When I first became interested in lifting weights in 1966, the general public and the medical community knew little about it. Even though more information is available today, it is safe to say that the fitness industry has become a marketplace of misinformation.
My first job in the fitness business was at a local ‘health spa.’ The spa was complete with chrome dumbbells, treadmills, and special saunas. As an instructor, I was issued a white medical smock as a uniform and paid a commission for membership sales. I quickly learned that selling memberships and products was the driving force behind the fitness business and that if I wanted the truth about exercise, I would have to look elsewhere.
At that time, Nautilus Fitness Centers had begun sprouting up around the country, offering a scientific approach; unlike health clubs, Nautilus was based on the rational principles of biology and physics. In the early 1980s, I worked in a Nautilus Center in Binghamton, NY. There, I was taught to instruct a system of slow-movement strength training exercise. That experience became the foundation of my approach to exercise instruction, even though it ran counter to the beguiling atmosphere evolving in the fitness industry.
Unfortunately, the popularity of Nautilus Centers waned, and they became few and far between. The hard work and personal responsibility required by Nautilus’s philosophy gave way to the more marketable idea that more is better: do it and have fun. Exercise had come to mean everything from dancing to rock climbing.
Over the next 20 years, I worked for large chain fitness centers and personal training studios, which required relocating at times to Atlanta, Houston, and Northern Virginia. I instructed thousands of personal exercise sessions and gave numerous group presentations on proper exercise. However, as my views of exercise became more opposed to the activities promoted in typical health clubs, I became like a vegetarian working in a butcher shop.
The circus atmosphere of typical fitness centers led me to purchase MedX exercise devices to provide supervised exercise for clients from a studio in my home. In a short time, the number of clients grew, making it necessary to move to the current clinic location. I have created a private, distraction-free environment that aids in the concentration required to stimulate the body’s adaptive responses. Along the way, I have been helped by some brilliant people in the field of exercise today, and I continue to be an active student of this most proactive form of health care.
Essential exercise continues to be a dream come true for me. I am fortunate to work closely with people and watch the changes in their lives that result from our sessions.
I remain convinced that instead of determining how much exercise we can tolerate, it is best to find out how little training we require for the best results. I look forward to working one-on-one with everyone willing to embrace a rational approach to exercise.
Dennis Rogers
Essential Exercise, LLC