable and wanting.  In other words, chasing perfection in fitness (or any of the other aspects of health) generally takes from other aspects.  This leaves you unhealthy over-all.  Some of the least healthy people we know have perfect six-packs and incredible work capacity.  Yet, their work lives, home lives, and spiritual lives suffer greatly.  By the same regards.  One who does not have adequate fitness cannot be healthy either.  Remember - BALANCE.  

Few other programs even address your health, let alone create programming dedicated to it.  Think about it - what is Gold's gym definition of health?  What is Crossfits?  Hell, what is Websters?  To be truly UNinspired, go look it up.  Webster says almost nothing about it.  Nothing useful.  Oh, Words are there, but it SAYS nothing. Yet, when people are asked candidly, "why should one exercise,"  whether they are exercisers or not,  their answer will ALWAYS have something to do with improving health. 

Here at GPP, our entire program is created with intention to transfer health within the physical realm to other aspects of health.  Physical health is magic that way.  Mastering your Physical Health opens the conduit to balancing the other 5 aspects of health.  The skills you develop while creating health in the Physical transfers to all other aspects.  You know this instinctively.  It is why you seek out mastery of the Physical.

Our Mandate

Efficiency and Effectiveness

We are minimalists.  We refuse to do one more rep of one single exercise than is absolutely necessary to accomplish our goal of optimal health.  This being said, we realize nothing worth having comes easily.  Therefore we are committed to doing whatever is needed, however it is necessary, whenever it is required to accomplish our definition of Optimal Health. 

Our Definition of Fitness

This aspect of what we do also separates us from other health and fitness methods and programs.  Programs advocating your participation in activities which do not address ALL ten of the aspects of fitness outlined below are insufficient for developing optimal health.  They will ultimately take away from your health and fitness goals and pursuits. 

We believe your sustained physical health is the product of perfect balance of these 10 aspects of fitness: Created by Jim Crawley and Bruce Evans of Dynamax.

Cardiovascular Endurance
Stamina
Flexibility
Strength
Power
Speed
Agility
Coordination
Balance
Accuracy.

It is important to understand that EACH of the aspects outlined above are critically important to your health. Each has its own healthy benefits.  Many of these benefits do not transfer from one to another.  In other words, the healthy benefits you get from cardiovascular exercise cannot be attained by participating in classic strenth training alone.  Understand that participation in just ONE or perhaps TWO of these aspects does not help you gain acumen in the others.  This merits your specific participation in each, with deliberate focus and intention.  GPP programming is created to ensure your participation in each.  If you follow our programming, each week you will gain balanced (left to right, top to bottom, back to front) and measured increase in each of these important aspects of your health and fitness."

Sounds pretty amazing, right?  It is. :)  The community at GPP inspires me so much each and everyday.  I am continually amazed at the strength and determination of the people that come into GPP.  Because of the trainers and community at GPP I have decided to become a trainer/ fitness expert.  I am hoping to reach people through this blog, and give my insight along the way as I learn new things.