Exercise is so much more than a weight loss tool

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

I have been working in the fitness industry for 25 years.

I started as a PT tech while working on my master’s degree in Exercise Physiology.

I had already earned a bachelor's degree in Psychology at that time. I originally thought that I was going to make a career in psychology.

I found that my true passion was fitness. The fact is that I have still made a career out of psychology as well.

Physiology and psychology go together. The body and the mind are connected. When you add the spiritual component, you have complete wellness.

Body, mind and spirit are combined to form complete wellness.

After working as a PT tech, I started my own personal training business. That was in 1994.

In these 25 years I’ve found that the toughest client to work with is a weight loss client.

It’s not because I struggle with what they need to do. It is because many don’t understand that most weight loss, if not all of it, is going to come from diet.

Exercise is going to serve a different role for them. That’s a hard message for many weight loss clients to grasp.

I believe that I use my psychology background almost as much as I use my physiology education.

For the most part people know they need to exercise and they know they should, most likely, eat better.

There are exaggerated and poor exercise programs out there that confuse people and there are certainly bogus, money making diet programs on the market.

You can get your hands on a good exercise program and diet information if you look. Yet, people aren’t doing it. This is a psychological decision.

Why is the choice to exercise not being made more often?

Less than a quarter of Americans exercise regularly

Depending on which study you look at, only one in seven people are on a sustainable exercise program.

In another more favorable study only one in four are exercising enough.

At the very best, 25% of the United States is exercising enough to get benefits.

Why is that? What gives?

I believe that I have at least part of the reason why. I will get into that below, but let that statistic set in.

We shouldn’t bash people for not exercising.

I’m in the industry. I believe we in the fitness industry have sent out many mixed messages and I don’t think we do a good enough job of explaining why exercise is so important.

If we explain the why, the do is more doable.

How much exercise do you need?

The American College of Sports Medicine, the American Heart Association and the World Health Organization all state that you should exercise for 150 minutes a week to get the health benefits of a fitness program.

That number equals 21 minutes per day.

Yet, as you saw above, we are not getting enough exercise as far as the nation goes.

I’m sure the rest of the world is having the same experience - just not to the extent of the United States.

Is 21 minutes of exercise every day too hard to do? I want people to reach this goal because I know that it is worth it.

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Why don’t we exercise enough?

1. We reduce exercise to a weight loss tactic

2. We don't know the real benefits of exercise

3. People make exercise too complicated

I believe that there are three main reasons why we don't exercise enough as a nation.

The first is reason is that we use exercise as a weight loss tool.

Secondly, we don't understand all of the benefits of exercise outside of weight loss (superficial motivation).

The third reason is that we make exercise programs too complicated.

Exercising for weight loss reduces that chance that we will stick to it

The best way to lose weight is through diet. It always has been this way - and it always will be this way.

When I refer to diet, I mean cutting back on how much you eat when you want to lose weight.

It’s all about calories.

Energy (which is calories) consumed must be less than energy used to lose weight.

Yes, exercise can help. The energy consumed part is exercise and other non-exercise activities (NEAT).

Exercise on its own is not enough to lose weight. Exercise usually becomes a bad excuse for eating too much.

If you run one mile, jog one mile, or walk one mile you are going to burn about 100 calories. If you eat a banana afterwards (which takes 1 minute), you just put those calories back.

You can’t keep up. You cannot outrun a poor diet.

I’ve seen marathon runners that I coach gain weight while running 50-80 miles weekly for this very reason.

I’ve seen many people drop a significant amount of weight while never breaking a sweat. It's because they understand the role of diet in the weight loss process.

It’s about cutting calories. If we eat too much food, we will gain weight.

I don’t have the space here to go over all the benefits of choosing good foods to eat because that’s not the point of this article.

The point is that we lose weight from controlling our energy input and output.

The output part, exercise, is limited in its return on investment (regarding weight loss).

Bodybuilders know how to lose weight through diet

Another example I’ll pull from is bodybuilding.

I have competed and work with many people that have done physique competitions.

The workout program does not change that much when it comes to prepping for a show. Bodybuilders do add some more cardio-respiratory exercises into their program, but the big change comes from diet.

The diet becomes more and more critical depending on how much fat the athlete must lose.

Bodybuilders know that weight loss comes from diet - and they exercise a lot! They can lose a lot of fat in a short period of time because they understand this basic principle.

I’m more of a believer in staying close to your best state most of the time and just cutting a little bit when you need to.

If the athlete does that, the diet doesn’t have to be as low in calories. They don’t need to diet as long.

If they allow for too much weight gain during the year, the diet will be stricter and for a longer period.

