Back to the Basics

As the new year has come and gone, the gyms are starting to fill with the "wannabes" looking for fitness miracles they didn't receive from Santa. Health Clubs (notice I didn't say Gyms) are offering 5 for 1s and guaranteed results with the latest and greatest fitness crazes. I see PTs getting their clients doing squats on BOSU Balls or 10 min of KB Swings and calling it "conditioning". When's the next time you're going to be walking on a bouncy, unsteady surface? The moon? Please, you know that's bullshit. I see women spending 2 hours at the gym, jumping from cardio machine to cardio machine. The truth is it's a waste of time. What those people accomplish in 2 hours, can be accomplished in less than an hour if your exercise regime is planned out intelligently. It's all about sticking to the basics.

January and February should be named "bullshit cardio month" because people for some reason think that by doing endless hours of steady state cardio they will reach their fitness goals. Now I'm open to hearing new fitness advice or training but when I see idiots (more so idiot trainers) telling their clients to get on the elliptical/treadmill/bike and work in the "fat burning zone" I just about lose my shit. First of all, the fat burning zone should be dubbed the "waste of time" zone. There is no reason for anyone to be hustling away on a piece of equipment at a steady rate for an hour (unless you're walking, which is a whole other post in itself). Would you rather look like a sprinter or a marathoner? I'm not going to respond to that. What you should be doing is making efficient use of your time, getting the most bang for your workout. So instead of bumbling away for an hour on the bike, take 12-20 mins and do some interval training. Do some hill sprints, stairs, suicides, something where your body is moving at a high rate of exertion. I'd say anywhere from 10-20 sec of all out intensity with appropriate rest should do it. Hit that up 2 or 3 times a week and you're golden. Hopefully that clears the air about conditioning.

Now to strength training. Funny name isn't it, strength training? If it's called strength training why are there people doing 5 sets of 25 or "Volume Training" 10 sets of 10? That's not strength training. Strength training at the most basic physiological level is 85% to 95% of a 1RM for a range (which is highly debated) of 1 - 5 reps and 1 -5 sets. I personally would even go to 6 reps. Yes, 6 reps. But the key is that it's a high % of your maximum effort. I'm not saying there isn't a place for high intensity body weight circuits, I love those. Do them all the time in the summer. Helps me work on my tan while getting a workout. What I'm saying is that if your lifting weights, training for strength, then by the mighty hand of Zeus himself, get strong! Increase muscle tissue size, strengthen tendons and ligaments, push some big weights around and by God TRAINSMART!!! The aesthetics will take care of themselves through dedication in training and diet (about 20% training and 80% diet. You can't out train a shitty diet). Athletes base their training on this simple concept alone! The concept has been through the blender so many times that everyone's forget the basic ingredients that went into it.

To conclude, OUTFIT is about being smart and efficient with your training. Train with purpose, train smart and train hard. At the end of the day, you want to be able to say "Damn, that workout was great." Not, "Damn, I wish I hadn't blown chunks every where on the floor." Stick to the basics of training.

Quan, OUT