What is REALLY holding you back ?
All training fits into four broad categories. In order, these are:
Body composition
Flexibility/Range of movement
Strength
Conditioning
There are many ways to individualize and tailor your training within each group. But the categories remain the same.. Body composition comes first for one simple reason: being overweight has an adverse relationship with health and fitness, as well as your mental state.
How you can perform is directly correlated to how you can move. If you have extra weight, movement is harder to do at any level. You should have a clear understanding of what your BMI (body mass index) is and how that affects your health. The number on the scale is not as accurate as one would believe it to be due to muscle weighing more than fat does so use BMI as a guage but not the definite answer to overall health.
In order to find out your body composition, use BMI, your waist measurement, and body fat scales to figure out where you should be. For reference, an athletic male should have between 6-13 percent body fat, while a female should have 14-20 percent. This study1 found body fat was closely linked to BMI measurements greater than 30. In other words, if your BMI is 30 or more, you are likely to have a corresponding body fat percentage.
This might be an eye opener for many of you and that’s a good thing. Knowing where your body is in composition just gives trainers and coaches a better understanding of what you need to make forward progression.My goal is to have your body composition at an optimal level for your health and wellness. Your first step is food tracking. Food tracking becomes a large part of this process, as does the effort to create new habits and educate you about what your currently eating, how much of it your eating and where you have habits that we can change and adapt.
Second, workout harder not longer.Did you know that the difference between a steady-state workout and an interval workout is 7 percent? When it comes to training for fat loss, the decision is simple. Pick the workout that burns the most calories in the most sustainable way.
All this is is determined by eating well. None of it will make any difference if you’re snacking on pizza every night and eating M&M’s.Rule one is that your training, including the associated diet, should make you better and healthier. If you’re trying to eat your way into a bigger deadlift but you don’t compete in a lifting sport, you will probably make things worse for yourself in the long run. Get your eating under control this year and watch how easy it is to nail down your other health and fitness goals.