What is your Fitness Philosophy?

[ETFnerd]

I thought it would be useful to share what each of us considers important from what we have learned about what we need to do to get fit and ultimately to be happy with this aspect of our lives. We are all here to some extent because we were attracted to the ideas that Steve espoused in this great site. On the other hand, I am not Steve, and we have had our own different set of life experiences which make us all unique. I have not experienced all that you have experienced and it would be fun and instructive to learn from what you have found to work on your road to fitness and happiness.

I will begin sharing mine. I think I skew a little older than many here as I have passed 40 over a year ago. I’ve been around the block a couple of times, making plenty of mistakes and along the way learned what is important to me. Hopefully this doesn’t devolve into a shouting match about who is right, but we can accept that maybe different things work for different people because we lead different lives, want slightly different things, and live under different circumstances shaped by different people in our lives. It is still amazing how there is a unifying thread among smart, reasonable human beings such as our desire to be healthy and happy (and look good naked). Here it goes in order of importance:

FIRST PRINCIPLE: DO NO HARM. When I was younger and competing in karate tournaments, I wanted to compete in full contact kickboxing tournaments. I asked my instructor if he would recommend me to his instructor who was a half crazy vietnam vet. The way boxing and kickboxing "stables" work is that you come in as fresh meet and everybody gets to work you over until you learn to pick yourself off the canvas and figure out how to not get the crap beat out of you. I thought the stories about walking to the corner bleeding out of every orifice in your head while your cornerman spreads a handful of vaseline over your facew to plug every hole was... how should I put it...romantic. Well my instructor who was also my friend over time told me that sport was for improving your health and well-being, not for destroying it. I thought about it, I agreed with him and since I have been thankful for this advice that kept me out of the more brutal/dangerous sports. I write about this because I have seen a lot of interest recently in sports like MMA and Muay Thai that I consider extremely dangerous. Usually when you meet a very motivated and well prepared opponent, s/he can seriously damage you. No amount of preparation can prevent all the freakish things that can happen in a ring. Some people love it and it is worth the risk, but I find that most have not thought it through, and have not accounted for the effect that serious injury will have on you and all your loved ones. Just some food for thought.

1. Mental Balance and Centering. I believe that it is important that if you do not have a certain measure of emotional stability in your life, it is very difficult to achieve your goals in an efficient manner, no matter what they are. It is not essential that you are completely balanced and centered, but I think that you should at least have a plan, sufficient resources and support to be able to get there. For example, if you are mourning a loved one, nursing sick children or relatives, going through a divorce or a break-up with the love of your life, facing some sort of catastrophic event in your life, maybe it’s not the best time to implement a fitness regimen. I think often people turn to exercise to provide a distraction and relief for some other issue in their lives. I think it’s better to address your problem, resolve it or manage it properly, and then when you have achieved a modicum or even first steps on the road to mental centering and balancing, it is not too late to work on you physical plan. In the absence of centering and balance, I can have success in the short run, but will tend to yo-yo in frustration in the long run.

Also I need a support system. No matter how disciplined I am, it would be really hard for me to reach my fitness goals if someone followed me around all day with a box of fresh doughnuts, if people were drinking excessively or doing drugs, committing violent crimes, etc. It seems obvious, but there are more subtle ways to undermine someone who is trying to reach a goal. A needy friend or relative who is competing for your time come to mind. I am not advocating that this should be all about you, because life’s richness comes from the relationships you build, but I try to build relationships that are healthy, based on mutual love, respect, benefit where you make one another better over time.

2. Rest. I don’t know everything, but I am a firm believer that physiologically you do not build your fitness, health while exercising. Exercise is designed to break down and cause controlled damage to your body. This triggers your body’s internal mechanism to repair itself, preferably in a better state than the original. A regular exercise regimen is a systematic tear-down and rebuilding process. The logical conclusion is that you want to create the best conditions possible while at rest so that your body can efficiently rebuild itself. I think that the exercise literature woefully underrepresents the importance of this and there are several important aspects.

