8 Hard Truths I Want You to Know About Fitness
For those of you stumbling about this article, my name is Ryan and I was a personal trainer and during the 10 years I was in industry, I worked with a 1,000 clients. Here is some of what I learned.
1) You don’t need to murder yourself in the gym.
I wrote about this recently. The intensity being pushed by social media is for entertainment.
Medium intensity workouts are the answer because they are sustainable over the long future and THAT is the elusive fitness lifestyle so many want. Do it for life or don’t do it all.
Don’t be the race horse out of the gate that burns out on the second lap.
2) You need to prioritize food over exercise.
You can’t out work garbage food. If you run the math on exercising five days a week, you’re active 2.98% of the time. It’s not a lot.
The body will respond far better to proper whole food nutrition than burpees and push-ups.
Cut out the extra day you’d spend in the gym and use it to grocery shop and meal prep.
3) There is no magic pill.
There is endless misinformation out there when it comes to health and fitness. Contrary to what the industry will sell you, there is no pill, powder, or silver bullet that will shortcut you.
It will only take time, patience, and hard work. Don’t listen to anyone who says otherwise. If it were easy, everyone would be in shape and I would have been out of a job.
4) You will want to give up.
The human brain is a motherfucker. It will always look for the path of least resistance since somewhere in the deep recessed of our mind is the desire to conserve energy.
You will constantly fight the magnetic pull of the couch. I’ve been exercising for twenty years and I still only want to exercise 50% of the time.
Not only will you inner dialogue push on you, but you’ll face resistance from all angles including friends, family and life in general.
Be prepared for the battle ahead.
5) There is no perfect program.
The best program is the one you enjoy. Fitness is not a one size fits all and what works for one, may not work for another.
Try different things. You may be surprised at what you like, as your goals and likes evolve over time.
You’ll have seasons where running outside during the summer months or being a part of a volleyball league when you want to get out more is more interesting than going the gym. Go with it. As long as you do something you’ll be fine.
6) You must make it a must do; not a should.
In today’s world, exercise is not optional. Maybe in our grandparent’s time they could have got away without it, but that’s not the case in a Steve Job’s world.
You must stay active and make a consistent, conscience effort to do so. No if, and, or buts about it.
7) Bad workouts and apart of the journey.
Like any journey, they’ll be roadblocks and detours. Expect them.
8) You’ll hit your goal, but it won’t be what you’re looking for.
Here’s the kicker. When you finally get to where you want to be, it’s not going to be as good as you think.
It’s not about the perfect body or number on the scale. The real goal is who you become in the process, not what you get. You’ll learn that.
