No one-size-fits all
How do I lose weight?
What do I need to build muscle/get stronger?
How do I get gainz?
These are questions I field every busy season -- December through February -- from trying to lose holiday and winter weight to starting those New Year’s Resolutions.
Most people want a simple answer. They expect it to be very straight forward. And often they want it to be easy.
So here it is, here’s how YOU achieve your fitness goals: I don’t know.
It’s not that I lack the knowledge, it’s that how YOU get there is different than how someone else gets there.
Recently, I posted a meme that was an obvious posed stock photo of a woman and a trainer looking at a clipboard. The caption went like so -
“Her: Okay so how do I get in shape?
Him: Ur gonna need to eat less and exercise more
Her: Hahahaha okay no but seriously.”
In my post I wrote that people often want the easy way out, but there are no shortcuts to health and fitness. It was admittedly vague. It was taken the wrong way.
I did not intend for the meaning of everyone who needs or wants to “get in shape” has to eat less and exercise more. That was hyperbolic.
While it was short and vague, I do mean what I wrote in my post: There are no shortcuts.
Here’s what most people wanted to hear for weight loss: Do the elliptical for 20 minutes, then spend 15 minutes on these 3 machines and in 4-6 weeks you’ll be 20 pounds lighter and have muscle tone.
What people did not want to hear is they have to push themselves to a certain level -- I would calculate their target heart rate for cardio. I would talk to them about weight resistance training strategies based on their experience.
What they didn’t want to do is track their eating habits. I would calculate how many calories they would need to consume to be in an appropriate caloric deficit to lose weight. I never tell people to eat less. I can’t tell you to eat less if I don’t know what you’re eating.
But, yes, if you exercise once weekly or less and you’re consuming more calories than you’re burning, then in general terms you do need to exercise more and eat less. The meme was a humorous, oversimplification of that was intended to mean you have to put in the effort to change your behavior.
It probably didn’t help that the woman in the meme looks very healthy. I digress.
My point is, customization is what you really need then you need to put in the effort to follow that plan. There are no shortcuts. There are fad diets and there are ridiculous exercise routines, but that will leave you frustrated, burned out, injured, see temporary results -- all the things that make you feel like it wasn’t worth it.
That’s where I come in. Your workouts are customized for your ability level and goals. Your coaching on other habits are based on you. It is possible to consume too little food and not lose weight. It is possible to over train. It is possible to have other daily habits holding you back. Everyone is different.
Book your free consultation to see what personal training can do for you.