The point is that body builders have known this forever. When they plan a show, they don’t say “time to start training”. They say, “Time to start dieting”.

Weight loss is about food intake. The professionals know this.

Exercise is a great way to avoid regaining the weight. Weight regain is a major problem with those that struggle with weight loss.

Here is the problem makes people stop exercising: Many people start exercising to lose weight.

Can you guess why they stop?

You got it - they don’t lose weight.

In some cases, people gain weight because they start strength training. Strength training adds muscle. This is a good thing because muscle increases your metabolism (the amount of calories that you burn throughout the day).

People don't see it this way. We focus so much on the scale that we don't realize that we are burning fat.

Commercials have convinced us that the way to weight loss is by wearing a fancy leotard and dancing to music.

If people started a diet program along with the exercise program, they would lose weight. Some are wise enough (or get the right advice) to combine the two.

I want people to exercise for all the true benefits of exercise - and I mean the actual benefits of exercise on its own.

You can absolutely become fit and gain many benefits from exercise - even if you don’t lose a pound.

People don't exercise because they don't understand the benefits of exercise

Exercise is so much more than weight loss.

People who exercise - regardless of weight - are healthier and live longer. There are many studies that support this.

You reduce your risk for chronic diseases and you will live a healthier life if you exercise - even if it is for the minimum amount of 21 minutes each day.

Exercise for the sake of health.

Do I really need to go on? There are more benefits, but let that sink in.

Many people attempt to lose weight for those reasons. Losing weight absolutely lowers disease risk as well.

Exercising, even if you don’t lose weight, has these benefits too.

Trainees that understand this will to stick to exercise and see it for themselves.

The ones that don’t understand this, and only want to lose weight, will often step away from exercise before they experience the real benefits.

You will see that 21 minutes of daily exercise is really worth it if you let this sink in.

Is more exercise better? Yes it can be, but that’s not the idea right now.

We tend to run ahead of ourselves and burn out before we establish a proper routine.

We can see the benefits of exercise from doing as little as 150 minutes a week.

That is very worth it to me.

Weight loss isn't the best motivation.

The other benefits of exercise outside of lowering risk for chronic diseases are many.

Exercise increases bone density. Exercise strengthens your heart so that you won’t be as winded during your daily activities.

Exercise adds muscle tone. Who doesn’t still want to look good in their tank top or t-shirt? Exercise makes you stronger. Exercise makes you better at all your ADL’s (activities of daily living).

Exercise makes you better at sports if you play any. Exercise improves your posture. Proper strength exercise prevents injury.

Exercise builds your confidence and self-esteem. Exercise lifts your mood. Endorphins are natural pain killers. They are released when you start exercising. Exercise improves your social life when you do it with others.

I have had so many clients and friends make amazing friendships from picking up a sport or joining an exercise group.

Benefits of exercise

1. Lowers risk for chronic disease

2. Increases bone density

3. Strengthens the heart

4. You won't be winded when you do something

5. Exercise adds muscle tone

6. Improves appearance

7. Makes you stronger

8. Increases motivation

9. Makes you better at everything else that you do

10. Improves mental performance

11. Improves physical skills

12. Improves posture

13. Prevents injury

14. Builds confidence and self esteem

15. Gives you a sense of achievement

16. Lifts your mood

17. Reduces pain

18. Improves your social life

Fitness professionals make it too complicated

We need to KISS.

We really need to Keep It Simple, Stupid.

The final major reason why people aren’t doing the minimum amount of exercise to help them is because we experts have made it too complicated.

We’ve tried to sell it as a certain way that it must be done.

You just must move to get the health benefits of exercise.

If we can get everyone in this country to move the minimal amount of time each day, we would be so much healthier as a nation and as a global population.

I believe that fitness professionals, along with the other reasons mentioned above, have an caused an issue in getting people to move more because of a paralysis of analysis where people don’t do enough because they don’t know what to do.

People don't exercise enough because they are bombarded with the technicalities of how to do it.

Just move. It's that simple.

I’m an exercise physiologist. I have all the top certifications and I’m telling you that many people in my field and in the medical field over-complicate exercise.

Just move. Walk, run, bike, skip, lift, swim, and/or play sports. Just move your body.

Don't let things like your maximal heart rate make exercise too complicated

I have used target heart rates for clients for their cardio-respiratory exercise prescription.

For the most part, they are overrated.

They serve a purpose in some cases but for the health benefits of exercise they are very unnecessary.

Let me give you some facts about heart rate calculations.

There is a standard deviation of age predicated maximum heart rate and actual maximal heart rate

The formula for age predicted maximum heart rate is 220 minus age. You might see a poster of this hung up on the wall at a gym.

You derive a maximal heart rate from this formula.

