How Should You Approach Fitness & Exercise?

Foundational Principles

The most important thing is that you actually get regular exercise.  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

Incorporating variety in your approach to fitness should be a priority for everyone, from elite athletes to average Joes.  Cardio, strength training, and mobility each offer different benefits.  All three should be a part of your fitness program.

The inter-relationships between cardio, strength, and mobility are complicated.  They're often highly interdependent.  (Example: poor cardiovascular conditioning levels and lack of mobility can make it hard to perform certain strength training exercises.)  But sometimes they can even work against each other.

Furthermore, different approaches and protocols within each of these three pillars offer different results and benefits.  Different strength training protocols elicit different adaptations, and different cardio training protocols 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 your strength and especially 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.  Don't let great become the enemy of good.

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.  It's important to have a plan that maximizes the benefit you get from your available "me time" at the gym - especially if you're focused on achieving a specific goal.

Not every "great workout" or "research backed" exercise protocol is going to be right for everyone.

So just because there may be "proven benefits" to following a given protocol doesn't mean that it's actually right for you.

Another important concept here is the idea of “minimum effective dose” (MED) which is one of the key takeaways from the multi-million-copies-sold book “The 4 Hour Body” ( ← first 75 pages free in PDF!). Derived from the pharmaceutical industry, MED simply means the minimum amount of something you need in order to see the desired results.

An equally important corollary is the concept of diminishing returns. Once you get past the MED, you're going to get less and less out of each incremental unit of effort you put in. And if you regularly push yourself too hard by overtraining, you risk sabotaging your progress, or even damaging your health.

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 it's also important to focus on exercise that you actually enjoy. If your goal is to get significant results, you also need to be willing to occasionally push yourself outside of your comfort zone. But you need to do so prudently.

Slow and steady wins the race, and the "best" protocols are the ones that make sense for you. Have a plan that works for you based on 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, one way or another. Especially 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. If you're a workout junkie, you should be aware that exercise addiction is a real thing, and can have equally real consequences.

The bottom line is that - if you frequently train very hard but don’t put an equal (or greater) emphasis on recovery and nutrition - you’re probably doing yourself a disservice.