Sleep hygiene involves getting enough quantity, quality and consistency in sleep. I don’t know why this isn’t discussed more but having had sleep apnea and the prospect of living with a c-pap machine hooked up to me for the rest of my life made me realize how attention to this is so critical. You can learn a lot about this by googling this on the web. Here is an example of a resource:

http://www.umm.edu/sleep/sleep_hyg.htm

When I was in my late teens and twenties, nights were for drinking, partying and trying to get l**d. In my thirties, I was building a career and trying to provide security for my family. I should be doing a lot for my family and loved ones, but like they say on airplanes, make sure that you place your oxygen mask on before you help others put on theirs. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of others.

Stress management is about knowing enough to create a productive environment and being able to place yourself in that calm state. In my experience, this became easier as I got older. It is closely related to mental balance and centering. It is well known that stress causes physical and psychological damage that can run amok if you are not proactive in managing it. It will affect many aspects of your life, so paying attention to this will have many benefits. Exercise actually places great stress on your body and mind. In men it elevates testosterone and other hormones. Rest provides the necessary escape valve. If after exercise I have a 30 item punch list of chores at home, need to stop by the bank, pick up groceries, and fill my prescription, I am not getting proper rest, especially if I need to get it all done in two hours. Sound familiar?

3. Nutrition. This is the basic building block or raw material of us. Although the Paleo diet is an interesting story, in a World where we will reach 7 Billion people this month, it hardly seems feasible that we can write off agriculture (sorry Steve). The best book I ever read on nutrition is Optimum Sports Nutrition by Michael Colgan here which currently sells used on Amazon for less than 5 bucks:

http://www.amazon.com/Optimum-Sports-Nutrition-Your-Competitive/dp/0962484059/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1319200900&sr=8-3

I think you need to know a lot about how your body works and this book takes on a lot of topics and is based on research done to train athletes at the Olympic center. It is also easy to read and covers most of the supplements being hawked out there. It is a little dated, but it is an essential primer which can be supplemented by volumes referencing more recent research. It is also a fascinating read.

Nutrition is like choosing the list of building materials for a house. Some choices are substitutes based on preference. Some choices are clearly better than others and represent an upgrade. It is curious that the upgrade is not always more expensive. I love finding cheaper upgrades based on my personal needs and tastes.

4. Exercise. We finally get to exercise, and it really trails the other items listed above. Once you define what your goals are, then you have your parameters for what you need to do to get there. We are all different and have different goals, from the super model to the body builder to the World’s strongest man. It depends on what makes us happy.

One thing that works for me is to have a reasonable approach to doing things and the following works for me:

Research/Learn >>> Plan >>> Execute >>> Review/Improve Process ><< Research/Learn

…and so on repeating the cycle.

It can be applied to anything where you are trying to achieve something over the long-run and you want to improve it as you go along. In order to be successful, you need to be careful, detail conscious, and be able to log, track and adjust the process.

The beauty of exercise is that, as Steve says, if you find what you love, what makes you happy and the resources to make it happen (I mean more time and support than money because as you go, you can do it on the cheap as you get to know what you are doing and strip out what is unnecessary), you can achieve more than you ever thought possible.

Good luck to all and I look forward to reading and learning about your journey.

[TibbyUK]

I don't read into stuff a massive amount, I prefer to find out what is most effective and fits around my lifestyle, but not letting things control me too much as I would rather take longer to get into shape but enjoy going out for dinner with friends and not have to massively worry about what I am putting into my body etc.

I agree on the rest, I always try to sleep 8 hours a night, and I plan my workouts around 5 weekdays but isolating different body areas as best as I can, and separating areas that crossover to wide gaps in the week, i.e. Chest on Tuesday, Shoulders on Thursday.

Food wise, I go 66% paleo (or however you want to do the math), as I have Porridge for breakfast, then full Paleo for lunch and Dinner.

