Want Results? FOCUS on the basics...

I see many of the same questions come up over and over and over again on these forums. Unfortunately there is not a convenient FAQ that can be reviewed by newcomers. Sometimes I have been known to get impatient and a little "snipey" when I read answers from people or "trainers" who are giving explanations or recommendations (e.g. the "fat burning zone") that have been debunked for over 20 years.

It often seems as though people are wasting huge amounts of time and energy worrying about things that are mostly irrelevent at this stage in their programs. These topics include:

1. What is the best exercise/workout/DVD etc for "burning fat"?

2. What is the best protein powder/drink?

3. What are the best supplements?

4. Should I count my gardening/housework/job/dog walking/motorcycle riding/sock darning, etc as "exercise"?

5. How do I "tone"?

6. How much water should I drink?

7. Should I do cardio or strength first?

8. What is the best time of day to work out?

Yadayadayadayada.........

I sometimes think that if people in general would spend 1/10 the effort on their workouts that they do obsessing about trivia, they would see a lot better results.

Because of the way the body adapts to exercise, most of these issues are just not that important for most exercisers.

If you look at any training curve, you will see a similar pattern: at first there is a sharp rise in performance/improvement during the intitial adaptation phase. Next, there is steady improvement and gains over an intermediate period of time as one becomes more proficient and consistent at training. The more trained an individual becomes, the slower the rate of improvement and the more effort it takes to see any improvement at all. When a person starts to reach 90% of so of their genetic potential, the improvement curve starts to resemble a straight line. It has been said that to improve from 95% to 98%-99% of your potential requires a doubling of your training volume.

Here's the point: elite athletes and highly-trained individuals reach a point where interventions that result in a .1%, .2% improvement can make a significant difference--they can mean the difference between winning and losing. In his book about Lance Armstrong, Dan Coyle explained how, at his peak, the difference between the champion Armstrong and his competitors was the equivalent of the strength and power of a 3-yr old child.

Most of us are NOT at that level. Most people starting a weight loss program are closer to the beginning of the curve than even the middle. What this means is that the potential for improvement in a beginning exerciser is so great that just following proper training techniques, lifing form, and having the right focus to your workouts will achieve MORE results than protein, supplements, water, "muscle confusion", etc COMBINED.

So my advice: stick to the basics. Make sure you have an overall plan, and a PURPOSE for every workout--even if that "purpose" is just to take it easy.

Focus means having a plan--match your exercise activity with your goal and current level of conditioning. If you are just starting out, choose a simpler activity that requires less skill level. Many workout DVDs (e.g. 30 day shred) are not the best choices for a beginner.

Focus means monitoring intensity--either with an HRM or perceived exertion--and working to stay at that intensity, not just going through the motions.

Focus means following the concept of progressive overload. To see continued results, you need to keep increasing the workload.

However, focus also means varying the load and the training stimulus. This means including longer, easier endurance workouts, medium tempo workouts, and shorter interval workouts into your weekly routine. It means cycling though endurance, hypertrophy, and max strength periods in your lifting as well as introducing new exercises (it does NOT mean following silly ideas such as "muscle confusion".

Focus means keeping a training log.

And finally, focus means sticking to the basics with diet--portion control, whole foods/complex carbs, fiber, sufficient protein (1g per KG), no trans fats, adequate hydration and fuel replacement after harder workouts.

Don't get caught up in the extraneous nonsense. As I said earlier, the vast majority of beginning/intermediate exercisers do not have to worry about protein, supplements, time of day, exercise arrangement, specialized exercise, etc. Many of these things have little or no effect anyway and, even if they did, the effect would be so small it would be unnoticeable compared to, say, working to failure in 10 reps on a strength exercise, including an interval workout in your cardio routine, or consistently following a 4-5 day/wk exercise schedule instead of 5 days one week, 3 the next, 2 the next, etc.