Published
September 30, 2003 A workout program for the whole body Aristotle once wrote that the whole is more than the sum
of its parts. The same might be said of the principles behind ProBodX,
a new conditioning program. We should train the entire body because its
parts work in sync with each other, not in a vacuum, said Marv Marinovich,
a California sports conditioning specialist, who created ProBodX (for
proper body exercise). Marinovich, best known as a former conditioning
coach for the Oakland Raiders, had been developing the elements of his
program for several years in private practice in Orange County and applying
them on amateur and professional athletes such as Jason The book and the program are featured in the October Men's Journal."ProBodX is at the tip of the wave," said Hank DeGroat, a certified strength and conditioning specialist at Boston Sports Club in Waltham, Mass."It's the beginning of the fully integrated approach to fitness, health and wellness," he said. "The program addresses in coherent fashion the shortcomings of the different exercise protocols out there and looks at the imbalances that result."So what are we doing improperly, in Marinovich's view? Most classic fitness regimens fall short of harnessing our best athletic potential, he said. For example, strength training calls for us to use exercises to isolate specific body parts. When we work the upper body, we typically will divide our exercises in categories such as for chest, back, shoulders and arms. What's more, some of us make the mistake of lifting weights that are too heavy for us, resulting in large muscles and bulk that compromise how we move, Marinovich said. "People overtrain certain muscles and that puts off their balance," he said.We usually separate flexibility exercises from those for power and core training (stabilizing the muscles of the trunk), when combining these is not only possible but maybe more beneficial, Marinovich said.Because of limited time for exercise, training on the other components of fitness -- balance, hand-eye coordination, speed and agility -- falls by the wayside. In ProBodX, these are integrated into the workouts for strength and flexibility, he said. ProBodX equipment borrows from physical therapy. Most are objects that provide instability and allow us to work on various planes: an inflated exercise ball; a slant board -- a wooden or metal board that can be set at various degrees of incline; two balance disks and two poles, and two plastic pipes. For strength training, exercisers use a pair of hollow weights -- empty plastic so-called smart bells that look like a cross between a cow's udders and a teapot and can be filled with water to the desired weight. Some exercises are done by balancing on the disks and holding on to the poles, others while balancing on the pipes, standing on the slant board, or lying down or seated on the ball as we hold the bells in our hands or feet.The movements crib from physical therapy, Pilates and yoga.The sequential exercises are done with bare hands and feet in a repetitive fashion until we're no longer able to maintain correct form. We don't have to aim for a specific number of repetitions. Once the exercise becomes easy, we challenge our body by increasing resistance, rapidity of movement, range of motion or stability.The program does not include cardiovascular conditioning, but offers tips on training for speed and endurance for runners and those who exercise on a rowing machine. Rese McNatt, 24, says the regimen boosted her game as a varsity volleyball player at Southwest Missouri State University. Marinovich trained McNatt for two years beginning in 2000 during the summer and Christmas holidays. "It's totally different from college athletic training," said McNatt of Fullerton. "It's nothing like I've done before."McNatt would train intermittently for about four hours every morning at Sports Lab, Marinovich's facility in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. "Even my toes would feel that they got a workout," she said.While amateur and pro athletes who have trained with Marinovich praise the regimen, it's too early to tell whether recreational athletes and exercise enthusiasts who follow the program only through the book will benefit. One shortcoming is that there are no published studies that show that the regimen is safe and effective. Still, DeGroat says ProBodX has value. "It's a very
well-put-together program," he said. "What it does is teach
the body to play like a symphony, not as a bunch of sections."Some
highly experienced fitness enthusiasts may be able to do the exercises
quickly and properly after reading about them, he said. But others will
need guidance. DeGroat suggested getting help: Read it, take it to a personal
fitness trainer or a
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