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QUESTION; How did
you end up in the fitness business?
ANSWER; Steve
Elbogen I’ve always been highly active, but when I was 18 or 19, I started
leading the conditioning class where I was studying Martial Arts. Then as I
entered the corporate world, I got people to work out with me at lunchtime. In
the late 80’s I decided to make it my vocation.
INTERVIEWER;
Did that success come easy?
Steve
Elbogen.; (Laughter) I’ll
let you know. It’s very tough to become successful in the fitness business.
Survival is more the norm. To the vast majority it is a luxury rather than a
necessity, therefore, they are in and out. In the personal training business,
which has always been my mainstay, it is a constant struggle to replace the
clients that drop out. The excuses for it are endless, but I have always been
able to work around every one of them, to the level of an art form. The most
common excuse of all, of course, is ‘time’. Everyone uses it, but I’ve figured
that one out as well.
INTERVIEWER; Can you elaborate on
that?
Steve Elbogen;
Since that was the biggest obstacle of all, I’ve dedicated the bulk of my career
towards the concept of maintaining the ‘highest level of fitness, in the least
amount of time’. I’ve developed proven methods for beginners to elite athletes.
The training principles are very similar, only the intensity and duration
change. The key is high intensity, short duration. The harder you can train, the
less you have to do. I’ve endured endless research, combined with practical
application in the development of these methods. Believe it or not, the more
basic, the more beneficial. The greatest obstacle for me was figuring out a way
to make it all workable for the masses. That’s where the FlowBar came from.
INTERVIEWER; Everyone claims ‘proven
methods’, can you quantify that?
Very good point. If all of these questionable programs and products are so
proven, everyone would look great and be in shape. Clearly, not so.
First and foremost, I
had to apply these methods myself, through, as I mentioned, practical
application, and make it work for me. I’m not any different from most people,
that is, I don’t want to spend a lot of time exercising. I spend less time
working out than any regular exerciser I know, yet am more fit than any of them.
How do I know that? Because the ‘real’ proof can only come from true
competition. There is no other way to test for pure effectiveness than to
compete against others and their methods of acquiring fitness.
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Steve Elbogen;
As my focus has been
‘complete, all around fitness’, not just strength or cardio specialization, that
competition is hard to come by for an average Joe like myself. The Decathlon is
the most common choice for competition to prove all around fitness. However,
once in a while there are some obscure events to challenge an all around
athlete. I have found three so far. My interest in them is only to prove my
methods, not necessarily to win. Although that’s always fun too. These events
are designed to test
Strength, Endurance,
Speed, Quickness, Agility and Coordination. And believe me, they do. Typically
they begin with four compound strength moves, on to an obstacle course, and
finish with a run, all in rapid succession and only a few minutes between
events. This truly puts ‘muscular endurance’ to the test. I didn’t find these
events until my early 40’s, and finished my last one thus far in my late 40’s,
I’ve won them all, against extremely fit athletes half my age.
INTERVIEWER;
Pretty impressive. Are you really telling me that you can out perform guys in
their 20’s and 30’s?
Steve Elbogen;
Consistently. They don’t take it well.
INTERVIEWER; And that proves what?
Steve Elbogen;
It proves I have found a way to get ‘ultra-fit’ with a very small time
expenditure. That excuse it out the window. It also proves that I found a way to
bring the ability for any person to get highly fit with the FlowBar. An
investment as small as 6 to 10 minutes, 3 to 5 times per week, will yield a very
high level of fitness. It’s proven.
INTERVIEWER; Can you share some of
those training principles with us?
Steve Elbogen;
If you look to some of the strongest people we know, you’ll find they don’t lift
weights like most people traditionally do in the gym. Gymnast’s use their own
body weight and gravity to gain all that strength. By using compound movements
(many muscle groups at once) you’ll find you only need to do 4 or 5 different
exercises. It’s not easy in the beginning, but clearly more effective in the
end. Pull-ups, push-ups, dips, rows, and squats work your entire body. However,
it is very difficult for most people to do the pull-ups and dips. That’s what is
so beneficial about the FlowBar, it allows anyone the ability to strengthen
those muscle groups.
Getting ‘ultra-fit’
requires consistent intensity. But just getting fit and staying fit only
requires being consistently moderate. Adding intensity is as simple as doing
longer sets to failure, and moving faster rather than farther. Combing strength
and cardio at the same time is hugely effective, and accounts for some of my
greatest gains. Consistent application is the guaranteed road to success. Sounds
simple, because it is. I’ve proven it. Just remember ‘it is better to be
consistently moderate, than moderately consistent’.
INTERVIEWER;
Mr. Elbogen it was a pleasure interviewing
you I am very impressed with your knowledge and experience in the fitness realm
and can see that you are helping many in our community achieve their fitness
goals.
In our next interview
Steve Elbogen will share
with us how his children maintain an excellent fitness status.
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