If you are 40 years old, then 220-40 equals 180. If you are going to exercise at 80% of that (a common prescription) then your target heart rate is 144.

There is a potential problem with this. There is a standard deviation of 30 beats when using the estimated maximal heart rate formula.

This means that this 40 year old’s heart rate could be anywhere from 165 to 195.

That really throws off the 80% heart rate!

This standard deviation now makes the 80% either 132 or 156 which is a 24-beat swing. You might as well not track it.

Keep it simple.

There is a place for these kinds of prescriptions, but I believe they often cause more harm than good.

We’ve known a lot of this stuff for 50 years, so why aren’t people exercising more?

We’ve made it more complicated than it must be. I can take this all the way to the elites as well.

Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile in 1954.

Now, the record is about 15 seconds faster.

15 seconds is a lot when you are racing the mile, but think about that.

With all the training and knowledge that we now have access to, we’ve only shaved 15 seconds in 64 years.

He seemed to be doing well with not as many formulas and prescriptions. I can go on and on with examples.

Don’t get me wrong; shaving just milliseconds in competition is huge. Why aren't our workout formula's getting people to move more often?

The added technicality hasn't helped us that much because it has given us more to calculate.

We have over-prescribed exercise.

I don’t think that we need to over-prescribe or over-plan a simple habit.

I believe that if we just get out there and do it; our body will let us know how to progress.

We get the opposite effect of what we want when we over plan and over prescribe something as simple as exercise.

Just move. Just do it.

Just get up and move. That's all.

Even a small amount of exercise is worth it

Exercise is worth it.

We don’t have to do as much as we might have been led to believe - and we don’t have to go as hard.

We benefit in so many ways from doing it.

It’s not about losing weight. It’s not about performing a complicated program. It’s about moving.

When we exercise, we become healthier. The science bears this out.

Give it a try and let the endorphins get you through until you start seeing the benefits.

Once you do, I hope that you end up joining the top 25% of the world that realize how much it helps them.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Retrogression: The use it or lose it principle of fitness

Move it or lose it.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

The 7 principles of fitness

1. Specificity

2. Overload

3. Progression

4. Periodization

5. Individuality

6. Recuperation

7. Retrogression

Master all of these principles.

Retrogression as the use it or lose it principle of fitness

There are seven principles of physical fitness. They are specificity, overload, progression, periodization, individuality, recuperation, and retrogression.

Retrogression is known as the "use it or lose it" principle of fitness.

If you stop exercising and/or being active, you will lose the benefits that the exercise has given you.

The use it or lose it principle is connected to time

Time gets blamed for many things. In health and fitness, it gets blamed a lot!

Often, I will hear a client talk about how they once had a certain physique. They talk about how as they got older; it went away.

Did it go away due to age or did they simply stop doing what they used to do? It’s the latter.

If you quit doing what you used to do, you will lose what you used to have.

There are plenty of older folks (there is no such thing as old) that are in incredible shape. Use it or lose it.

You lose what you don't use.

Age has an overestimated role in the loss of physical fitness

Age does play a role in some decline.  The key word is some.

We do start to lose some strength as we get older. We start to lose some muscle tissue as we get older. We do lose some bone density as we get older. We do lose some cardio-respiratory fitness as we get older.

Continuing to work out will drastically slow down the rate of loss. We do NOT have to lose as much as you may think.

The greatest loss comes from not doing what you used to do when you were at your peak condition.

Use it or lose it.

Muscle does not turn into fat with age

I’ve heard the most outlandish things regarding this topic.

I have heard people say that football players get fat because the muscle turns to fat as it gets older. That is ridiculous!

Tissue can’t become another tissue. They got fat because they quit working out and kept eating like they used to.

This is a product of choice and not a product of nature. There are plenty of ex-athletes, including football players that still look and feel amazing years after retiring. Use it or lose it. 

This same principle applies to everyday people - not just elite athletes.

If we take a long break from training, we will decline.

I tell my clients constantly how consistency matters. I believe that the greatest key to success in physical fitness is consistency.

Some people go 100% in the beginning of their fitness journey and either get hurt or burn out. It’s better to start out moderately and stay with it.

I often that say we need more moderation. We are a country of feast or famine! That is true in the fitness world as well.

We have people that are super fit and we have people that are morbidly obese. All countries do, but we have more of an extreme on both ends.

Doing our workouts day in and day out on a consistent basis and not overdoing it will lead to greater success for all of us!  Use more moderation. Let’s not burn out and quit!

Rather be moderate and stick with it.

You start to lose muscle from 4 days after your last workout

Here is a scary statistic. We atrophy 96 hours (about four days) after a workout has been completed.

