a RANT about January Fitness programs and goals...
I’m seeing a hell of a lot of fitness adverts online right now
In some ways this is great
Getting more people into fitness is awesome
The issue I see is HOW people are being told to exercise is all WRONG
There are only a few fundamental principles to training
Ignore these principles and the body will NOT change
This is exactly like medicine
We all have the ability to go to the doctors and have an illness or injury diagnosed
Then there is a set way of dealing with the ailment
Then, you should be cured.
1. Identify problem
2. Follow the proven rules of medicine
3. Fix problem
But imagine going to a doctor who had a guess at your illness or injury
Or didn’t ask you what the problem was
And then made up a treatment for you
Or told you what he recommended as a treatment and you didn’t like the sound of it, for example, open heart surgery
So he makes up a fun, enjoyable way to fix you just so you go along with it
But it doesn’t work!
You’d be screwed, dead, or at least in more pain and suffering than ever.
Yet this is exactly what I’m seeing with:
- big commercial gyms
- newly qualified personal trainers
- cheap bootcamps
- Crossfit
- group exercise programs
- dance classes
and pretty much everything else!
There are two issues here
1) The program works but is wrong for YOU.
2) The program doesn’t work and is wrong for everyone.
The fundamental principles of fitness are as follows:
1) get stronger
2) get healthier
3) get leaner
A program MUST have all 3
So a dance class will get you leaner and healthier, but there’s no strength training so you’ll still struggle to open a jar or move your sofa
A Crossfit program will get you stronger, if you aren’t injured by the movements, but it’s possible to excel at the program without good nutrition and therefore it doesn’t improve health
A spinning class may improve leg strength, but if it isn’t paired with a nutrition plan you won’t be getting leaner
It’s all a bit disjointed
Which is why most people get confused as hell.
And with most things there isn’t even a timeframe for your progress
Imagine breaking your arm and the Doc saying, ‘I think we’ll put a cast on it and wait until it’s better’
You’d run out of there unless you knew exactly what was going on and how long it was going to take
I believe most people fail on a fitness program because they aren’t told how long the result is going to take
Or, as I mentioned before, the program isn’t going to improve strength, health and a leaner body ALL at the same time.
Just like medicine, exercise science exists because the fundamental principles are the SAME for everyone;
The dose may need to be changed
The result may differ person to person due to genetics
But there’s only ONE way to achieve success in fitness.
Follow the proven principles:
1) Train for strength
2) Commit to a life-long nutrition plan, with calorie and macro targets for YOU
3) Perform enough activity each week to trigger fat loss
When you boil it down this is all that works and all that you need
Simple right?
But what you’ll find is that a program will offer just one of these things
E.g. Boxercise is only a fat loss program, there’s no strength or nutrition program
Crossfit is a hybrid strength and fat loss program, which in my opinion does a bad job of both due to trying to do 2 things at once – it’s fun and novel, but not truly effective – and there’s no nutrition program
Commercial gyms where you pay as you go, or pay monthly – well they leave the training plan up to you – would you perform your own surgery? That’s why results are typically below average.
I could go on and on today, this stuff really annoys me.
Do not commit to a program unless there is a nutrition program, which is the most important part of a plan
Do not commit to a program if there’s no chance to progress and lift heavier weights each week
Do not commit to a program that doesn’t get you out of breath and trigger fat burning
Only commit to a program that has all 3
Email me if you’re stuck as I’m happy to recommend great coaches throughout the UK
When you consistently follow the fundamentals of exercise science you realise that awesome results are simple, achievable for everyone and enjoyable to get
Understand that a business is either created on the notion of making money
or the notion of making a difference in people’s lives
So many big, licensed programs and gyms are simply there to make money
Soon people will realise that when you train and eat right, results come so quickly that commercial gyms are scamming people
The only way to transform yourself is to strength train and eat clean.
Go take ACTION!
Anthony Shaw
Head Coach
Raw Strength Gym, Warrington
PS - This year I’ve decided to work with LESS people, but give them a higher quality of service during and after an initial 12 week program.
My aim is to fill our program with 10 new people, then close the doors and spend 2016 getting phenomenal results with these people.
On this program you will get:
1) Our habit based, rule based nutrition system
2) Your own coach for every step of the program,
3) You will learn how to lift weights from scratch, or advance your skill to a higher level, whilst building strength, muscle and having FUN doing so
Each week you’ll train 3 times in our private facility, with a highly experienced coach showing you our program so you can rapidly lose unwanted lbs, develop whole body strength like an athlete, and simply transform the way you look
Apply here: http://www.rawstrength.uk/lean-girls-2016
This is done relentlessly over 12 weeks, then we’ll sit down and talk you through our goal setting system to set a longer term goal and work specifically on the areas you are weak on.
This whole process allows me to systematically transform your body by installing new habits and actions that will support your lifestyle and goals long term.