Motivation is a key ingredient in almost any successful venture you see in the world today. Whether it is in the business world or perhaps in the field of athletics, the proper motivation can help to put you over the top in the race to achieve your goals. If you think about it, nowhere is motivation a more important tool than in the world of weight loss and exercise. Without it, people find it hard to keep up with the regimen needed to achieve their goals and often times quit before reaching them. Many things can serve as motivation in this fight to slim down, but have you ever considered “Zombies”?
Well as looney as that sounds, it is exactly that which is used as motivation for people taking a fitness course in St. Charles, Illinois called “ZombieFit”. ZombieFit, which is the brainchild of a lawyer named Rich Gatz, touts itself as a fitness course designed to improve their chances of survival in the event of a zombie invasion. Seems like a perfectly natural thing to get ready for, especially around Halloween right? Well to some of the folks taking it, its no gag.
So what is to a course that teaches you how to survive a swarm of zombies? Well if you are familiar with the term, this course is built around the concepts of parkour, which is basically the practice of running, vaulting and climbing an obstacle course of structures found in an ordinary urban landscape. Sounds interesting enough but does its founder really believe that folks signing up believe in zombies? His response is “Nobody actually comes to class because they really believe in zombies, though if you're ready for the zombie apocalypse, you're ready for anything."
With that said, you might wonder if anyone actually signs up for the course. The answer would be an emphatic yes! Groups of anywhere from 5 to a dozen folks get together in this town and go through the ordeal of running, jumping, and climbing impediments that are made to be part of a city under the perilious hold of a zombie invasion! These folks will also have to endure strength and conditioning training because as we have seen in the movies, those zombies are complete with endurance and just keep on coming.
You might find yourself wondering where a concept such as this would spring up from. Was Gatz a former zombie freak, staying up late nights watching and studying their mannerisms? No, he had no particular affection for the lifeless creatures. The idea actually arose from a conversation he had with friends where one of the participants noted that they were in unstoppable shape that made them able to handle anything, even the dreaded zombie. Such is the way ideas come to life.
There are no actual zombies or zombie stand-ins, though Gatz says they are invoked for inspiration. A precision jump, for example, requires participants to land in an exact location, much as they would have to do if fleeing a zombie from rooftop to rooftop.
"You've got to land that, or the zombies are going to get you," Gatz tells students. So he went into business with a couple of associates and gave the concept a whirl. Since then it has taken off, almost to the point of being viral!
It all seems quite amusing and just crazy enough to be a fad that people can sink their teeth into, pardon the pun. However, you might wonder how St. Charles, Illinois became the breeding ground for such a concept? Well would you believe it actually has history? Back in 2008, there was an incident that is unsubstantiated by the police of course, that alleges a young woman was held up in an old farmhouse west of Illinois Highway 47 by a group of the undead who had her measured up for a tasty meal. The witness was a filmmaker making a movie called “Bled White," so take it for what its worth. However he did say that when he put out a casting call for zombies for the picture, most did hail from St. Charles. Oooh spooky!
Whether you find it utterly amusing or find it intriguing interesting, one thing is for sure. The concept sure is entertaining. It will be something to see whether the concept emerges into more than just an Illinois sized fad. However you have to give Gatz his due for coming up with a concept that gets people exercising as well as preparing them for dealing with the great beyond!