[A version of this post also appeared on SoCal Nutrition's Blog]
My name is Nick Capobianco, a fitness professional servicing the San Diego area. I train out of The New Breed Fitness Studio along with several other high quality trainers. What makes us quality trainers? We are REALLY REALLY good at what we do. We succeed in helping our clients transform their bodies -- men and women from as young as 17 to as old as 85 years old. More importantly -- we do it in a way that is healthy for the body, and in a way that doesn’t injure or otherwise inhibit clients in the long run. At our gym you will find clients training for weight loss, body-building, sports, martial arts, performance, health, and injury rehabilitation - and they ALL get what they came here for. We satisfy all dry land training across the board because we draw from as many backgrounds as possible, and have an approach to the human body that is based on a universally healthy movement perspective.
I’ll summarize my background. I was born with Scoliosis of the spine and my right leg was structurally twisted. I noticed so many kids around me had flexibility and ease of movement. I always felt weak and uncoordinated, I couldn’t even sit cross legged comfortably. For years I avoided ports and physical activity behind video games. In my late teens / early 20’s I did everything I could possibly do wrong in the gym. In my early adulthood I had substance abuse problems. Across that span of time I accumulated a shoulder injury (A/C joint separation), a knee problem, and a majorly screwed up lower back. There were some days where I felt pain in almost every one of my joints. I had tendonitis in more than 10 different areas. Around the age of 23 I had a wake up call in more ways than one, and since then have completely changed everything. I have no problem telling people that all of my greatest accomplishments came AFTER all of those things mentioned above. When I damaged my A/C joint bench pressing I couldn’t even do a pushup in Yoga for weeks, now I can do handstands effortlessly. When my knee was at its worst I was standing on one leg by the end of a day, in just a few years time I’m doing aerial circus arts and partner acrobatics. Every day I wake up I feel better and stronger than the previous day. I see so so many others around me that keep subtracting things from their life and losing abilities as time goes on while I continue to add things and evolve. I overcame many obstacles and transformed my body – and so can you. Let me show you how.
My continued progress and accomplishment comes from the simple notion that every single thing that hurt in my body was from my own doing – sad but true. It is the same for everyone. The way that my Yoga and Tai Chi instructors taught me inspired me to study corrective exercise and learn how to REALLY build the body. As I studied human movement more closely and observed all of the various things that myself and others did it was plain as day that all of these injuries that plague people on a regular basis ARE NOT a phenomena. Whether it’s the ankle, knee, elbow, shoulder, spine, or some other joint or tendon, and regardless of age – what is required is the right focus, and the right amount of work vs rehab to solve your problem. These are bold claims I am making, but the proof is in the pudding. Try my exercises out, follow what I have to say…and something will happen. You won’t just sweat or be ‘working out,’ you will be TRAINING. You won’t be “bodybuilding” you will be building a machine out of your body.
What is your alternative to learning from a good trainer and personally spending less than 30 minutes a day on your problem? It is going to take you weeks or months to get that MRI, even when you do it is just a picture. Your DR/PT DON’T have the answers because they don’t actually deal with these situations 1st hand, and every answer they give you could be looked up online in 5 minutes…. That surgery they say is the easy answer? Well, the medical definition of “success” is a loose one, and even under the best circumstances you still have to put the same time and work in if you want a fully functioning joint/appendage/body again.
So I think I have set the stage for my future writings here. This is where you will find rants and raves about everything you can do to both fix and enhance your own body, IF YOU REALLY BELIEVE IT. This isn’t going to be regimented workout plans. This isn’t going to be telling you what to do on what days of the week. This is for those that have a practice, a sport, a hobby, a purpose already. This is for those that are sick of all the bullshit from fitness professionals that are bad at their job. This is for those that have questions and want them answered well. I offer UNIVERSAL tips and tricks to enhance all body types and activities. I will divulge obscure techniques and stretches to optimize your time so that you are working smarter rather than harder. Stay tuned and follow me on Facebook – Nick Capobianco Nick@5ElementFitness.com. If you change your thinking you can transform your body, if you transform your body you free your mind.