Fitness

It’s not often that I dedicate a post to recommending another piece of content. I’ll make an exception for this absolute brilliance.

Greg Glassman is the founder of Crossfit. In under 8 mins, he gives the most elegant articulation of why it’s so important to be in good metabolic health.

He also neatly explains why in the vast majority of COVID-19 deaths, the virus was the symptom, rather than the root cause.

Watching this has only strengthened my resolve to have foundational health habits in my life. Yes, they have a direct positive impact on metabolic health. But, what will catch you by surprise is the even bigger indirect impact they have – by leading you to a more active lifestyle and healthier eating habits.

If you’re interested to build foundational health habits into your own life, you’re in luck – I have a podcast dedicated to it!

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I’m going to step outside the usual topic of foundational health habits. And that’s because, I want to tackle one of the biggest opportunities you might have to become fitter, healthier and to look better.

Yes, the claim of being able to 10X your fitness results is designed to be attention grabbing. But, I’m not exaggerating. This mistake is one I see a lot of people making. I’ve made it before, and there’s a good chance you’re making it now – and you don’t even realise it.

I won’t sugar coat it. If you exercise on a regular basis, there’s a very good chance that the way you’re going about it is deeply flawed.

I don’t want to make anyone feel bad. Because, if you’re getting out there and consistently being active, you have a huge amount of respect from me. It shows a real commitment to look after your health and to better yourself.

The reason I’m bringing it up, is because I think most people can get a huge amount more for the effort they’re putting into their exercise regime.

I’ve reached that conclusion, because I’ve come to appreciate how important it is to have a really well constructed training program.

For me, it’s been the biggest game changer when it comes to my health and how I look.

Only a few years ago, even though I was spending a lot of time working out, my body was often feeling creaky. I was also regularly picking up injuries that would knock me out for many weeks at a time. This really hurt my consistency.

It pains me to say it, the results I was getting were very average compared to the effort I was putting in. I was spending hours in the gym every week, and I didn’t even look like I worked out. I was embarrassed to take my top off.

But, over the last couple of years, I’ve been able to completely transform my physique. My body now feels alot better and I’ve been able to significantly reduce injuries. The biggest contributing factor to that, is how I’ve changed my approach towards my training.

To help illustrate this, and make a few recommendations. I’m going to go through the different ways in which you can go about approaching an exercise routine.

I’ll start with the worst first.

Be random

The absolute worst way you can go about exercising, is to go about it randomly. Now, you might think, that’s kind of a silly thing to say – who on earth would go about exercising in a random way? You’d be surprised. I’ve done it before, and I suspect you have too.

Walk into any commercial gym and take a look around. I bet you’ll see a reasonable amount of people wandering around. They do a few sets on each weight training machine, and then perhaps finish off with a couple of different cardio machines.

In this case, their program is literally defined by what pieces of equipment their gym happens to have – and also on what equipment is free to use at any given point in time.

This is a horrible way to workout.

It’s definitely better than doing nothing and being sedentary. Absolutely. But, it’s the lowest results to effort ratio I can think of. It doesn’t take into account your goals, and it has no strategy to it at all.

I’d give this way of going about things a 3 out of 10 rating for effectiveness. It’s not zero, because at least you’re out there creating some type of stimulus for the body. But, it’s also not great at all.

So what’s better than being random?

Create your own training program

The next level is putting together an exercise program yourself. This is definitely better. You can now start to think about your goals, and put something together which will hopefully achieve them.

Let’s say your goal is to put on muscle and you can train three times a week. You can now start to think about how you would spread things out over those three days. You can also start to think about what exercises would be good for building muscle, as well as the sets and reps you’ll use for each exercise.

This is so much better than the first example I gave – which was entirely random.

But, again, it will still be flawed. And that’s because creating a training program is actually a very technical skill.

Imagine if you had a serious repair that needed doing on your house. You’d find a tradesman that had the right set of skills to fix it. It’s unlikely that you would try and tackle it yourself right? Making up your own training program is no different to that.

But, what if you do have some knowledge? Is it then OK to go ahead and create your own training program? I still don’t think that’s a particularly great idea.

I would like to think I’m quite knowledgeable when it comes to working out and training programmes. But, based on what I now know is the gold standard (don’t worry, we’ll get to that), I would definitely make a bit of a hash of it.

Case in point, I no longer try to create my own programs. They are made for me. Every now and again I will drift a bit off script, and it almost always causes me problems – usually involving an injury. It always highlights to me that even though I know a few things, I am far from being an expert.

So, yes, you can create your own training program, and it’s absolutely a level up from wandering around the gym randomly. But, even if you know a few things, I think you’ll end up with something that is mediocre. And this will limit results, and also open yourself up to a fairly high risk of injury.

I’d rate making up your own training program as a 4, or maybe a 5 out of 10, in effectiveness.

