The Fitness Myth Buster

Thanks to Dax Moy for this timely reminder this week about Principles and Methods.

“Methods are many, Principles are few, Methods keep on changing but Principles never do”.

Conundrum?

Well, in terms of exercise, there are many methods to getting fit, strong, flexible, etc. You have Kettlebells, circuit training, running, free weights, bodywieght training, Yoga, and so on and so on. All are methods to get you to your goal and every person will have their preference as to wat will suit them best or what they will enjoy.

So the Methods are many and all will work to some extent.

But the Principles of training is what will guarantee your success. Whatever Method of training you opt for, you have to follow the Principles to ensure you get the benefits.

So what are these?

Progressive Overload: You have to challenge your body on a regular basis. Doing the same thing week in week out will not force your body to adapt. Plodding the pavements 3 times per week over the same route at the same pace will make you more efficient; equalling burning less fuel.

Bench pressing 60, 70 80 or even 100 kg every Monday and Friday won’t make you stronger. You have to change something in order for the body to become stressed. Perform more reps or sets, alter the speed of reps, change the angle of movement, increase the weight.

You have to change something consistently for adaptation to take place.

Regeneration: With all this extra stress on the body, you have to allow time for rest and recovery. I have know many trainers that workout 6-7 days per week, do not see results so work even harder or more often. Hey. I’ve done it myself many years ago. This scenario just leads to staleness, and possible overuse injuries.

Instead, cycle you training so that you work gradually harder over a 4 week period so that week 4 is the toughest you have trained in terms of weight, reps, sets, speed, or whatever, then back off on week 5. Do half the training you did on week 4 or just do some light aerobic work or stretching and mobility. Then start the cycle again.

Now what works for you may be different. That is, you may want or need to work progressively over a 3 week period then ease off on week 4, or extend your progression phase to 5 weeks then have week 6 backing off. Find what works for you but follow the Principle; Progressive overload, then de-load.

So what about Nutrition?

Okay, the Methods are many and they keep changing. Low fat diets, Atkins, low carb, high protein, ridiculous Lighter Life starvation diets, etc. All of these will get some short term results, every single one. But they can’t possibly have any lasting benefit and may even cause you health problems.

The Principles of Fat Loss through Nutrition are to eat a predominantly vegetable based diet, of clean, preferably organic foods, small amounts of animal protein, fruits, nuts and seeds. You will get all the nutrients and minerals you require from following this Principle although due to modern soil conditions, you may need to supplement a little.

Reduce/eliminate sugar and sugar based products from your diet and do not consume anything with additives, preservatives, colourings or anything you cannot pronounce.

Reduce or eliminate dairy from your diet. It is not conducive to human digestion, especially when processed the way it is today.

I have been asked many times recently how to get enough Calcium in your diet if taking milk out of the equation. Firstly, you can get many more times, in some cases over a hundred times more Calcium from vegetables sources – Kale for instance.

It is also more about absorption of Calcium rather than the amount you take in. If you are consuming certain foods/drinks that leach Calcium from your bones, then it doesn’t really matter how much you take in, does it?

If you follow these Principles for Nutrition, your body will find its natural weight level. Put these Principles together with those for exercise and you have a winning formula.

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