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Summary and Available Quotes

The following summary description of Fitter International, and quotes from our President are for use by the media in publications. Please notify us of any intended usage. If you wish to arrange an interview, please contact us at media@fitter1.com.

Summary of Fitter International Inc.:

Founded in 1985, Fitter International Inc. designs and distributes fitness products focused on improving the functional elements of balance, coordination, motor skills and overall body awareness.

Fitter reaches its customers through catalogs, the internet, retailers, media and corporate accounts. Fitter offers its customers a wide range of products to help them achieve their fitness goals.

Available Quotes from President, Louis Stack

ON FITTER FIRST:
"Functional fitness would be, in the simplest terms, a level of fitness that has a high carry-over to the sports or activities you like to do."

"My goal was to build a company based on the same principles on which I was raised and those I use to raise my family: integrity, commitment, hard work, value and a desire to help others."

"My vision was to offer a unique mix of quality products that would afford people the same outstanding results that I gained after rehabilitating injuries."

On Relating Balance Training:
"Balance can be viewed as similar to car maintenance, When we are young some people try to save money by not doing car maintenance(tire alignments, oil changes) then when the car fails they pay a much higher price to solve the problem (new engine new tires).

Most people today view balance training as what you do to get over an injury or rehabilitation! We encourage people to see it as Pre-habilitation, what you do to prevent the injury in the first place. Treat balance as a maintenance item and you will have a better relationship with gravity throughout your life, greater confidence in sports and daily living and most importantly you will age as gracefully as you can.

I will be a 1959 model till the day I die, so it is best that I maintain the feature and benefits I came with so I can enjoy for the rest of my life to its fullest - The maintenance of balance and mobility are two very important features that make everything else I choose to partake in easier and more enjoyable so that I age as gracefully as possible."
"Two things are consistent each and every day while you are alive:

• We each get the same 24 hours to use as wisely as we can.
• Gravity will continue to push down on us so it is important to manage the relationship we have with it as wisely as possible.

The hours most of us spend sitting static in front of a TV or computer screen are likely some of the biggest liabilities to our health each day. The trick is to transfer that environment into an asset so that we sit actively and improve our relationship with gravity whenever we spend time sitting. The accumulative effect is massive as we improve core strength, balance, stability, agility and mobility every time we choose to take an active seat."

ON BALANCE IN GENERAL:
"In an aging population, balance training will enhance the quality of life through improved confidence, agility and performance in sports and daily living. This in turn will help assure that the later years will be some of the best years of a person's life."

"Balance training is not another fad. It is a whole philosophy of making minor changes in your daily life for profound long-term differences that carry over to your daily living."

ON FITNESS BALLS:
"When you sit on a ball, gravity insists that you sit up straight because it is too much work to do anything else. You are on a sphere and to stay balanced you have to adjust and stabilize your trunk around the neutral position. It is not a conscious thing because the body will do it by itself and over time your movements become much more efficient with gravity. This continual movement helps you develop proper usage of all your stabilizing and neutralizing muscles in the lower lumbar and pelvic regions. This is important because these are the regions most people get back pain and where most tend not to move because they are static, sitting in a chair."

"Improvement of dynamic stability is more important to muscle strength than anything else because it allows you to use the muscle strength you have more efficiently. Machines have your muscles working in isolation. It is far better to train your body in integration- integrating a bunch of muscles in patterns similar to the way they work in real life."

ON WOBBLE BOARDS:
"Standing on a Wobble Board works the body through integrated movement pattern's much like sitting on a ball. The main difference is that when you are standing on the unstable surface you are involving all the body's joints and muscles from the feet up. The whole process is a journey, not a destination. The gains come from frequent exposure to functional training in small to medium doses."

"The best combination is to introduce a ball or a wobble board to your daily life as it already is. Either in your office, home or if you workout regularly, use an unstable surface for your shoulder fly's, arm curls or other upper or lower body exercises where you can safely integrate functional stability as part of the exercise. But remember the weight load should be much lighter as you will be recruiting a wide variety of postural and stabilization muscle networks that you do not usually incorporate into your workout."

ON SKIING:
"Skiing is a game of variables. Dynamic balance is best summarized as the skier's ability to efficiently adapt from one balanced position to another given the changes in slope, terrain, snow quality and lighting."

ON LIFE:
"I believe that quality of life does not come from what you have, it comes from what you do with what you have."

A Published Article

The Balance Game, January, 2001.
By Louis Stack, President, Fitter International Inc. Member, Canadian National Speed Skiing Team, 1991-95

As each 24-hour period passes we all get one day older and one day wiser. This wisdom helps us make key decisions that pave the way for a happy and healthy future. We balance our financial affairs. We balance our diets, our exercise programs and we even attempt to keep that fine balance between our work and personal life.

But the most fundamental type of balance, that innate human function that we depend on each day, to get out of bed, walk, play sports or to dance the night away - is taken for granted. That is until an injury, health problem or sedentary life style degrades it. Like maintenance on our cars and houses, balance maintenance helps prevent premature problems.

The best way to approach balance maintenance, regardless of your age or fitness level, is to enhance it a little bit each day. It is easy to incorporate simple balance tasks into your existing daily routine.

For example, I heard of an 88 year old gentleman, Sam, who is a great golfer with an unbelievable drive. Sam's secret is that since his army days he has put his socks on while standing and balancing on one foot. At 88 years young, Sam is still maintaining his balance one sock at a time.

Sounds easy. Give it a try, and you'll realize that it is easier on one leg than the other. To spice up the challenge, try it with your eyes closed. Want more? Try standing on a pillow and doing it in slow motion. The point is that daily balance enhancement can be as easy as getting dressed. Here are a few more daily balance opportunities:

• At work, stand up and balance on one leg when on the phone;
• At home try sitting on a fitness ball instead of a chair;
• In the gym, stand on a wobble board for some dumbbell exercises;
• Out walking, pretend to be a tight rope walker along curbs;
• Use the swings, slides and teeter totter in your local park;
• Play catch with a ball or Frisbee standing on one leg (do both sides).

The possibilities are endless, but the result will always be excellent in that your body's balance, stability and reaction skills will improve. Incorporate balance games into your day and you will also gain:

• Improved dynamic stability, useful in faster moving sports like mountain biking, skiing or skating;
• Reduced risk of injury thanks to a more efficient response to stimuli at a subconscious level- also called proprioceptive response;
• Sharpened athletic prowess as your body improves the integration of its neurological and muscular networks; and
• More efficient movement patterns of joints and muscles creating less wear and tear on joints, better posture and better balance between stabilizer, neutralizer and prime mover muscles.

These are just a few of the returns you will get by investing a little time each day into balance maintenance. Young or old, it's never to late to start, and once you experience the benefits of it, you to will be hooked on the balance game for the rest of your life!