Find an existing training program

There are plenty of existing training programmes out there. You might find them from a book, an app, or the internet.

This is definitely now getting into a much smarter way to approach your training. But like everything, there is a range to how good this will be.

On one end of the spectrum, you might try and find something for free. Perhaps you steal something from a blog article someone wrote. Or, you ask chatgpt to create you something. The problem with this, is that the quality is going to vary quite a bit. You might get super lucky and stumble across something really good. But you also might stumble across something which is poor. As I mentioned a second ago, It’s likely that you won’t have the knowledge to know one from the other.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are many training programs out there you can buy. This is actually where it starts to get interesting.

You’ll notice a huge jump in quality with paid training programs. You now open yourself up to some of the best personal trainers and coaches on the planet.

It’s amazing how many really good training programs there are out there.

Most of them can be bought as either one off purchases, or as a monthly subscription. And it’s not as expensive as you think. They’ll usually set you back perhaps 100-200 bucks for a one off programme. If it’s a monthly subscription, you’re looking at between 20 and 40 bucks a month.

Now, I know not everyone is in the position to be able to afford that. But if you are, it can be an incredible investment. It’s going to be a huge multiplier on the time and effort you’re going to put in. And it’s going to supercharge the results you get.

You can find anything you want, whatever your goal. It doesn’t matter whether you want to be a better swimmer, runner or rower. Maybe you want to get stronger, or want to build endurance? Maybe you want to have better mobility, or need to fix an injury? And it doesn’t matter whether you have a well equipped home gym, or no equipment at all.

If you do a bit of research, and if you’re willing to invest some money in it, you’ll find a program for whatever your goal.

As with most things in life, there will be a huge range of quality out there. That’s where I can help a little bit.

I can think of at least ten or so popular training programs by some of the best coaches out there. I’m going to put a varied list of these at the bottom of this article, which will give you a massive head start. For the record, I have zero affiliation with any of these.

If you can find a high quality pre-prepared training program that fits your goals, you’re now getting into 8/10 territory. You put yourself in a position to get amazing results for the work you put in.

Work with a personal trainer

This is the absolute icing on the cake. We’re talking 10/10.

When you work with a personal trainer, you get a quality training program, and also something that’s personalised. They will take into account your goals and limitations. They will also take into account what you enjoy doing and your schedule.

The other benefit to working with a personal trainer is that you can ask questions. This helps you understand everything better. You end up educating yourself as part of the process.

Lastly, you also get the benefit of accountability. And this is HUGE. This in itself could be the best lever you can pull to increase your consistency – and therefore your results.

Working with a personal trainer is the option I choose. I’ve absolutely benefited from all of these things. My training program is so much better than anything I could come up with myself, or that I could buy off the shelf. And that’s because it’s highly personalized to me and my goals.

It’s no coincidence that I’m the most consistent I’ve ever been with my training. And a big part of that is because I feel accountable to my trainer in getting my workouts done. I don’t want to waste my money, or his time.

It’s worth noting that my personal trainer is remote. Physical location doesn’t have to be a barrier to working with one. For the most part, we work through video calls and through an app. Every week, I have my full weeks worth of training lined up for me – warm ups, exercises, sets and reps, guidance notes for each exercise and video demos of the exercises. I just follow the script.

A quick word of warning when it comes to personal trainers – and in fact, any existing training program. As with anything, the quality is going to vary massively. And at least from what I see in the fitness space, quite a large percentage of coaches, are actually pretty bad.

Do your research, and preferably get recommendations from people you know.

So, what I would recommend is this. Take a moment to consider: which approach to exercise are you currently using? Is there a chance to step it up and optimize your routine for massively better results?

Reflect on the different ways of going about following a training program. Don’t hesitate to move up the ladder to get more out of your fitness efforts.

List of Training Programmes:

Persist: Training Program by Marcus Filly

Josh Bridges: Training Programs

Active Life Rx

Jason Brown coaching programs

Chris Hinshaw Training Programs

Sentinel Training by Taylor Self

GMB Fitness Training Programs

Pliability

GOWOD

3 Playing Brothers Sevan Matossian

My personal trainer: Jamie Benton Fitness

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Here are two reasons, why you have to be an active person:

1. Being weak, relative to being strong = 250% increase in all cause mortality.
2. Having a very low Vo2 max (bottom 25% of population) vs. a high Vo2 max (top 2.5% of population) = 400% increase in all cause mortality. [1]

THE END.

Ok, it’s not really the end. I think you know where I’m going with this though.

If you’re strong and fit, you will live a longer life. And not just a longer life – one with more years that are healthy and free from disease. I can’t think of anything that would be a higher priority than that. It makes a sedentary lifestyle hard to fathom.

