GETTING FIT: WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS

GETTING FIT: WHAT ACTUALLY MATTERS

There is a Huge Problem

Information overload has become a huge issue. Google “gaining muscle” and you’ll get more than 5 million results. You’ll probably get about the same number for almost anything fitness related. One coach or trainer might say one thing and the very next article may say just the opposite. Confused yet? Unfortunately, confusion leads to indecision and indecision leads to procrastination. Just as harmful, people jump from one program to another never staying with one long enough to see the benefits so they give up.

I have to admit, you may see some of the same thing in articles on alphaedgefitness.com . Part of the problem is the many varied possibilities for “getting fit”. Another problem is the huge variation in readers. I have readers in their 20’s and just as many, if not more in their 60’s. Some are interested in building muscle for aesthetic reasons, building strength or for fat loss. Some just want to get stronger. Almost everyone has at least one form of limitation due to genetics, injury or illness. 59% of my readers are women and 41% are men. Some are beginners and some are old pros and most are somewhere in between. It goes back the old saying: “You are different. Just like everyone else.”

Let’s get Back to Basics of What Actually Matters

Exercise Selection

I have a video library of over 1000 different exercises. Do you need 1000 different exercises? No. Do you need to constantly be changing your exercises? No

Master a few basic exercises. And I mean master them.   Work on form until you no longer have to even think about it. Have another (knowledgeable )person check your form.

·        Progress every workout by adding a little more weight each time. When you reach a point where you can’t add weight every workout then add reps or add additional sets.

·        Start with the basic lifts in any of their many forms; dead lift, squat, pull-ups, bench press, rowing.

Program Selection

What matters is consistency. Train your “consistency muscle”. The best, most advanced, well planed program will not work without consistency. Almost any program will work if you work at it and do it consistently. More programs fail because of program hopping than anything else.

I’m not saying stick with a program for the rest of your life. But stick with until it stops working.

Nutrition and Diet

Eating whole, healthy foods is important. Cutting out the junk is important.  Getting all the vitamins and minerals (micro-nutrients) is important. But don’t spend your life planning meals and above all else don’t jump on some fad diet you heard about in an infomercial or some “trainer to the stars”.  Don't do extreme low fat diets and don't do extreme low carb diets. There is no magic bullet.

Do this instead:

·        Calculate what your calorie intake should be to achieve your fitness goal using calculator for BMR  under the "Calculators and Resource" tab at the top of this page.

·       Get 40% of you calories from protein, 40% from carbs and 20% from fat(macro-nutrients) as a starting point.

·        Track your macro-nutrients using a program like  Myfitnesspal.com

·        Track your progress toward your goals. If you aren’t making progress after 2 weeks, adjust your nutrition.

Learn as You Go

Pay attention. Learn as you go. Change little things often to experiment. Change the big things sparingly.