United Strengths of America

For most people, getting fit is a resolution that melts on the backburner for the greater part of winter, so that when spring rolls around it seems more like a monumental chore than anything else. For Manalapan residents Christina Gallon and Walter Patterson, however, staying in shape is more than a faded item on a crumpled check list; it’s a way of life.

They are the cofounders and owners of United Strength Systems, a health and fitness company that combines strength and conditioning exercises with nutritional guidance. They offer one-on-one training and teach group courses at the Manalapan Recreation Center. Since every person is different, they will assess each client’s health individually to provide a regimen that works.

What differentiates United Strength Systems from the average commercial gym is their hands-on approach and the capacity to work outside institutional limitations. “A conventional run-of-the-mill facility will have certain policies in place that limit what a person can do,” Patterson said. “We have the freedom to use innovation since we’re not bound to a facility and we can work outdoors.”

Their underlying philosophy is to integrate all the systems of the body into a workout regimen, supplemented with good nutrition, so that the overall organism gets strengthened.

“We want to get people away from the commercial gym atmosphere and bring them back to a true physical culture,” Patterson said. “We emphasize real world movement patterns – multi-joint, multi-muscle fiber movements. The idea is to use your whole body to perform a task instead of just one part, the way our bodies were designed to move.”

According to these fitness gurus, overzealous workouts on exercise machines can be detrimental to one’s health.

“Everything’s connected,” said Patterson. “If you wear out one part of the body, the rest of the body is going to have to overcompensate for it.”

For the two personal trainers, fitness has been a life-long passion – and it shows. Their garage is equipped with a small pyramid of kettle bells and barbells, among various other workout implements. In the cup holders of their car sit not carbonated soft drinks but Indian clubs, bowling pin-shaped tools that are “good for flexibility,” according to Patterson. 

Gallon turned to strength and conditioning training after she suffered two serious knee injuries in three years when she was training in martial arts. “I realized how important it was to strengthen the entire body,” Gallon said. “An athlete cannot play their game if they’re not strong.”

Patterson has been interested in biomechanics and human development for most of his life. He laughs when he says he studied International Relations and Political Science in college. “That wasn’t really the right field for me. I used to stay in on Friday nights and read books on human development. I’m serious, that’s what I enjoyed doing.”

Patterson draws from both modern and ancient sources to bolster his knowledge on the human body. He cites the Romans as an inspiration. “They trained their soldiers like athletes of today are trained. They knew when to peak them, when to push them and when to have them withdraw.”

The biggest obstacle United Strength Systems faces is getting people to overcome myths about health and fitness. “You’re always competing against celebrity trainers. A lot of that is fraudulent,” said Patterson.

They don’t offer any quick fixes, but they guarantee results for anyone who’s willing to put in the hard work. “Anyone can get in shape within a month if they’re disciplined,” Gallon said.

Readers can find more information about United Strength Systems and register for their classes here: http://www.mtnj.org/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/filemanager/files/departments/recreation/United_Strength_march_11.pdf