You have to be an active person. You have to consistently expose yourself to some discomfort. Yes, that requires effort and it’s going to be hard. But, there’s only one thing I will guarantee – you will absolutely regret it later in life if you don’t do it.

It’s why, when it was cold outside and I didn’t feel like working out yesterday, I did the following:

10 minutes of ‘cardio’ @ mod effort (2 mins bike / 6 mins run / 2 mins bike)

Straight into..

3 rounds of:

• 8 Strict pull ups
• 15 Hand release Push-ups
• 30 seconds side plank rotations (R)
• 30 seconds side plank rotations (L)
• 20 goblet squats to box
• 20 halo’s (10 each way)

10 minutes of ‘cardio’ @ mod effort (10 mins run)

A straight 39 mins of work.

I felt so good afterwards. I was proud of myself for getting it done. I got a big lift in energy and mood. And I’m able to rest safe in the knowledge that it’s another small step to a long and healthy life.

If you’re living a sedentary lifestyle right now, this is a call to action. You know it’s not right. You know the trade off you’re making (more time at work, more comfort, more watching TV etc.) isn’t worth it. You know you’ll regret it. Break the cycle. Start doing something a couple of times a week. 10K steps in a day is an absolutely brilliant start.

Notes:

[1] VO2 max is the amount (volume) of oxygen your body uses while exercising as hard as you can. It’s a common tool to understand your fitness level

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I’ve been working with Jamie (personal trainer) for the last year. One of the things he’s helped me with is to address the root causes of previous back injuries. It was going great. I had been training 4-5 times a week for about a year – getting stronger and fitter without any back issues.

Towards the end of last year we decided (Jamie might disagree with the we part 😉 ) to introduce some higher risk movements back into the program to see how I coped with them. Cleans and some CrossFit type movements – essentially hinge movements under load.

It was too much. My back felt tight after the sessions, which eventually led to a lower back twinge. We spent a few weeks reducing the intensity to let it rest. When it felt better (no pain, but I still felt very stiff), I tried to do a normal session with reduced intensity. I stupidly chose a weight that was too heavy and it twinged again. I then spent the next three weeks training at reduced intensity. It helped to not make it worse, but I still had a handful of twinges every day. So, we switched to only walking and VERY light rehab exercises. I’ve also been seeing an osteopath for the last few weeks.

I’m finally at a point where I haven’t had a twinge in a handful of days. I can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

The last three months have HUMBLED me. I have a good mentality around training and one of the best personal trainers I could hope for. But, I’ve realised there is still a long way for me to go. I’ve been able to think a lot about why I got injured and how I can help reduce the risk of lower back injuries in the future.

Here are my insights:

• My warm ups are longer and better than they have ever been. But, I need to take them to the NEXT level – both at the beginning of the session and before specific movements. It’s insane how much better my range of motion is after a good warm up. This might be the biggest thing I can do to reduce the risk of back injuries in the future.

• I need to fully commit to cool downs. If I’m in a rush, I skip them. I almost think about them as optional. No longer. It’s the best time to get static stretching in.

• I need to lose my fixation for high risk movements. Sure, I would love to be able to do the Olympic lifts and other CrossFit stuff – but they will always be high risk for me. Being able to train consistently and get incrementally fitter and healthier is more important. Perhaps I will get there some day – but I’m content to say goodbye to them if that’s what it takes.

• My training split used to be a mix of upper body, conditioning, lower body and CrossFit stuff. Before I got injured we decided to change it to upper body, conditioning, midline / rehab and something fun and safe. I can see now that this is EXACTLY what I need. In fact, I’m now more than ever willing to shut my mouth and do what Jamie tells me to do.

• Being too ambitious with weight choice is still a problem for me. Every time I have to make a decision, I need to remember to err on the side of caution. It’s always better to move a bit faster and better with a lighter weight – than a heavier weight and get injured.

• If I injure my lower back again, I need to immediately stick to walking for a while. I need to see a couple of weeks of no twinges and most stiffness gone before I try and get back into training. Trying to train through it – even at a reduced intensity, only prolongs recovery.

• There is more I can be doing to help improve my mobility outside of my training sessions. Foam rolling, stretching, rehab, massage ball etc. I have plenty of time on evenings and weekends to get 20 mins in. There’s no excuse.

I’ve also had some time to think about other sports and activities I’d like to do outside of my training sessions. Things that will be fun, safe and help me move better. Yoga, rucking, swimming, paddle boarding and tennis are on my radar. I’m not going to set any big expectations – or try to do them all at once. I’ll pick one to focus on and explore the others whenever it feels right.

I’m going to start with swimming. I’ve already booked myself into some swimming lessons for when my back is completely healed. I want to improve my front crawl technique so I can get some morning swimming sessions in. I have a lovely outdoor pool a few miles for me that can help double up as some cold exposure!

So, even though being injured for so long sucks, I’m confident I will come back stronger than ever.

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