M
ark Lyndsell came to the Philippines in
2009, around the same time tropical storm
Ondoy inundated most of Metro Manila, and met his
personal fitness coach, Jonnel Cruz, later that year.
He was struggling to get a work-life balance since
being CEO at Transcom, a BPO company, his work
demands extended hours and a lot of focus. He would
start work from three in the afternoon till seven in the
morning. Not long after, he got really sick.
Although back in the UK, Mark was already into
some fitness regimen such as Chinese Kickboxing
and swimming, these activities were not actually
integrated into his lifestyle as they tend to be quite
specific. It all changed when he met Coach Jonnel.
Mark recalls, “He introduced fitness programs which
actually had a purpose, fully-integrated, which meant
that they didn’t just have the benefit of— from an
aesthetic point of view— improving the way I look,
and reducing my waistline,” he adds, “it actually had
the added benefit of ensuring that I have more energy,
better flexibility, and I was generally more able to go
through my normal daily activities productively.”
2016 Vol 1 Issue 2
Coach Jonnel is especially proud of Mark because
no matter how tired or fatigued he might be, he still
goes to train. Over the years, they have maintained
a level of focus and commitment to each other, and
stayed true to their values.
Functional Training is not something you can do
by watching YouTube tutorials. Mark warns, “A little
bit of knowledge can be powerful, but if applied the
wrong way, it can be quite dangerous. A few points
to keep in mind is ensuring you have good posture,
good core control, and as a consequence, you avoid
injuries— because the last thing you want while
living a fit and healthy lifestyle— is to get injured.
So when people copy training routines on YouTube,
they actually don’t have the right technique, plus it
won’t be properly integrated, thereby showing no
improvement— because it isn’t scientific.
“The best way to do Functional Training right, is
seek guidance from a professional trainer. They’d
be able to do proper assessment of your physique,
metabolism, muscular structure— and be able then to
tailor routines which are effective for their body type.”
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