It’s quite surprising how many times I am petitioned to write reviews, publish critiques, and evaluate new exercise devices and/or programs. Occasionally, I run across one that truly does spur my interest and raise my eyebrows to the top of my head. The Answer is just such a program/device.
I took my time and followed The Answer program, as I wanted to see if it really worked. I wanted to understand it, feel it, and write a “no-holds-barred” critique, as I turn down these requests quite often. What I found impressed me.
Trainer Joe and I initially connected via social media. After a few online chats, watching a couple of Answer exercise videos, etc., I had the absolute pleasure of meeting with him and his team while he was driving through my hometown in southeast Idaho. I got to spend the day with them and to really understand what The Answer is really about. Their goal “bring a wealth of health to the world” possibly sounds a bit grandiose, but the sincerity is unmatched.
They have developed a very unique program that involves an incredible exercise device that will likely get a great deal of attention when people evaluate exercise programs. I will discuss this device in a minute; however, I think it’s important to realize that the true power in the program is the approach. The Answer is developing a community focusing on love and positive affirmation. It is training not only the physical body but also the mental health of the participants, as well as the very important but almost always missed, spiritual health of the individual.
The Device
The Answer, at least the appliance portion of the program, is a unique machine that sits close to the floor. It has a toe-bar, a comfortable base for you to place various body parts on, depending on the movement being done, and that is it.
This apparatus is unique on several levels. It insists that the user optimize core strength with almost every movement suggested on it. It incorporates and allows incorporation of multiple muscle groups, particularly the large core muscles to be utilized while doing one of the hundreds of exercises possible on it. It stimulates balance, control, strength, and endurance, and activates the brain centers via the movement, as well as the program’s setup. It is an incredibly unique machine in and of itself and could easily stand on its own as a large-scale exercise device available in any gym or any home across the country. But as I alluded to before, this is only part of The Answer.
The Program
The program does something unique. It simply suggests 15 minutes a day, listening to the videos while you are doing the various movements on the device. Here is the true power in his program. Trainer Joe’s calm, melodic, thoughtful voice provides you positive affirmation and shifts your brain into positive thoughts by reaffirming your importance in our world. The program has hit on a key component of long-term health and well-being — the power of our thinking.
Having been a health professional for the last 30-plus years, most of it as a medical doctor, I can tell you that absolute health and well-being, quality of life, longevity, etc., all start between the ears. Your thoughts dictate who you are, how you respond to the world, how stress and the stress hormone cortisol affects your body, and, essentially, dictate overall quality of life. What The Answer and its program has done is combine the activity of exercise with continued positive thought and positive affirmation. This is not just a feel-good thing. This is backed by hard-core science.
Intense activities such as the ones done on The Answer exercise device increase neurotrophins such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is the secret to brain plasticity and growth. One esteemed neurologist called it “Miracle Grow” for the brain. When you stimulate BDNF with exercise done on The Answer, your brain grows. While this growth is occurring, if you also have positive affirmations, positive statements about yourself and your usefulness in our world, you will believe it. This is the magic of The Answer! It truly is a physical workout, a mental exercise, an emotional reset, and a spiritual development program.
What Trainer Joe has done is exactly what his, albeit grandiose, goal suggests: He has brought a wealth of health to the world. One percent of your day spent with The Answer and your world will change. No other exercise program, exercise device, health club, personal trainer, alternative therapist, or classically trained Western medical physician can offer you what this program offers.
I’ve been around a long time, written several books, been involved in multiple studies, and seen tens of thousands of patients, all with the primary goal of improving the health of our world. This awesome approach to fitness and this exercise device is doing the same thing. In a perfect world, I would give every patient I see in my medical practice what they’re searching for: The Answer.
Dr. Warren Willey is the medical director of a functional medicine clinic in Southeast Idaho. He has patients from all over the world come in to see him, especially for his exceptional abilities with hormone management and medical weight loss. He uses a unique approach to patient care by offering preventative medical intervention by helping people to obtain optimal health and fitness through elite nutritional programs, diet strategies, hormonal optimization, and exercise/movement programs. He is a board-certified osteopathic physician and did his postgraduate training at The Mayo Clinic. He is a founding diplomat of the American Board of Holistic Medicine and a diplomat with the American Board of Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine, The American Board of Family Medicine, The American Board of Urgent Care Medicine, and The American Board of Obesity Medicine.
Dr. Willey is a highly sought-after, dynamic speaker and does regular speaking engagements around the country concerning obesity medicine, laboratory medicine, hormone replacement, and other medical and fitness related topics. Dr. Willey is an established author, having written a medical textbook in the late ’90s and What Does Your Doctor Look Like Naked? Your guide To Optimum Health, re-released in 2003. This book has helped thousands of people lose weight, obtain, and then maintain optimal health. One of his books, Better Than Steroids!, is sold internationally, as it is the most concise summary of what you need to know to get that ultimate physique.
Other books to his credit are The Z Diet – The Secret to Long Term Dietary Adherence, and The T Club – A Medical Guide to Male Hormones! He just released Obtainable: Enjoy the Body and Energy You’ve Always Wanted – Beyond Diet and Exercise. Obtainable is a complete review of why eating less and exercising more does not work for health. He also writes for several periodicals and websites. He has 35-plus years of experience with exercise development and nutritional intervention.