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I had an chance to interview Scott Schmaltz of Precision Fitness. Scott has had the prespective of learning with some of the best Physical Therapists and Rehabilitation Experts from the National Institute of Health Science. Scott has been trained in nutrition through the Apex Institute. And he has also been educated by some of the best trainers from National Academy of Sports Medicine and Gold’s Gym. I am here to talk to him about how a training program can benenfit your Martial Arts and your physical health.

Interviewed August 2005

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Rudy: In your perspective why is diet and nutrition important?

Scott: Diet is the most important thing for a Martial Arts training program. It doesn’t matter whether you are an intense athlete or looking to feel better. You need to be giving your body the right nutrition. Most everyone understands this, but most people don’t understand what foods are appropriate. Or how many calories are appropriate for their bodies needs. There are also needs to be the right balance of Macro Nutrients. This will keep the body running effectively.

Rudy: In your opinion why are vitamin supplements important?

Scott: With the way that our food is produced these days and our lifestyle it makes it tough for someone to get all the nutrients that you need. When someone is active they are rapidly burning nutrients and being exposed to free radicals. Which forces you to be in a nutritional deficit. So instead of eating absurd amounts of food and hope that you are getting what your body needs, you can take a Multi-Vitamin. Which is also recommended by the American Medical Association.

Rudy: There is a moving trend in the Health Industry towards Functional Based Training. Can you briefly explain what that is?

Scott: Functional training is based on moving away from linear based equipment like a bench press. It not only increases the amount muscle gain you can have, but you also balances out your muscle growth in the strength curve. This will also lead to a better sense of balance and proprieception.

Rudy: Why is posture so important to your health?

Scott: Because depending on your lifestyle and activities, your muscles will have varying degrees of tension. This will contort your skeletal system and place pressure on your Central Nervous System. Which will interfere your bodies ability to perform.

Rudy: How do you correct this?

Scott: You can fix these deviations through the correct exercises and with the proper stretchs. The stretchs that you can do either alleviate the situation or make it worse. Especially if they aren’t geared toward your lifestyle or activites.

Rudy: What is the theory behind Plyometrics and how can it help it Sports Performance?

Scott: Plyometrics has been used for a long time to increase the speed, strength, and endurance of an athlete. There are two phases in a muscle contraction. There is the the shortening phase and lengthening phase. A person is naturally stronger during their lengthening or return phase, but the energy required to lengthen the muscle is lost as heat. Thus a reasonably health individual can undergo conditioning to develop more explosive motion and power in a muscle contraction. An individual would go through a training regiment that involves storing energy in the shortnening phase and then a rapid release in the return phase. Done over a period of time the muscle develops the memory to have the explosive power outside of the training program. However this style of exercise should only be done under the supervision of a trained specialist.

Rudy: Well everything that you have said sounds good, but how can all of this be benefical to a Martial Artist?

Scott: Thank you. That is probably the best question you could have asked. Because these factors are all individually important. Especially having the right diet and nutrition for your bodies needs. But you won’t have long-term success by only having one or two of these components working for you. You need to have a trained professional who can help you correctly put these components together. That is until you have enough education to start doing this for yourself.

This will allow your body to start running efficiently throughout your life, and it will definitely enhance your skills as a Martial Artist. You will have more speed, endurance, and strength. There is too much to say on this topic, but this should give you a different perspective on how to enhance what you are doing for your health and Martial Arts training.

Rudy: Well I want to thank you for your time today, Scott. If someone had questions how can they get more information?

Scott: I would be happy to answers questions someone may have at ( 877-675-3703 ). Have a great day, Rudy.