I have seen great gains, and am slowly but surely burning fat off. I have lost weight quicker than I am now before, but I feel a lot healthier and sturdy doing it this way, and I truly feel that what I eat is a change in outlook and not a diet. I don't actually enjoy eating many carb heavy items nowadays, with exceptions being a good Italian meal when out with family/friends. And as I'm going to Milan to see family at the end of the month, I foresee that happening a lot!

[SigridEllis]

This is interesting, and is making me think through my fitness philosophy. I'm still putting it together, I think. Reading a TON of books with different attitudes and views. I think my main point is this --

We are what we do, not what we intend to do.

Aristotle believed that we are the habits we cultivate. I think that's largely true. In my life, I was a hugely avoidant slacker. So I started pretending to be a person who got things done in a timely fashion. After eight years of pretending to be a together sort who is responsible, I have *become* that person. Two years ago I pretended to be a person who went to the gym three days a week, by going to the gym three days a week. I became that person by dint of DOING IT. Now I am a person who works out five days a week or more.

The other way to say this is fake it 'til you make it. You are the actions you take, so take the right actions.

[mizvalentine]

For me, its pretty simple...I don't want to live my life in pain. I've got a lot of health problems working against me and I really believe (and know, from painful experience) that being fit, sleeping and eating right, and keeping my weight in check is the only thing that's going to allow my body to keep up with my brain for years to come. I love to travel, I'm a musician and an artist, and I hate being told I can't do *anything*. In 2008 I was on the road playing music and my whole body gave out...I had to be helped on and off the stage, I had to stand in one place, I was weak and in agony and I couldn't walk. Let me tell you, it PISSED ME OFF! I was 32 then, I'm 35 now and I've been working on it since then.

I guess my fitness philosophy is, "do now, so you can do even more later." Because I have a crapload to do, and I don't have time to allow my body to let me down.

[ebm1224]

what a great thread. while i don't know that i've quite found what my philosophy is yet i'm really enjoying reading what is here. i guess what i can contribute here is this:

i grew up in a house where my mother was very overweight and sporadically would go on weight watchers or other similiar programs...and then quit and backslide. i'm sure that her habits have affected me and are a cause of my weight issues as an adult. still, she also instilled in me a love of fruits/vegetables, home cooked meals, and family time (my dad helped too!) so i don't want to vilify her too much.

in the past, i always wanted to lose weight to look a certain way but never really thought about performance issues or long term benefits.

in the last couple of years, something has shifted in me and i realize that i want to be healthy. yes, i want to look good in a bikini too but, more than that, i want to live a long and healthy life. i want to have a family and i don't want my future kids to have some of the same health hang ups that i did.

so i guess my philosophy, while still evolving, relates to slow changes over time...not with a finite goal of some particular number but a continuing progresstion toward being a better and stronger version of myself.

oh, and as a side note, my mom finally found the exercise that works for her. she fell in love with jazzercise a few years ago and goes probably 5 days a week. she still has some issues with food and she isn't thin. but she's healthy, strong, and has more energy than anyone i know and i look forward to her being around for many years to come.

[andygates]

Just One Thing.

Focus on doing just one thing, and success and glory are thine. Get distracted by all the choices and games and toys, and forever shalt thou be a dabbler. Change the thing as you go along -- we're humans, not insects born into a specialist caste, after all -- but do just one thing at a time.

[Guest Carjack]

Verbose thread.

Training:

Lift heavy things.

Practice things that are hard. Don't go to failure, just practice them until they're second nature.

Always be doing at least one of these things: Adding reps, adding weight, improving form, learning a new move. There is no generic "exercise", only technique and progress.

Listen to the body's signals.

Diet:

Paleo-esque but not paleo and not clean if I need more muscle.

High in protein whether for weight gain or loss.

Use fat for satiety and as a nutrient, use more fat to gain muscle mass.

Nutrition resources: Weston Price (Author/Foundation) - Protein Power and Paleo authors - old time bodybuilders and strongmen - bodybuilders and sports nutritionists.

