Welcome to GPP!  

The stuff we do here works.  It is amazing.  If you have come here to change your body and your life, congratulations.  You chose well.  Know this:  If you apply our unique principles and methods you will see improvement in every aspect of your life.    

We value only what is healthy about the experience of daily activity and exercise.  Our point is YOUR point.  All we do here is help to make you a better version of yourself.  

Below is an explanation of many of our key points and philosophies.  HERE is a video that explains most of what is below.  


GPP stands for GENERAL PHYSICAL PREPAREDNESS!

It is our goal to GENERALLY PREPARE you PHYSICALLY to do two things: 

1.  Physically prepare you to reap all the physical benefits of life.  These benefits are assigned by you and we respect what you choose to pursue.  For our part, we'll make sure that you have function and capacity to do whatever you want.  Want to climb a mountain - we've got you.  Want to run a 10 k - we've got you.  Want to lift heavy things, play sports, grab a pick-up game of basketball, go skiing, have more endurance to be a parent, work hard, chase your kids, reduce stress, lose weight - we've got you.  By participating in our unique training protocol there should be NOTHING (in general) you aren't physically prepared to do - and do well.  This is our entire purpose.  And we are VERY good at it.  

2.  Physically, help you avoid all the pitfalls of life.  Life is hard.  Injury and disease lurk around every corner.  As you know (probably all too well) being physically drained and tired all of the time (even some of the time) can lead to even more injury and disease.  It is a never ending circle that can take away from you in many ways.  When you think about it, most of the top 10 killers of humans is related to our lifestyles.  Even more of the top 10 ailments we face (diabetes, heart disease, depression, lack of focus, etc.) is also related to our lifestyles.  It is clear that with one of our simple (notice I didn't say easy), yet focused 30 minute (on average) workouts per day, most of this can be prevented.  Much of what ails you, or is going to ail you can be prevented with our unique training practices.  

GPP is about getting you healthy.  Period.  

We believe the only worthy reason to exercise and eat right is so that we can lead richer, fuller lives.  Lives not limited by capacity and/or self-induced disease.  

At GPP we realize that health isn't about who the fittest person in the world is.  It isn't about who can lift the most weight, run the fastest, or obtain the highest work capacity imaginable.  These things have no meaning.  They serve no purpose. 

Instead, get your workout in and go home.  Go be a human.  Do things that interest/edify you.  Contribute to your family, your community and/or society.  

Staying at the gym and pounding out more workouts, so that tomorrow you'll have more capacity to perform even more working out, so that then, you will be able to do yet ANOTHER even more difficult workout, only serves the workout.  It can also become a black hole of intention, focus and purpose.  This black hole is filled with everything which is opposite of health.

At GPP we do NOT serve our workouts (read, "the Demotion of Exercise).  For we realize it is our workout's job to serve us.  We would much rather put energy into activities which are less based on self and more focused on what is truly important. 

Our Goal

To help you achieve OPTIMAL HEALTH.  Optimal Health encompasses all objectives of healthy living.  These may range from: having more energy, to losing weight, to becoming fit, to participating in sport, to conquering disease.  Our definition of Health is truly groundbreaking in this industry.  Few others even address it, let alone have a working definition of it, or programming intended for its achievement.  

Optimal Health is only acquired by gaining perfect balance of the six aspects of health.  These are:

Mental Health
Emotional Health
Social Health
Spiritual Health
Financial Health 
Physical Health

What most fitness programs do not address (much less understand) is that for one to be healthy, truly healthy, you must strive for balance within these.  Too much, or too little of any one, or of several combinations of these aspects will leave you miserable and wanting.  In other words, chasing perfection in fitness (or any of the other aspects of health) generally takes from other aspects.  This leaves you unhealthy over-all.  Some of the least healthy people we know have perfect six-packs and incredible work capacity.  Yet, their work lives, home lives, and spiritual lives suffer greatly.  By the same regards.  One who does not have adequate fitness cannot be healthy either.  Remember - BALANCE.  

Here at GPP, our entire program is created with intention to transfer health within the physical realm to other aspects of health.  Physical health is magic that way.  Mastering your Physical Health opens the conduit to balancing the other 5 aspects of health.  The skills you develop while creating health in the Physical transfers to all other aspects.  You know this instinctively.  It is why you seek out mastery of the Physical.


Our Mandate

Efficiency and Effectiveness

We are minimalists.  We refuse to do one more rep of one single exercise than is absolutely necessary to accomplish our goal of optimal health.  This being said, we realize nothing worth having comes easily.  Therefore we are committed to doing whatever is needed, however it is necessary, whenever it is required to accomplish our definition of Optimal Health. 


