Getting in Shape 101

There is no doubt that there exists a great amount of people that neglect their health through a poor diet and exercise but today I wish to focus on the people who do choose to go out and regularly take part in exercise. Great, you got yourself away from the computer (well almost, I can barely see your face behind your giant smartphone), but now what?

We all go to the gym with some idea of what we want to improve. Some want bulging biceps because that is their idea of manliness. Others, want to target their waste line without losing cup sizes. Of course there are the few that just think that dumbbells are fun and give you plenty of opportunity to check yourself out in the mirror. It is clear that if we want to achieve meaningful progress our common sense approach to "working out" or "lifting" has evaporated. The issue stems from a lack of education: the fact that "PhysEd" in high school never took the time to break down the science of movement and development.

First, I want to make sure we all understand this one thing:

There are no secrets or cheats to becoming physically. There is only a long list of tiny habits performed consistently to generate results. That means that all our social, mental, physical, spiritual, and dietary habits work together in a complex way to determine our overall health. I am going to stress that within each section there are NO HACKS OR SECRETS.

Second, if you have found a class that you enjoy that's great...

and I'm not going to convince you to do something else. Just make sure you do your research or ask the trainer on how to improve your technique to maximize your results and minimize the threat of injury.

Now that I've filtered out the readers who have their minds closed to learning the proper way and hard work, I can begin.

There are three things to ask yourself before you do anything:

1. What is my technical knowledge of the body and exercise?
2. What is my physical condition?
3. What are my goals

The first question constrains the complexity of your workout. If you lack the technical knowledge of the body and exercise, when you do a complex workout there is a high probability that you will hurt yourself or the quality of your workout will suffer. That means that you need to start at a lighter weight and either do research on technique or have a trainer assist you.

The second question constrains the intensity of your workout. If you have a high technical knowledge but poor physical condition it is important to start with bodyweight exercises and light cardio. There is scientific research that supports walking as opposed to running if you don't normally exercise and building your intensity up progressively. On the other hand, your technical knowledge is low but physical condition is high it is still important to keep the complexity low while you learn the proper mechanics of the more complex exercises until you feel comfortable with it using proper technique.

The third question is a result of the first and second question while taking into effect your preferences. If your technical knowledge or physical condition is poor than part of your goal should seek to improve it. The other part of your goal must answer the question WHY? Aesthetics (looking sexy) is NOT A VALID REASON: YOU WILL FAIL. Acceptable reasons include: improve your health, improve your athletic performance in a specific discipline, running a half marathon. 

My personal example:

1. My technical knowledge is high. I've studied proper movement techniques and put them to use in the gym, yoga, martial arts and other sports. My martial arts/yoga/gymnastics knowledge is medium to low.
2. My physical condition is high. To break this down a little further my cardio is high but my strength and flexibility is medium/medium-low.
3. My goal is to increase my strength and flexibility, and improving my knowledge and performance in martial arts, yoga and gymnastics.

Now that I answered that question, I can apply the knowledge that I do have to create a workout regiment. In a lot of cases there are multiple different paths to the same goal so consulting a trainer is wise. Keep It Simple Stupid (The KISS Method) is the best way to achieve results until you reach intermediate and advanced stages.

My current exercise consists mainly of lifting heavy weights at the gym using the 5 muscle building exercises. I incorporate some explosive strength exercises for martial arts and gymnastics such as pull-ups and kettle-bells. I finish off with yoga for flexibility and recovery. On weekends I do specialized training for martial arts and gymnastics.