Every word from the FDA, USDA, American Dietitians Association and American Heart Association is to be ignored, or deliberately contradicted just to be an asshole.

Research and planning guidelines:

Learn everything from multiple sources.

Study the results from other users of any technique or philosophy.

Once all the complexities are understood, boil everything down to reveal the most direct route to a goal.

Plan for cycles and fluctuations. Calorie surpluses are followed by calorie deficits. High volume training is followed by "back off" periods of easy activity.

[FoolishTook]

I hear you in the "mental balance and centering" side of exercise, though it may manifest differently in my practices. I lived an extremely sedentary lifestyle until about two years ago, when I discovered yoga. I fell headlong in love with it, started up a 108-days-of-yoga challenge (and would have made it if not for a week of the flu), and have found it to have influenced everything I've done since. Rather than pursuing pure Warrior class, the yoga introduced to me Monk class levels that have affected how I approach weights. If I can't do a pose or lift a particular weight without keeping my breath deep and even, I back off. My goal is to lift as much as I can, as many times as I can, while maintaining perfect form and an even breath. Maybe I don't see spectacular gains in a short amount of time, because I could push myself harder, but in doing so I lose the peacefulness of the activity. Keeping a deep, even breath throughout brings me to this peaceful, self-confident state where I feel totally in control, and that's a great goal by itself. (That isn't to say I'm not pushing myself, mind. I still walk off the gym floor pouring sweat and shaking slightly from exhaustion.)

My mentality on diet used to be, "Everything in moderation, even moderation." When I was doing so much yoga and weights as I had, it worked well enough for me. This has to change, though, since recent changes have shown to me just how addicted to sugar and processed grains I am. It's time to get a new mentality, which I'm starting my journey to find with a six-week sugar-free and processed-grains-free challenge. We'll see what my mentality is on December 6th. :grin:

It's tough to approach a new world like lifting without a level of trepidation. I've been reading a number of resources (Krista from Stumptuous, the personal trainer I worked with for a time, friends who lift, and Lou Schuler and Alwyn Cosgrove from "New Rules of Lifting for Women" are my main gurus), but it's easy to get overwhelmed and confused about where to start once I'm on the gym floor. I'm still working through routines provided by these folk so I have a sense of stability, and balancing yoga with lifting so I'm increasing strength, dexterity, and constitution all together.

@MizValentine, I hear you on not wanting to live your life in pain! I first really started lifting so strengthen my lower back and core, because my scoliotic back was in such pain and getting in the way of my being able to get out there and do things. How have things gone since the pain when you were 32? What have you done that has helped mitigate, even eliminate it?

[ETFnerd]

Thanks to all with your input. It is very interesting and I like the mix and variety of experiences on this forum. Look fwd to the shared experiences that we will have together. I wanted to update the original post to add something important that came to me:

FIRST PRINCIPLE: DO NO HARM. When I was younger and competing in karate tournaments, I wanted to compete in full contact kickboxing tournaments. I asked my instructor if he would recommend me to his instructor who was a half crazy vietnam vet. The way boxing and kickboxing "stables" work is that you come in as fresh meat and everybody gets to work you over until you learn to pick yourself off the canvas and figure out how to not get the crap beat out of you. I thought the stories about walking to the corner bleeding out of every orifice in your head while your cornerman spreads a handful of vaseline over your facew to plug every hole was... how should I put it...romantic. Well my instructor who was also my friend over time told me that sport was for improving your health and well-being, not for destroying it. I thought about it, I agreed with him and since I have been thankful for this advice that kept me out of the more brutal/dangerous sports. I write about this because I have seen a lot of interest recently in sports like MMA and Muay Thai that I consider extremely dangerous. Usually when you meet a very motivated and well prepared opponent, s/he can seriously damage you. No amount of preparation can prevent all the freakish things that can happen in a ring. Some people love it and it is worth the risk, but I find that most have not thought it through, and have not accounted for the effect that serious injury will have on you and all your loved ones. Just some food for thought.

