The Nature of Fitness

Fitness and strength training are very simple health sciences. There are real principles, that if followed, will get you to your goals. These principles are eternal they don’t change, unless you are not human.Your body and my body are the exact same as it comes to the functioning of the body. My liver and your liver do the exact same function. The way my heart works is the same as yours. In this comparison all principles and work out routines and nutritional eating have the same principles.

Me personally, think its funny when they say “I HAVE A FORMAULA.”   The real formula is consistency and an evaluation of certain principles and how your body is feeling while exercising.

The first major principle is adaptation. It is a fact that your body will adapt to the same amount of stress within 4 to 6 week period. This means,  that we can’t just go to our work out day after day doing the same rep scheme and exercise. Me personally, I change my workout every two weeks. This does two things it makes your body always adjusting and it makes it fun and not boring doing the same thing over and over again.

The second principle is a Balance Diet. I get frustrated when people say “I’m on this diet and leaving this out of my diet.” A balance diet is just that with many benefits for each area of the Pyramid. Fats help with brain function and lubrication of joints are a few advantages of the fats.Carbohydrates are the most misunderstood area of the diet. They are so essential to a healthy body. Carbohydrates are the transportation of nutrients to the body, without carbs our body is unable to create the insulin to transport the other nutrients to the body. They also are the driving force for glycogen in the body. What is glycogen in simple terms? Energy. Protein is the building blocks of restoring the body from the daily grind of activities. So keep this in mind, a balanced diet is the best way to stay healthy, have energy, and ensure you aren’t depriving your body of essential nutrients to grow healthy. I will go more in-depth on this topic in a few days.

The third principle is Time Under Tension. All principles relate, if they didn’t there would be something wrong with that principle . This goes right along with adaptation. To gain strength and gain muscle you need to put adequate stress on the muscles and the nervous system. Yes I said the nervous system , the body has a safety mechanism called the Golgi tendon. It monitors the stress that is being put on the muscle fiber. If it feels it is being stress too much it will send a signal back to the brain saying “Hey we need to shut down.” So time under tension is the amount of total stress placed on the body during the whole workout. Here is an example if my only workout was squats and my set and rep scheme was 5×5 @ 225 lbs the total time under tension is 5,625 lbs. This is the time under tension you are placing on the body by applying this principle you will be able to get the most of each workout.

Recovery is the next principle: Think of this: what happens when you go to the gym? Do you feel stronger? Or tired? The honest answer is tired. Why? You are depleting your body of glycogen because of the amount of exertion you are putting on the body. Rest is the necessary step increasing overall health and strength. Here is a major WARNING: If you do not allow yourself to rest you will be doing two bad things: Reversing what you are trying to do and Injury. Over-training overtime will always turn into an injury.

Last, is hard work. I have mentioned many things that have to be applied when starting or looking at any fitness routine. Nothing is ever achieved without hard work. Hard work doesn’t mean going “gung-ho” the first few weeks, which relates to all the principles mentioned. Your body isn’t used to the movements and while its transforming the ATP to ADP you are creating lactic acid which is where the soreness comes from. You are also creating micro trauma to the muscle fibers, this is also part of the soreness. Too much soreness is bad and a balanced diet is where you will be able to recover properly to keep you encouraged to do more.

 Consistency, asking questions, and self-evaluation on goals and how you are wanting to achieve them will be the recipe for success. Each principle mentioned here will be more in-depth. So train hard, train smart, and remember rest and diet is where you get strong. The gym is just a stepping stone.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.