Our Approach to Fitness

This aspect of what we do also separates us from other health and fitness methods and programs.  Our programming, facilities and community are based on our landmark definition of "Optimal Health."  It is our purpose to generally prepare one physically to meet all the demands of daily life.  Our training protocol is broad, general and inclusive of ALL exercise techniques, standards and protocols.  We are constrained only by efficiency and effectiveness.  

We recommend 5 days of balanced GPP programming per week.  Our programming runs concurrently on a M-F basis.  Those who skip too many days may be skipping valuable components of physical health.  Over time (if they do this regularly) they may become imbalanced, weak and/or injured.  

GPP's First Principle of Fitness

- We program on a PUSH/PULL/SQUAT/CORE methodology.  

GPP's Second Principle of Fitness

We believe your sustained physical health is the product of perfect balance of these 10 aspects of fitness - Created by Jim Crawley and Bruce Evans of Dynamax.

Cardiovascular Endurance
Stamina
Flexibility
Strength
Power
Speed
Agility
Coordination
Balance
Accuracy.

It is important to understand that EACH of the aspects outlined above are critically important to your health. Each has its own healthy benefits.  Many of these benefits do not transfer from one to another.  In other words, the healthy benefits you get from cardiovascular exercise cannot be attained by participating in classic strenth training alone.  Understand that participation in just ONE or perhaps TWO of these aspects does not help you gain acumen in the others.  This merits your specific participation in each, with deliberate focus and intention.  GPP programming is created to ensure your participation in each.  If you follow our programming, each week you will gain balanced (left to right, top to bottom, back to front) and measured increase in each of these important aspects of your health and fitness. 

Programs advocating your participation in activities which do not address ALL ten of the aspects of fitness outlined below are insufficient for developing optimal health.  They will ultimately take away from your health and fitness goals and pursuits. 

GPP's Third Principle of Fitness

Each of our Principles of Fitness are based on scientific understanding of the 3 metabolic pathways which provide energy to the human body.  It is impossible to completely understand PUSH/PULL/SQUAT/CORE and the 10 Aspects of Fitness until you first learn how the body fuels itself, recovers and adapts to physical exertion.  

Considerations for the 3 Human Bioenergetic Metabolic Pathways:

1 - ATP - PCr

  • - Explosive!  
    - Lasts 6-10 sec.
    - Recovers from a set in 2-5 min.
    - MUST train every 28 days in conjunction with comprehensive GPP.
    - May train weekly
    - Generally requires 4-10 days recovery.

2 - Glycolytic

  • - Lasts 30-120 sec.
    - Recovers from set in 30-240 sec.
    - Must train within 14 days.
    - Best if trained bi & tri weekly @ lower intensity as with GPP 20 r sets.
    - May train daily (with caution).
    - Generally requires 24 hrs - 72 hrs for full recovery.

3 - Oxitative

  • - Theoretically ongoing (sleep?)
    - Requires fuel, hydration, electrolytes, heat dissipation, sleep?
    - Must train within 7 days.
    - May train daily.
    - With proper consideration you may train several times daily.

Our Nutrition Recommendation

“Optimal Health” carries with it the expectation of proper nutrition.  It is unreasonable to assume you can be healthy and/or fit without providing proper fuel for the body.   Nutrition plays a critical role in your health.  

We have learned that there is no ONE nutritional program that will serve us all equally.  Instead, we've adopted the concept of eating a diet designed for your specific genetic make-up.  We call this "Intuitional Eating." 

we do not follow ANY specific nutritional model (i.e. USRDA, Medifast, Weight Watchers, Paleo, Volumetrics, Atkins, Mediterranean, etc.,).  Yet, we promote them all.  We have known many who've thrived on all of these, and more.  We are not limited by a singular understanding of nutrition and its effects on individuals.  Think about it.  If aspirin (a chemical we eat) can heal one person, yet kill another, why wouldn't foods (chemicals we eat) have the same potent differences?    

Instead of looking for reasons a diet wouldn't work for you.  We look for reasons it might work.  We show you ways of trying one on for a few weeks (longer, or shorter maybe).  Of making observations, measurements and tweaks before deciding whether, or not it is working.  For more info, healthy diets & meal plans click HERE.  

Our "Open Source" Approach

GPP is to remain FREE for all to use.  It is our greatest wish to serve all who enter here.  Our methods and concepts have helped thousands redefine and obtain their healthy objectives.  This has happened on a level and scale which is unprecedented.  We realize where this comes from.  There is only one Master Trainer.  We strive to channel his works.      

We ask only that you contribute to this methodology.  We need your thoughts, your ideas and your excellence.  We need you to play a role in this community which will serve to improve our ways and our community.   

Thank you in advance for this.  We are excited to access a new, more effective and efficient methods through all of our combined excellence of contribution.