Here’s something for Mindset Monday today.
You hear a lot of people say things like “seek counsel from those more experienced on a topic than you.” You also hear people say things like “Ignore what everyone says and do what’s best for you!”
I’m here to try and help you find a middle ground on this as it relates to fitness in particular.
Trying to listen to anyone who claims to have some fitness knowledge is like walking into a restaurant and trying to decide on a meal based on what everyone else is eating. It’s all going to be different, you’ll never be able to eat it all, and you’ll eat some disgusting stuff. That’s because lots of people have had lots of success with different things.
What doesn’t change, however, are the REASONS that those things work. For example, to lose weight, you HAVE to burn more calories than you consume. There are, however, about one billion ways to achieve that, many of which are done without tracking calories at all. To really gain muscle, you HAVE to give your body enough resistance to grow stronger and develop more muscle fiber, you have to give it time to recover, and you have to get enough protein. The exercise routine, meal timing, and all of the details vary drastically depending on who you ask and what specific goals you have.
So, what I would tell you is this: In whatever you are trying to learn about, find out the core principles first, just like you did in whatever you are super knowledgeable about already. Dig into these things yourself and seek help at this point only from people that you truly trust to point you in the right direction. If you can’t think of anyone, I’m happy to answer any questions on this and to do my best to earn your trust! So, in fitness, learn about calories, macronutrients, strength training, cardio, rest, sleep, and getting your mind right. Don’t worry about intermittent fasting, carb cycling, drop sets, Keto, reverse pyramid training, or undulating periodization until you have a solid grasp of the core principles and WHY and HOW these other things affect them.
Then, when you know that calories are what matter and someone tells you that you will lose weight purely by adding butter to your coffee or drinking a tea, you’ll know they’re off base because they’re violating these core principles. And when you hear things that ARE in line with the core principles but that you don’t know about, THEN learn about and try them as they come. Keep the ones that are helpful, and throw out the rest.
This is a much wiser approach to implementing people’s fitness opinions than:
A. Listening to anyone with an opinion and accepting it blindly
B. Ignoring everyone except yourself and probably missing out on some solid help
I am convinced that many people who are struggling to get started toward their fitness goals are having an even harder time because of the sea of confusing and conflicting information out there on the topic.
Focus on the 3-4 core things first and ignore the rest until you have a solid framework from which to evaluate it.
Happy Monday! Message me with your fitness questions.
Comments