This also applies not to dangerous sports, but what you eat, how you treat those around you and almost every other aspect of your life where we can maybe pause to think, is this what I should be doing? Is this what is most beneficial to me at this time?

[ETFnerd]

I remember doing horse stances for a long time when I was taking northern style eagle claw when I was in high school. My legs would shake uncontrollably. Over time, I learned to relax, drop my center of gravity and breathe deeply to take control of my uncontrollable state. My sifu, Shum Leung was old skool and thought that I would never amount to anything. His thing was crushing chinese teacups with his hand. About 10 years ago I was testing for my brown belt in kenpo and I did 1200 regular push ups. I'd say after 500 I was half-a$$ing them and they were more like butt-bobs than push ups, but what was important was that I didn't give up. One of the other tests was to fight out of five people swarming you while you are on the ground by getting up and getting away. I wasn't successful because I was too tired, but I tried with everything I had until time was called, and it was a proud moment for me, even though I would have died in the real thing. You learn that you can't always win and be successful. This is something that children believe and some people never grow out of it. To me it just matters that I set realistic goals that make me happy and try to get there with everything I have. Sometimes, the result is much more than you ever imagined possible, but you'll never know until you give it your all. Muhammed Ali said that he doesn't start counting how many sit ups he did until he first feels he absolutely cannot do another one. Every one he does when he absolutely believes another is not possible is what takes you to the next level. Looks like you are on your way.

To me, that is the warrior spirit. When you let go of your fear, your emotional baggage and focus on what you have at your disposal to get the job done. That's why I always try to do weightlifting sets to positive and negative failure until the spotter is moving 100% of the weight. This way of doing things hasn't always worked in all situations where a moderate approach is needed, but I live and learn.

I was thinking about the "warrior spirit" while posting on the thread of a fellow martial artist, and I came to the conclusion that I subscribe to a very extreme form of taking things way too far. In the spirit of a warrior, there is a life or death mentality that comes obviously from situations that are all or nothing. It works well when you have a must-reach goal. It may help you pass the bar exam, or achieve a lofty goal, but it is really at odds with the mental balance and centering principle in my first post. I think that a balanced approach is needed and what you apply needs to be situational based on facts and circumstances. Sometime you need to come down like a freight train, and sometimes you need to finesse the process. Being a little older helps in sorting this out because I was really a hardcore, black and white type when I was younger. Age helped in recognizing that the World doesn't revolve around me, and that life is enjoyed when shared with people you care about. Some of the best gratification I have ever experienced was when I helped others reach their goals.

[Denny]

Sleep until you're satisfied, 8 hours is a good guideline but if you need more sleep, sleep more.

Drink a lot of water.

Get enough protein every day.

Don't get injured. An injury sets you back farther than taking it easier during training.

Make sure exercise first of all is fun, then go heavy duty.

I don't think I have any other principles to be honest.

[TibbyUK]

On the dangers of Martial Arts: They are as dangerous as you want them to be, or more likely as the instructor lets them be.

I have done Muay Thai for 4 years (but sadly there is no MMA/Muay Thai gym where I am working at the moment), and I never once felt it wasn't safe. Sparring adds an element of increased danger, but as you are normally sparring with well balanced strangers or even better friends, it is less than likely you will suffer any serious/permanent injury (hey we all pick up bruises and black eyes from time to time).

I have done some MMA classes, and the ones I went to I felt the instructor didn't have a safe control on the group and was more about showing off so I quickly dropped it without looking back. But again this is due to the instructor.

From what you have written ETFnerd, I am gathering you are more aiming the post at actual ring fights, but I never once had a ring fight and instead used Muay Thai as a fitness regime and a way to defend myself if I needed to. I cannot recommend Muay Thai enough to anyone looking for a fun activity that will massively help to lose weight in both an anerobic and aerobic setting, and also make you feel more confident about being able to protect yourself should somebody start a fight in a bar etc.