How Should You Approach Fitness & Exercise?

Foundational Principles

Rules #1 through #9999 are that the most important thing is that you actually get regular exercise.  But what kind(s) of exercise you do does matter.

There isn't necessarily a "right" or "wrong" way to approach it.  But we believe there are three basic principles you should bear in mind - both at the outset and along the way - on your personal fitness journey.

Those are: variety, practicality/patience, and balance.

VARIETY

Cardio, strength training, and mobility each offer different and important benefits.  All three should be a part of your fitness program. 

Incorporating variety in your approach to fitness should be a priority for everyone, from elite athletes to average Joes.  Think of them as the three legs of a stool.  

(And - YES - unless you won the genetic lottery, you really do need more than just golf and walking!)

The inter-relationships between cardio, strength, and mobility are complicated.  They're highly interdependent.  (For example, poor cardiovascular conditioning and lack of mobility can make it hard to perform strength training exercises, and poor mobility and strength will impede your ability to do cardio.)  Sometimes they can even work against each other.

We need to pay attention to - and work on - all three.

Furthermore, different approaches and protocols within each of these three pillars offer different results and benefits.  Different strength training protocols elicit different adaptations.  Likewise, different cardio training methods can provide differing results and benefits.

We highly recommend that you include all three of these foundational elements - cardio, strength, and mobility work - in your fitness regimen.  We also recommend that you incorporate variety within both your strength training and your cardio workouts - particularly if you’re goal oriented.

PRACTICALITY/PATIENCE

Results are what matter most.  Be purposeful in your approach, and do what works for you within the confines of your lifestyle, goals, preferences, and capabilities.

Odds are that you're not a pro athlete, and don't get paid to exercise.  So even if working out is a huge priority in your life, you need to fit it in between work, family, and other demands.  Have a plan that maximizes what you get out of your available "me time" at the gym - especially if you're focused on achieving a specific goal.

Don't let great become the enemy of good.  Not every "great workout" or "research backed" exercise protocol is going to be right for everyone.  Just because there may be "proven benefits" to following a given protocol doesn't mean that it's actually right for you.

Here are two other key concepts you should bear in mind:

• Minimum Effective Dose: Derived from the pharmaceutical industry, MED simply means the smallest dose that will produce the desired outcome. The idea is simple: don't overwater your garden. There's no point in doing more than you need to do to accomplish your goals. And it can even be detrimental. (This is one of the key takeaways from Tim Ferriss's multi-million-copies-sold book “The 4 Hour Body” ← first 75 pages free in PDF!)
• Diminishing Returns: A better known but equally important corollary, this simply means that - once you've hit the MED - you'll get less and less out of each incremental unit of effort you put in. If you regularly push yourself well past the point of diminishing returns (aka "habitual overtraining"), you risk sabotaging your progress, or even damaging your health. (More on that below.)

Patience, Young Grasshopper!

It can be possible to make significant improvements in certain key fitness markers in a relatively short period of time - and especially if you’re just starting out.  But in the long run - as with most things in life - you have to put in the work on a regular basis, and accept that progress will come incrementally.

For many of us, at least 50% of the battle is just showing up.  So focus on exercise that you actually enjoy.  But if your goal is to get significant results, you also need to be willing to occasionally (and prudently) push yourself outside of your comfort zone to make the progress you seek.

Slow and steady wins the race. Have a plan that aligns with your goals, preferences, the constraints of your life, and your current abilities. And be willing to tweak that plan as circumstances change.

(Our Personal Trainers are a fantastic resource if you want more detailed and personalized coaching and guidance.)

BALANCE

The harder you work, the more emphasis you need to place on recovery and nutrition.

It’s almost inevitable that frequent “hero workouts” will catch up to you, if you aren’t careful to maintain a balance between work and recovery.

Vigorous and prolonged exercise can lead the body to produce endorphins and endogenous endocannabinoids, which can have powerful psychological effects. So-called "runner's high" is the best known example. As with any potent drug, the high can become addictive, and withdrawal from it can lead to significant mood swings.

Exercise addiction is a real thing, and can have equally real consequences.

Chronic overtraining can bring about a (dirty) laundry list of negative effects, including fatigue, decreased strength and endurance, hormone imbalances, impaired reproductive health, compromised immunity, adverse effects on metabolism and muscle growth, mental health problems, poor sleep quality, and - in extreme cases - even kidney failure.

So the harder you push yourself, the more you have to prioritize strategies like planned rest days, recovery workouts, mobility work, periodization, emphasizing sleep, and getting proper nutrition and hydration. If you're regularly training hard but not placing an equal (or - better yet - greater!) emphasis on rest, nutrition, and recovery, you're probably doing yourself a disservice.