New Functional Fitness Boot Camp Hits Grafton WI
originally printed in the News Graphic / by: Jim Cranes
Being ripped, big and full of muscles doesn’t necessarily translate to being in good shape.
Luke Summerfield and his partner Perry Wirth own and operate Neutral Ground Martial Arts & Fitness. They have a location in Milwaukee and a second facility in Grafton which has been open for over three and a half years.
Until about eight months ago, he and Wirth had focused primarily on martial arts. Neutral Ground Martial Arts & Fitness has been offering Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Kids and other martial arts for years, but over the past few months the studio has evolved and put a great emphasis on a new and unique program, ‘functional Fitness.’
“All of our workouts replicate movements done in everyday life,” Summerfield explained. “The concept of using a machine at a traditional gyms is old-school thinking. For example, when doing bicep curls, I’m isolating one muscle, in one direction. This isn’t practical for life. Think about it, when you do everyday things, you don’t isolate only my biceps, you use your entire body engaging multiple muscles in multiple plains of directions. ”
Most of us have an image of ‘working out,’ which includes weights, treadmills, Spinning, televisions and StairMasters. While all of that is fine and gives you a sweat, you may not be optimizing your workout. According to Summerfield, the bench press is all about trying to make you look big and he said it’s one of the least productive exercises. “There are no daily movements which you use the bench press motion, it’s all about boosting the ego. The current health industry is based in ego and appearance, not health & Fitness. It’s filled with useless supplements and driven by money. But there is a movement starting for change.”
You can think of functional Fitness as an underground movement to discover Fitness for what it really can be.
Summerfield became aware of a trainer named John Hinds, who is originally from Madison. Hinds has a national reputation with functional Fitness.
“He works with a number of NBA stars and NCAA players,’ Summerfield said. He has a gym in Madison and recently opened another in Chicago.”
To get up to speed, Summerfield and Wirth attended a rigorous functional Fitness certification program in Madison. “We worked ten hours a day, seven days a week,” Summerfield said. “There were students from Australia, Canada and Hawaii. Trainers worldwide are seeing the value of this type of training.”
Functional Fitness is a relatively new approach to health and well-being and extremely new in the Midwest. It’s slowly filtering into this area. “On the east and west coast it’s blowing up in popularity,” Summerfield said. “People are discovering how their body can truly perform at its peak. One of the key reasons for its popularity is gains are seen by the clients.”
One of Neutral Ground Martial Arts & Fitness’s basic principles is to ‘leave your ego at the door.’ “We do a lot of jumping, crawling, climbing, running and yoga” he said. “The exercises are the fundamentals of human movement and almost resemble monkeys at the zoo!”
He said in this day and age, adults are as active as kids and the functional Fitness is all about having fun like kids do. “People are having a blast.” Summerfield said as you move up in skill level, each progression gets harder by increasing the range of motion, resistance or making the exercise less stable.
Summerfield said it’s a progression-based workout where beginners can work alongside professional athletes; side-by-side but at very different progression levels. All classes are group classes, which helps create a positive and supportive social atmosphere.
“The cool thing is we have guys that are 21 and in great shape and they’re working out next to a 65 year old guy who is just starting out.”
He goes on to explain, “Group classes are a good way to become motivated. Everyone is encouraging each other. We want people to train at a level they are supposed to be, not where they think they should be.”
In their functional Fitness regime Neutral Ground Martial Arts & Fitness utilizes Eischens Yoga, which is a unique form of high-energy yoga, and is influenced by other styles like Taoist Yoga. It’s accessible to all body types and Fitness levels because it focuses more on movement.
“The thing that makes Eischens unique is partner feedback,” Summerfield said. “We have one or two other partners pushing certain parts of the body to intensify the yoga pose, building good technique.” Summerfield said Eischens yoga helps recover the body, build stability and can help correct some of the body’s imbalances.
Functional Fitness has proven to be beneficial for kids in football and other sports. “The Cedarburg wrestling team trained at the facility during the off-season,” Summerfield said. “Half the time was spent for wrestling practice, the second half was training functional Fitness at our facility.”
You might think someone involved in and co-owns a Fitness center was a jock, or at least physically inclined from way back. Not so. Perry Wirth and Summerfield are both 24 years old and went to high school together and knew each other long before theat. “I was one of the least active students in high school,” Summerfield said. “I was on the debate team and wasn’t involved in any sports.”
In college he started Brazilian Jiu Jitsu as a hobby. He was exposed to functional Fitness a couple of years ago and it had an immediate impact on his philosophy. “I thought this is good stuff. I want to share this with other people.”
Wirth and Summerfield chose the Grafton location because they found the perfect building with ceilings that are thirteen feet high and 2,000 square feet of studio space.
If you’re on the fence and thinking about getting more active, the gym offers a seven-day free pass. “The hardest part is getting in the door to see what it’s about. You have to try it once,” Summerfield said. “That’s the reason we offer a free week.”
On September 17th they’re offering a free three hour functional Fitness seminar and on September 25th they offer the thirty day EvolveFit Fitness Challenge, which will jump start your health and Fitness with a possibility of winning a free six month membership. “I’m planning on limiting the challenge to only 20-25 people and spots will fill up quick,” Summerfield said.
For more information on classes, upcoming events or to get your free seven-day pass, you can visit Neutral Ground Martial Arts & Fitness at http://WisconsinBJJ.com
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