Gary Liguori, PhD, is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Department Head of Health and Human Performance at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.  He oversees a department with 19 faculty across a broad array of fitness and health areas.

“The four elements of fitness are critical for anyone in terms of overall wellbeing.  The number one reason is chronic disease prevention.  Aerobic fitness enables the heart and lungs to work at their optimum level.  Regardless of the task or person there is an equal emphasis to be fit from a muscular standpoint.  For an elderly person it might mean getting out of a chair.  The core provides whole-body stability, helps improve sport performance, and helps prevent injury.  Flexibility enables us to perform at peak ability through a full range of motion and decreases injury risk.  Balance ties in all of the other components.”

In order to gain insights from a fitness trainer’s perspective, we asked Tonya Martin, CI, CPT, to develop a specialized workout utilizing ACTIONFIT equipment for her weekly boot camp class. Tonya’s clients span multiple fitness levels, ages, and skills.

“Outdoor fitness gives you more than an indoor gym. Exercising outdoors increases serotonin levels and introduces Vitamin D into your system, boosting overall mood and well-being. Using the different exercise modifications for each station allows me to adjust my class members to their individual fitness level.”