In my Jan. 5 column, I recommended that we take up a resolution to gain a better understanding of our bodies and why we work out the way we do.

We used jogging as an example: Folks often jog as a means of getting in better shape.

And jogging is fine in some respects.

But how often do we actually use the muscles needed to jog in the manner we use them when we jog?

Hardly ever.

We jog because we look around and see other people doing it. We're a copycat society.

There are 50 treadmills at the gym, and everybody is jogging and sweating on them. We must do the same! Assimilate into the collective!

Don't shake your head at the Trekkie reference. The majority of us do assimilate because the majority of us haven't stopped to look at three things:

Measurable goals

We're too arbitrary about our goals. We want to "tone up." We want to "feel better." We want to "lose weight."

What is toning? Feeling better? And do we really need to lose weight? Or do we need to drop body fat? These aren't specific enough for most of us to find the correct workout program.

Dropping sizes, losing inches, decreasing and increasing times, percentages lost and gained - those are accurate measurements. You're a Size 14 and want to be a Size 10 - that's specific, concrete. Either you can comfortably get in those jeans or you can't. It's not subjective. You're at 25 percent body fat. You want 20 percent.

Again, be specific. It makes for a less bumpy road to better fitness.

Some of us don't like numbers or keeping track of progress. Nobody is saying we have to be accountants. But we need to get over this aversion to counting calories and grams until there is a better way to understand our bodies.

Strengths and weaknesses

Why is our right leg stronger than our left? We can fully extend our left shoulder while doing an overhead pressing motion. But our right shoulder hardly moves beyond parallel to the floor. Why?

How can we determine the best method of reaching our goals if we don't know where our bodies are right now?

Next week we'll talk about the Functional Movement Screen and the Selective Functional Movement Assessment, which are tests that give us the power of understanding how our bodies move.

Checks and balances

Is the fitness program set up in a way that can be tested so we know that what we want to do is what we're actually doing? For instance, we want to get a stronger left gluteus medius. We do squats, front squats, lunges, step-ups and deadlifts. How do we know we're hitting the gluteus medius and not just working the gluteus maximus to death?

If our programs don't have measurable goals, if we don't understand our strengths and weaknesses and we don't have checks and balances, it will be difficult to break away from the collective.

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Bryant is a former Gazette reporter now living in San Diego. He holds training certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association, USA Weightlifting and the Titleist Performance Institute. Reach him through the "contact" link at www.nobullfit.com.