Hard Truths

This is among the first blogs to grace this website because it’s one of the top 5 things people need to understand before working toward any physical fitness: bulking up, shedding fat, getting stronger, running a 5K, running a marathon, climbing a mountain, gaining mobility, etc. 

Whatever your fitness goals, there are some harsh realities that time and time again I find clients just don’t want to believe or don’t think will apply to them. These are based on science. While we’re always learning new things about health and fitness and many studies have obvious flaws, the things you’re about to read have been proven true repeatedly for decades in research, studies, analysis of studies, and real-world examples. These are textbook -- literally any personal trainer certification textbook covers these. While there are always exceptions, they are extremely rare.

So, here are your hard truths.

There are no shortcuts

So often clients want it to happen fast. They don’t expect results overnight, but are frequently surprised and disappointed when they find out they can’t lose 20 pounds or bulk up with muscle in just a couple weeks. Especially if you’re starting a new exercise routine, you want to spend a week or two easing into. If you want the reward, you’ve got to put in the time. How long it takes depends on your starting point, your adherence, and effort put in, but significant changes will not be apparent for at least 4 weeks in most cases, but stick with it and it will be worth it. I promise.

Nutrition is key

It’s a popular adage in the health and fitness world because it’s true: You can’t out train a bad diet.

Many people feel like they can. Before I turned 30 I could eat anything I wanted. After I turned 21 I could drink as much as I wanted. As long as I ran at least 5 miles four to five days per week and lifted weights for at least 30 minutes two or three times per week I looked and felt great.

For many that’s not true and for most who are able to not see the effects of a bad diet, it typically catches up to them in their 30s. 

As you age, your metabolism slows down, building and retaining muscle becomes more difficult, energy levels wane. Good nutrition and quality exercise go hand in hand. One without the other will make reaching your goals difficult if not impossible. 

I focus on a macronutrient focused approach. This is something that is sustainable for a lifetime that allows someone to select their foods while understanding better what they’re putting in their body, why they’re selecting those foods. The proper balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat regulates your metabolism, improves metabolic function, aids vitamin absorption and hormonal balance, and provides the proper energy.

I’m not a fan of diets that you’re on short term because they’re not sustainable for a lifetime. Those types of diets usually have quick results, but if you’re not careful end up putting all the weight back on quickly after ending the diet. That’s for a future blog post, though.

Spot reduction

While you can target specific muscles for building strength and even bulk through muscle mass, you cannot pick and choose where you shed fat during  weight loss. Training your abs will NOT give you a flatter stomach. A reduction of fat can help flatten your stomach, but if you have fat stored on your arms, back, legs, or other areas of the body there is no guarantee fat loss will occur in one place or the other first and there is no guarantee it will reduce evenly throughout the body. 

Additionally, there is not a one-to-one trade-off of muscle to fat. Fat does not convert to muscle when doing weight resistance training. You can build muscle to lower your body fat percentage but that’s because your muscle mass ratio increase, not necessarily reducing fat at the same time. (However, if you’re doing weight resistance training - as previously mentioned - you are burning calories and making your metabolism more efficient so it’s likely you will lose some fat in the process.)

And yes, there are some strategies in nutrition to help target belly fat loss, but not a significant point that you can target only that area and, again, you can’t spot reduce fat through exercise. 

Genetics and aesthetics

Genetics do play a role in our appearance, though not as much as previously thought. Studies in the past decade indicate while even as far back as your grandfather’s condition at an early age can influence your metabolism, you can still make both positive and negative changes to your metabolism and body composition through nutrition and exercise. 

Body aesthetics are probably more prevalent in our culture than ever before thanks to social media and the advent of a digital camera in everyone’s hand at all times. However, most people don’t look as good as they do in their social media posts all the time. Time of day, timing after a workout, angles, and lighting can highlight someone’s best attributes. 

And some people are genetically predisposed to look a certain away. An ectomorph body type, for example, can carry a high percentage of body fat while appearing skinny, but with best practices in nutrition and exercise may more quickly and easily aesthetically show those results. 

The other body types are mesomorphs, which often look more muscular and well defined with training, and endomorphs, which may look soft and round despite training.

While for decades it was believed this was a genetic card drawn that could not be changed, the latest studies indicate you can change your body type and many people are a combination of two body types. However, it’s important to understand your starting body type and how you treated that body for years or decades can make achieving aesthetic changes difficult.

Another genetic factor is muscle fiber distribution. We have slow-twitch fibers (the smallest in size that help with endurance), and two different types of fast-twitch fibers (the larger sizes for shorter, more explosive bursts of energy).

While you can specifically train these fiber types, the fiber distribution is mostly genetically predetermined. That means those with a larger distribution of fast twitch (larger fibers) have a better hypertrophic response to training with progressive overload. 

These are difficult things for many people to accept because they mean achieving their goals could be more difficult, but to reiterate the beginning of this blog: There are no shortcuts. You’ve got to put in time and effort to see results, but it’s worth it.