Almighty Dad | A stay at home dad blog

Getting fit is a multi-step process.  The first two steps are proper nutrition and hydration.  One step that I have not mentioned, but that is worth noting, is sleep.  Everybody knows to get 7-8 hours of sleep, and discussing it in much depth is probably not necessary.  We are now left to consider the workouts.  What workouts to choose depends on one’s fitness goals; knowing our goals is essential to deciding which type of exercise we want to emphasize,  aerobic or anaerobic.  But, we can’t stop there.  Our fitness goals also dictate  intensity, frequency, and duration of workouts.  And, who hasn’t been bored by going to the gym every day just to perform the same routine every time with no appreciable results?  When that happens it’s time for change.  Besides growing bored of the same workouts over and over there is a practical reason to vary our workouts.  When we switch up our workouts we force our muscles to adapt to new movements and routines, and that ushers improvement; it’s called muscle confusion.  Lastly, there is rest.  All good workouts have rest periods woven into them.  Rest is when the muscles grow stronger, recovering from days, or weeks, of abuse.  We’ll begin with an explanation of the two kinds of workouts from which we can choose. 

Aerobic and Anaerobic 

All exercises are both aerobic and anaerobic; there is no exercise that is exclusively one or the other.  Aerobic exercises are exercises that rely primarily on oxygen to  fuel cell metabolism.  Anaerobic refers to the process by which cells metabolize sugar without the use of oxygen; it is also much less efficient than aerobic exertion.  Let’s use an example.  When I run a marathon I must go at a steady pace that allows me to finish the race without having to stop to sit on a curb.  Whatever my speed, if I go too fast, I will experience fatigue and have to stop.  The fatigue I feel is a product of my muscles using anaerobic processes to fuel my muscles.  If the fatigue becomes too much then I have to slow down so that my muscles can start using more oxygen (which is in unlimited supply) to fuel their movement. 

People who are not fit usually want to also lose weight.    The only way to shed weight is to burn calories.  But, unfit people cannot sustain anaerobic exercise long enough to affect weight loss.  They are consigned to slow, steady, aerobic exercises until they reach a basic level of fitness that will then open up the possibility of anaerobic exercise.  It has been shown that both anaerobic exercise and aerobic exercise are equally good ways of burning calories.  The benefits of Aerobic workouts are in strengthening our cardio vascular system.  Interval workouts are, without question, the best way of burning calories.  They combine the duration of aerobic exercise with the exertion level of anaerobic exercise.  They are the most efficient way of burning calories.  But, like I said, unfit people need to wait to be able to perform them.  That isn’t such a bad thing because it’s best to start new routines slowly anyway to avoid burnout. 

Fitness Goals 

What goals do we want to reach with our workouts?  Do we want to run a marathon?  Weightlifting isn’t going to get us there.  Do we want to lose weight?  Do we want to build muscle?  Do we want flexibility?  These are the sorts of things that we must ask ourselves before we begin any kind of routine.  We have to know what we want and how we’re going to get there.  Wanting big muscles is not enough.  I have to know how big, by when I want them, what’s realistic, and for what use I’m going to use my big muscles.  People who do not have specific goals in mind generally quit shortly after starting.  Anybody who is familiar with the work of Edwin Locke knows the acronym SMART.  It stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound, and it refers to the process used to set goals.   Setting goals that are, in any way vague, assures failure.  This is the reason for letter grades in school, belt ranks in Karate, boss fights in video games, and time limits for obstacle courses.  It seems basic, but there are too many people who cannot complete anything in life because they don’t set SMART goals.  Taking the time to decide why we do things and how we’re going to do it increases the chances of our success.  It doesn’t matter that we’re talking about management techniques or exercise routines.  It’s all the same. 

Frequency and Duration 

Our goals will decide for us how long our workouts should be and how often they’ll be performed.  Elite athletes can spend several hours a day at their sport.  They push their bodies to their absolute limits and, in many cases, it’s unhealthy.  To perform at that level requires trainers and doctors who can monitor output and dial up or down intensity based on scientifically observable reactions.  They stay right on the threshold of injury, where the slightest wrong move could mean months in rehabilitation.  They push the envelope to break records, not because it’s healthy.  Regular people do not have access to those resources and should not attempt elite level training.  Dr. Mehmet C. Oz says that working out for about an hour a day is just about right for most people.  If the goal is to lose a little weight and fit into pants that are a size or two smaller then maybe not much is required.  A balanced diet and an hour of light aerobic exercise per day would do the trick.  Someone might be a little more ambitious.  Trying out for a soccer league or a swim team will require more intense effort.  Again, goals dictate everything.  But, let’s be serious – I’m 35, I’m not about to win the Olympic 100 meter dash. 

Variety 

Runners know especially well the phenomenon know as plateau.  It’s when we exercise like crazy for a month or so and make huge improvements.  Then, after another month of equal effort, we make no further progress.  Our times level off, and we think that’s all there is.  The fact is is that we have reached a plateau.  The impediment is two-fold.  First is that our bodies became adjusted to our routine and put themselves on autopilot.  Muscles that are not challenged in new ways rely on muscle memory.  Guitar players rely on muscle memory to play songs exactly the same way every time.  Runners don’t want that; we want to always get faster.  How do we do that?  We do it by introducing variety to our workouts.  We’ll do endurance runs three times a week, intervals on another day, maybe hills on one day, and a race on the 6^th day.  Even that can lead to stagnation if the same weekly routine is repeated monthly.  So we change things by month as well.  Every month we increase intensity to challenge muscles or we introduce new exercises that push our muscles in new directions. 

Rest 

The second problem is that muscles need time to repair.  Body builders build muscle not during lifting weights but during the rest periods between lifting weights.  The act of lifting weights actually tears muscle fibers.  But, bodybuilders know that with proper care and maintenance those muscles will grow back bigger and stronger.  There is a popular exercise routine called P90X that uses just this technique to achieve maximum results.  I’ve used it with great success myself   All fitness routines work on that same principle.  Bodies achieve greatness through the right combination of rest and exercise, not exercise alone.  It is beneficial to take a rest week every fourth week to give muscles the chance to acclimate to a new level of fitness before embarking on a new effort.  Consider it like climbing a mountain.  At some point during the climb we’ll get tired and have to rest.  If we rest enough then we can come back with equal effort on the next climb.  If we don’t take enough time to rest then the climb becomes painful and slow.  The tortoise really does win the race. 

Beginning a workout routine requires that we know a little something about fitness.  How will we know how to workout if we don’t know what anaerobic and aerobic exercise is?  Showing up at the gym without knowing the difference between walking, running, sprinting, weightlifting, Yoga or whatever other form of exercise, makes exercising inefficient.  If I want to look like Brad Pitt (Which will never happen but I can wish) I have to know how he did it, right.  We all want to be fit, but few of us achieve it.  The reason for that is the same reason most of us don’t complete most things.  It isn’t because working out is strenuous and we’re lazy.  It’s because we don’t set SMART goals and we beat ourselves before even starting.  When fitness starts to happen we want it to keep happening.  We keep it going by mixing up workouts, by forcing muscle fibers to adapt and grow to new challenges.  And, let’s not forget rest.  All good workouts incorporate sufficient rest periods.  Growth happens during rest.   Without rest our muscles cannot ever reach their full potential.  These are the basics of fitness.  It does not require a medical degree to understand enough to be successful.  Basic curiosity and good goal setting are all that is needed.  Our bodies are different and we just have to know a little about our own bodies and how to listen to them.  Easy peasy.

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