Why Fitness Isn’t Always Black and White
Most of us wish fitness was always as simple as:
If you add 2 and 2 together, you get 4.
These rules do exist! And here are some examples:
“If you eat less calories than you burn, you lose weight.”
“If you increase the weights you lift each week, you will get stronger.”
“If you practice running more, you’ll get better at running.”
Remember: It’s important to make your fitness journey as simple as it needs to be, but no simpler.
You can always add complexity later. The art is to know when and how.
Sometimes, however, we hit plateaus or roadblocks. You could liken this to a bit of algebra. Now the equation looks like:
2a + 2b = 10
If you don’t know basic algebra, this can be frustrating, confusing and even demotivating.
Similarly, when you’re following a fitness programme and you find you’re not getting the results you expected, it can throw you off course.
Suddenly, what made clear sense before has now become:
“I’ve lost 20kgs already, but now I’m not losing any more weight.”
“I just can’t seem to Bench Press anymore than 70kg each week.”
“Every time I run, my knee gets sore.”
It’s not necessarily that 2 + 2 doesn’t = 4. That is still true…
Now, there’s just new bits of information that need to be considered:
It may be that you’re moving less than before because you’ve been travelling a lot and you’re burning fewer calories.
It may be that you need to do a few weeks of high threshold, low repetition strength work to get past that 70kg Bench Press.
It may be that you need to do some additional strength training for your knees and take more recovery time in between runs.
If you don’t have this information readily available to you, or much experience in exercise, it can be difficult to know what to do next.
To make headway, we need to cultivate:
A Curiosity for learning.
An attitude of Persistence in pursuit of the goal (perhaps, not in the method of getting there).
The Humility to ask for help.
Here’s a useful analogy:
You’ve learnt to drive a car.
You know that:
When you push on the right peddle, the car accelerates forward.
When you change gear, you can reach higher speeds.
When you hit the brakes, the car stops.
One day, you get an amber, flashing symbol light up on your dashboard. Suddenly the car stops behaving in the same way you’re used to.
Photo Credit: Hassan Ouajbir
It’s not that you don’t know how to drive a car, or that those rules you’ve learnt are wrong.
It’s actually that there are now just more factors to consider.
If you don’t have experience investigating underneath the car bonnet, you’re going to feel stuck.
You have a few options.
Call a mechanic for help.
Google or YouTube it.
Try to fix it yourself through trial and error.
Choose a different mode of transportation.
Continue the same approach in the hope the amber light will vanish.
Some of these approaches are going to be more effective, time efficient and more costly than others.
In a similar way, with fitness, you can...
Hire a personal trainer or attend classes.
Google or YouTube it.
Try to figure it out yourself.
Choose a different activity or give up all together.
Try the same approach and hope for a miracle.
Remember: “It takes time to get to know your body and what works best for you.”
Some answers will be more straight forward, others may demand a bit more of your time and effort.
Key Points:
When new to exercise, be a sponge and absorb.
As you get more experienced, be a filter. Use what is useful, and discard what is not.
Photo Credit: Ketut Subiyanto
A few practical tips:
Come up with your own names for exercises.
Use words to describe bodily sensations that help you remember.
Use analogies that make sense to you.
Ask experts to simplify their explanations.
Once you’ve grasped an idea, dig a little deeper and be curious.
Come back to the question, “How does this change what I know and do?”
As always, I’m here to help. If you need a nudge in the right direction, fill out this form and we’ll arrange a free 30 minute chat.
Keep moving,
Monty