Unbreakable Fitness offers unconventional workout
An old-time strongman who has honed his strength and skill bending steel and iron is bringing some of that toughness to a new fitness center that offers people a workout unlike any other they've probably experienced before.
Adam Glass, a staff sergeant at Minot Air Force Base who is trained in the art of bending metal items such as large nails and horseshoes, opened Unbreakable Fitness this past September. The gym is located at 101 S. Main St. in the back of Moore's Shou Shu Karate.
With no treadmills or stationary bikes in sight, the backbone of the fitness regimen Glass offers are kettle bells, which consist of a round weight attached to a handle.
"Actually, it's a very old system. The Europeans have been doing it for 300 years, and it used to be quite popular in the United States up until the 1930s," Glass said. "There was a time when you could find these in many of the fitness clubs around the country."
Glass said that as some of the strength sports took off and bodybuilding became more of the norm, kettle bell training started to dissolve, only coming back into favor the past eight years. The reason kettle bell training is so effective is that the muscle groups it targets are typically difficult to develop with more traditional exercises, according to Glass.
"The shape of the weight allows you to work some qualities of strength and endurance that are typically hard to get. The weight is off-center, which means all your stabilizing muscles have to work harder to hold your balance," he said. "The average man can pick up a 40 pound dumbbell and press it fairly easily, but they would find a 40 pound kettle bell significantly harder. So pound for pound, it's always harder to lift."
While the kettle bell is more difficult to lift, Glass said it's actually safer to use for quick lifts where you're lifting it over and over in a short amount of time because it can be moved in a way that allows you to deload it using your hips, which are the strongest muscles in the body.
The exercises kettle bells are used for can be quite different than those dumbbells are typically used in. Glass noted a client at the gym who was doing a clean and press exercise that involves swinging a kettle bell between the legs as something that would not be easy or safe to do with a dumbbell.
"If he was using a dumbbell he could not comfortable swing it between his legs. So he gets the benefit of working his hamstrings and his butt every time he throws it back," Glass said. "You couldn't deload with a dumbbell that way. It'd tear your arm off."
The versatility of kettle bells is another advantage they have over more traditional dumbbells, Glass said.
"It really does give you an advantage in that it allows you to do things that would be either completely unsafe or even impossible with maybe a dumbbell," Glass said. "There's nothing you cannot do with a kettle bell that you can with a dumbbell, but it doesn't work the other way around."
Another thing that keeps kettle bell exercises fresh is the fact that they are continuously being modified to make them slightly more difficult from week to week as a person gets stronger and more proficient.
"Over time that skill becomes more and more complex, and that means the body is continuously performing at higher levels, but it's the same weight," Glass said.
Besides the kettle bells, Glass offers more unconventional training equipment such as sledgehammers and weighted clubs, while also having standard stuff like dumbbells and barbells.
Something new that Glass will be offering is a combination program that involves Moore's Shou Shu Karate. The program will be held four days a week and combine kettle bell and barbell training with martial arts and body weight-type exercises. Glass calls it a kind of fitness boot camp, and said it should be a lot of fun.
He's also excited about moving to a new location just down the street next month that will offer much more space.
Glass screens each client before accepting them into the gym. He said this isn't meant to be exclusionary by any means, but he has a limited amount of time and wants to make sure all of his clients are serious about getting fit and won't drop out after a month or two.
The screening process also allows Glass to get to know clients and tailor a specific training program for their individual needs. Glass also offers a free class for anyone who wants to try it out.
"Another big advantage is that I work with every person who's here on a one-on-one basis, both for their exercise technique and for their program design," he said. "I won't have anyone in this room exercising using dangerous technique or poor form or anything that's going to get them hurt."
The gym is open Monday through Friday from 6 p.m. until 9:30 or 10 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday the hours are flexible, so just give him a call. Glass can be reached at 340-8790, or by e-mail at adamtglass@yahoo.com. He also has a Web site at (unbreakablefitnessinc.blogspot.com).
Glass said it's a great feeling helping his clients achieve their goals, especially goals they think are impossible when they first start out. That's the real reason he loves coming to the gym every night, even after a full day of work at Minot AFB.
"At the point I'm at now, I get more satisfaction when I see someone who I'm training get the next jump in the weight or hit the next goal they had than it does my own training," Glass said. "Even when I do things that I've been dreaming about for years now."
Source - minotdailynews.com
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