When it comes to fitness advice, how do we know what to follow?
Rather than tell you what to believe, let's use a critical thinking strategy used by some of the world’s most brilliant minds and innovators today– First Principles Thinking. That is, when solving a problem or answering a question we eliminate any prior belief we may have until we are at the absolute foundation of the problem. We assume we know nothing and we work our way down until we can work back up.
Let’s start with the question being asked. Generally speaking if you look to what the fitness community is answering it’s usually:
“How do I lean out”
“How do I bulk up”
“How do I get abs”
“How do I grow my glutes”
However, the reality is that the majority of people are actually asking, “How do I feel like myself again?”. This leads into a second question which is, “Where do I start”?
We are told so many things from so many sources. Many with research to back up their claims. The reality is that under a microscope the human body is not just a complex system but a vessel which holds complex systems within complex systems. To know the best way would be a long and arduous science experiment that we may never see the results of in our lifetime.
So we go back to the question again, “How do I feel like myself again?”.
More often than not when someone felt themselves it was when they could do something that they currently cannot do.
When we look at physical fitness we have the following components:
Strength
Power
Flexibility
Speed
Endurance
When we look at activities people want to do or things they’d like to achieve it’s usually:
I want to stop throwing out my back. I want to run after my toddler without fear my legs will give out on me. I want to sit at my desk without feeling discomfort in my back. I want to feel comfortable trying new hobbies. I want to keep up with my toddler. I want to I want to feel close to my best day to day. I want to feel like if there was a zombie apocalypse and there was to weapons I may have a chance of survival. I want to comfortably move heavy pieces of furniture or complete labor intensive chores with relative enjoyment.I want to be a better golfer. I want to run a marathon one day. I want to summit a mountain. I want to be confident that I would undoubtedly survive the zombie apocalypse.
Physical fitness more often than not is a means to an end. The end being activities which would be day to day things like household chores, keeping up with your toddler, etc. or hobbies and exercises you may enjoy like hiking, golfing, cycling.
If we know physical fitness is a means to an end we can take the core components of physical fitness and associate them with these activities.
Carrying groceries requires strength and endurance.
Running after your toddler requires speed.
Running a marathon requires endurance and speed.
Surviving the zombie apocalypse depends on many factors and your prior preparation but would generally require power and/or speed.
When looking deeper into these components we realize that the components of physical fitness is not a list but a venn diagram with strength at the center.
Power requires strength and speed
Speed requires strength and power
Endurance requires strength for extended periods of time
And even Flexibility requires strength to cause and control the range of motion
So what do we get when we break down the question “How do I feel like myself again?”. The answer is not Orange Theory, is not HIIT, is not 12-30-3, is not Insanity, is not Bootcamp. The answer, in it’s most simple form, is strength.
So how do you get strong? That’s a journey you get to go on. There’s a ton of resources out there and what’s most important is that you are doing something that you can stick to and isn’t causing injury. There are bad programs out there and there are good programs out there. Here are some guidelines that may help you evaluate if something is good or bad:
Is it causing you injury? It’s probably bad.
Is it something you absolutely hate doing? If so it may not be the right choice for you. We are more likely to show up consistently for things we don’t hate.
Do I generally feel better? If yes this could be a good program for you. Real results take time. If you are generally feeling better you are heading in the right direction.
I believe that with Wes’ education, experience, passion, and personal experimentation he has come up with a pretty solid strength training program that is designed to effectively and efficiently build strength from two core lenses:
Psychology
What exercises are most enjoyable but effective
A reasonable timeframe
Variety of sets and repetitions
Control over intensity
Biomechanics
Movements based on how certain parts of the body are meant to move
Minimizing excessive soreness
Minimum number of sets and repetitions required to cause adaptation
Yes, we can absolutely will ourselves into being something that we do not naturally gravitate to. More often than not though it is easier to implement something consistently if it fits into the good parts of our life rather than fitting our entire life around that one thing. I recommend working smarter rather than harder but you take whatever path you choose.
Stay cool,
Bri
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