The perception in fitness today is that to get results you have to work to the point of exhaustion and pain, sweat enough to change shirts half way through the workout, and spend hours a day in the gym.
I'm here to tell you all of those concepts are absolutely incorrect! In fact, they couldn't be more wrong!
But if incorrect, how could these concepts or methods become what's known widely today as the way to get the job done if you want to get fit and burn fat?
There are many answers to that question, too many to list in this short article but lets take a look at a few.
Many believe the more you sweat, the more results you get. In fact, many feel if they don't break a good sweat they didn't have a good workout. That belief is incorrect.
Hey... I like breaking a good sweat just as much as the next person, in fact I even use a sweat enhancer during my workouts, but the fact is sweating has very little to do with getting the results you want.
If you leave the gym a sweaty mess, breathe hard, and feel tired you may feel successful, however does any of that show an improvement in function, performance, strength, weight loss, or whatever your goal may be... ? NO!
I feel strongly that this belief system originated with fighters, wrestlers, and jockey training methods to cut weight. Everyone has seen these guys getting in the sauna or "sweat box", or running wearing trash bags to sweat more, all just to cut weight faster to make weight for the upcoming match or race. This concept crossed over into the mainstream and from that point forward people associated sweating with weight loss. Now society in general feels that to get fit and lose weight sweating is required, not so.
What most don't know is that 3 hours after those athletes made weight, they were all right back at the same weight they started with. Cutting water weight by sweating is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution. Fat loss is done through proper nutrition, cardiovascular training, and muscle gain over a long period of time. There is no appropriate solution for quick weight loss, it's a long-term journey. It takes a total lifestyle change.
Another myth many have been brain washed with is that working out has to be hard and painful. Most folks feel the harder they work in the gym the better results they'll get. If I work harder I'll burn more fat. If I work harder I'll get stronger. If I work harder I'll be more fit. All those assumptions would be false!
Swinging a weight around with the goal of becoming extremely fatigued is madness. Searching for an immediate effect of the exercise both short-term and long-term is appropriate training. The idea of anything that makes you horribly fatigued to the point of nausea, vomiting, failure, dehydration would constitute a "killer" workout, however I would have taken a step backwards in my progress due to my own short-term thinking.
Especially with the latest fads, this seems to have become the norm, and taking breaks between sets is for the weak... incorrect.
Again appropriate strength training requires breaks between sets. Not only do these breaks allow for nearly complete energy replenishment in the muscle, but they also allow the nervous system to recover, which is critical for continuous gains.
Of course, mainstream, money-driven marketing has played a huge role in misleading those who desire to be fit. Everywhere you look in magazines, TV, and movies you see the latest experts and celebrities promoting some new fad program like "Insanity" and unrealistic programs for the public as seen on "The Biggest Loser" that goes against everything that we know to be true from the trenches.
Art Of Strength at its core is a strength training program. I'll challenge you today to clear any head trash, get clarity on the concepts discussed today, and adhere to the basic tried and true strength training concepts AOS and kettlebell training is built upon.
Strength Training In A Nutshell:
1. Lift heavy, but safe. Never sacrifice form and technique for weight.
2. Keep reps and sets low, 3-5 reps or 30 seconds to 1 minute of work.
3. Stop before you get fatigued and lose quality, always quality over quantity.
Points to train by, maybe even live by:
•Practice makes perfect. Keep practicing the same exercises until you've perfected them. Don't settle for mediocrity. Set high expectations for yourself.
•Little and often over the long haul. Be consistent. Have a long-term training mindset. Be better today than your last workout, last week's workout, or last month's workout.
•Challenge yourself to achieve new personal records on a regular basis. Don't just exercise, instead, train. The difference between exercise and training is simple. Exercise is wasting energy & time; training is done in order to improve something specific.
•Leave the gym exhilarated rather than exhausted. This allows you to immediately start training for a sport, hobby, cardiovascular training, or just living greatly. You should be able to go home and wrestle with the family dog and crawl around with the kids and grand kids after your workouts.
•Don't eat chalk, scream, pound the walls during your workouts. Simply strive for perfection or "Mastery". Next week's article will be on just this, the concept of Mastery.
The numbers don't lie! Here's another success story from following the concepts discussed today:
Charlie lost 29 pounds of fat, gained lean muscle mass, and significantly improved function and performance all in just 6 months. Not only that but Charlie got STRONG! Charlie doubled the weights he was lifting by the end of the six months!
Remember...
You may show up every day to push, pull, grunt, sweat, and limp to your car but be terribly unsuccessful at getting a desired result. RKC Brian Petty says it well...
"If you want pain, learn Muay Thai, If you want to learn about failure, play golf. If you want to vomit, drink Syrup Of Ipecac. If you want to become stronger and more fit, train appropriately."
