Lifestyle, Psychology, Uncategorized
The Grand Scheme of Fitness
When reviewing the fitness programs of the thousands of people I’ve been fortunate to work with, I see them too often get caught up in what science says is the “perfect plan” that they fail in its infancy.
The fact is, these clients have been so caught up in creating a perfect plan that they didn’t recognize that the perfect square doesn’t fit into the round hole of their life. A perfect plan is one that considers your reality, after you make the improvements to it that are in your realm of possibility.
One way to relieve a ton of tension, is to start recognizing the grand scheme of fitness as it pertains to nutrition and exercise. There are certain almost absolute principles that can be managed by all types of people from all different walks of life.
When I have a conversation about protein, I often get asked what is the best time to take protein. While the fitness geek inside of me wants to give them the perfect days regime, I simply cannot without first asking them a series of questions and then reminding them what not to forget.
My question to them is, what does your current day look like? What time do you wake up? When do you exercise? How much sleep do you get? How do you prepare your food? When do you eat? Are all of your days similar? The more questions I ask, the better I can help.
I then remind them that how much protein you get in a day, is not as important as how much protein you are getting in a week, which is also not as important as how much protein you are getting in a month. Your perfect protein day is pointless if you are unable to consistently apply it in your life.
If you are supposed to consume 200 grams of protein to meet your needs and the way you are applying the nutritional equation on a daily basis is too difficult, then you will have
In my own life, to say my days have been full, would be an understatement. Where as most people use “I don’t have enough time” as an excuse, currently if I was to follow the program I feel is best for my body, to produce the gains I want, I would make the same statement.
However, recognizing the fact that a three day per week full-body training program is unrealistic as I am excitedly pursuing several new ventures in fitness, I’ve made an adjustment.
Because on the grand scheme of things, the amount of volume (workload) in your training program (in balance with the nutritional fuel you give it) is one of the most important attributes to building muscle, I am concentrating on performing a certain amount of exercises in what are called “cluster sets” on a weekly basis. Some weeks I may fit these into 3 workouts while others may be 10-12. What matters is that I get these sets completed and that I am stronger with each workout where the same exercise is repeated.
Not only is this possible from a physiological stand point, but it is also psychologically strengthening. It gives me the motivation and removes the fear that I will be unable to complete what I have committed myself too.
As you walk out your fitness program day to day, remember that unless you have nothing to do other than train, eat, and sleep, following the perfect plan that science says to follow, is simply impossible and failing to do so is bad for your motivation and fitness behaviors. Keep this in mind when you develop your fitness program, especially when your life shifts or becomes more complex.
If you are in need of assistance with your nutrition or training program, one of my new ventures is nutritional and exercise programming that goes well beyond the scope of just providing you with a sheet of paper and what to do.
If you are interested, please send me an email to jason@betterbodysports.com and we can talk and see if working together is a good fit and if we can help you achieve your goals and give you an education that will serve you beyond our time together.
