Throughout life, we will experience changes that can make things better, and sometimes make things worse. Nowhere is it more evident than in the field of health and fitness. The term “Health and Fitness” can mean a myriad of things, but it generally refers to a state of well-being. This level of fitness can be accomplished in many ways… Or can it?
One thing that has not changed in countless centuries is how the human body functions. In the simplest of terms, we need food, water, and oxygen. Once we have those essentials in place, we can find ways to improve on how we use those resources. Since the 1950’s, we have certainly learned much about nutrition and the importance of proteins, carbohydrates, and heart-healthy fats. Researchers have also shown us the importance of drinking ample amounts of pure water daily. Thanks to environmentalists, we now have cleaner air which is also important for optimal health. Where I see a problem is with some of the latest exercise trends, here’s why.
The body has not changed the way it develops muscle or burns fat since the beginning of mankind. Once all the essentials that I spoke of earlier are in place, changing how you look is easy. To improve your strength, change the shape of your muscles, or burn fat, you simply need resistance training. Call it “old school”, but resistance weight training is all you need. I spoke earlier about changes. The advances we have made in nutrition and medicine have for the most part been good. What has changed that is not so good, is how people have gotten away from the basics of resistance weight training. Training methods such as interval training that require jumping from one exercise to another, or DVD’s that utilize a specific machine that can “do it all”, or a “ten minute” workout using little or no resistance, are attempts at trying to find an easier way for people to exercise. It doesn’t work that way. Just because you don’t have time to weight train, or you don’t enjoy weight training, it is not going to change how the body operates. You must build a foundation of strength and muscle balance before you can venture out into other training methods. Let me explain.
I have nothing against some of the new types of training modalities, they do serve a purpose. But just as if you were building a house, you don’t put the walls up first, you lay the foundation. If you don’t follow the proper sequence when building a house, there will be an inevitable collapse. When training your body without following the proper sequence, minimal progress or injury is likely to follow. Before jumping into some new fad of training, check out my IRON GURU Personal Fitness Training section.
Iron Guru 