The Collective Power philosophy created and implemented at the Monkey Bar Gymnasium is more than an alternative to established health and fitness industry methods - it’s a huge improvement.
Collective Power combines three practices: 1) Performing exercises that require all muscles to work together 2) Working with other students to get and give feedback and inspiration 3) Combining traditional, proven exercises and modern advances to improve strength. How does it work?
1) Your muscles are strengthened collectively
From the beginning of time, our body’s muscles have worked together to do our daily tasks. From chopping wood to pitching hay, just about every activity requires us to use more than one muscle at a time. At the Monkey Bar Gymnasium, we use these same principles in selecting our training regime. Our training builds a strong, lean and healthy body. It also decreases injuries, because your body is learning to work in unison.
2) Students work together
Just as muscles work together, human beings – as social animals – are meant to cooperate. In class, you work out with every other participant. And in many instances, you will be paired with another, often one with a different level of fitness than yours. Regardless, she or he will support, encourage and push you beyond the words “I can’t.” You become a workout partner in turn, helping your classmates achieve their goals.
Watching your partner push through their perceived barriers is one of the most inspiring aspects of this training. Using this positive peer pressure, your strength and fitness can improve by 30 percent compared to the results you would have achieved if you had worked out alone.
3) The gymnasium’s exercises are pulled from a rich “history” of exercise
Students use no weights or equipment, which is why the Monkey Bar Gymnasium looks more like a turn-of-the-century gymnasium than a traditional health club. Before the advent of machines, people exercised their whole bodies with the same simple movements we use, like squatting, lunging, hand stands, chin ups, and more. Collective power unites the wisdom of our ancestors and modern advances.
Ready to give Functional Training a try? If you live in Madison, call us at 608.663.7511 to schedule a free class.
If you live anywhere else in the world, join the Monkey Bar Gym Online Global Community.