It’s slight, but that is how quick it happens.

That means that if you work out on Monday, you are already losing some of the muscle tissue on Friday unless you stimulate that muscle again.

Plan your workout split with the 4-day atrophy rule in mind 

4 days is fast!

Many people forget about this fact when they set up their workout splits.

A split routine is exercising different muscle groups on different days so that volume can increase.

A common split routine where this happens is when a trainee works out one muscle group per day.

The reason this why this split routine will lead to atrophy (muscle loss) is because you are only training one muscle group per day.

That means that it will be a week before you train it again.

When you target that muscle group again, it’s already atrophied. You've lost some of the hard-earned progress that you earned in your last workout.

Don't lose because of time.

The best workout split to avoid muscle atrophy

It’s best to do a strength training routine where you work each muscle group 2-3 days per week.

The style doesn’t matter so much.

You can do a full body workout 2-3 days per week on non-consecutive days. If you do a split routine, make sure that each muscle group is being trained 2-3 days per week with 48 hours in-between muscle groups.

Training more often is optimal, not non-negotiable

Taking 96 hours (about four days) off from working out will not cause you to fall to pieces. Many people increase muscle mass by stimulating each muscle group once a week. More often is simply more optimal.

I’m using this science to show how quickly we lose muscle when we don't use it. As weeks turn into months and even years, the loss is substantial. It doesn’t have to happen.

Get into a manageable program and stick to it. On the positive side of the coin, we can hypertrophy (grow muscle) at any age. We all need to look after our muscles!

Cardio vascular fitness also declines when you don't use it

Cardio-respiratory fitness is measured by what is called the V O 2 max.

This is the maximum amount of oxygen that your body can use at one time. It also declines when a rest period is too long.

In fact, V O 2 max can decline all the way back to baseline (where we began) in as little as two weeks!

It is therefore so important for athletes of any sport to not get injured. If injury occurs, the athlete must take time off and then atrophy will occur.

Along these lines, it’s so important to train correctly and not push to extremes. An athlete is playing much better if they are still on the field. Fitness declines when activity stops.

Prevention keeps you on track.

Everybody needs to exercise to prevent loss of fitness and health

This is true for non-athletes too. If we take time off from cardio, we will go backwards.

This does not mean that a trainee shouldn't rest. Of course, they should. Be smart about the rest. Rest shouldn’t be for too long.

Use what is called active rest. Active rest means resting one part of your body or system while working another. If you structure hard and easy cardio days into your week, you will be more likely to avoid taking time off.

Do a lighter day of cardio, for example, after a harder day. This will prevent injury and burnout. The key is to do things that prevent us from doing nothing at all.

Mix it up.

Do as much as you can on days where you don't have much time

You don’t have to be overly structured when you get extremely busy and can’t make the gym, but you can do something.

Try to keep those muscles going. We experience this issue quite a bit at my gym. We have people that will take off for weeks. We tell them to try and get some exercise in. It won’t take much.

Just do something so we can prevent too much decline. Often, they will come back after a three-week hiatus and say, “I feel like I lost everything”.

So, why couldn’t they have just done something? Good question.

When we travel, we don’t have to keep moving forward. The goal is to maintain during these busy times and to not slide backwards. 

It’s so important to begin with consistency.

When you start a fitness program, ask yourself what is sustainable and make that a habit.

Many people start out with a ball of fire only to flame out. It’s about starting and staying with a sustainable exercise program.

We can make so many improvements with a moderate program.

I’ve coached for many years and I’ve always said I would take an athlete that follows a consistent program versus an athlete that works his/her tail off when you see them, but you don’t see them nearly as much!

Every bit makes a difference.

Use it or lose it. It’s a fact.

Keep going and everything will go along with you. I often hear that people gain weight as they age. This can be true. But this doesn’t happen because of the birthday.

We move less and we lose muscle (atrophy) because we quit being active. We can keep muscle on our body by staying active and working out.

When we lose muscle, our metabolism slows down. When that happens, we gain weight. This has far more to do with taking time off from moving than it does your birthday.

So many of the issues we experience as we get older (such as obesity) can be warded off by starting and maintaining a sustainable exercise program.

It takes lot more work to go back and forth. Don't make gains and then stop to lose those gains.

It’s a lot easier of a road to not stop at all.

If you have stopped, don’t lose heart. Get back on the wagon and tell yourself that you can now make progress and you are now armed with a good reason to not stop again.

Use it or lose it. Don’t stop.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Health and Fitness Quotes (page 39)

Health and Fitness Quotes (page 39)

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1. You don't have to be number one all of the time - choose your battles wisely

First health and fitness quote

This is what you should do if exercises like squats make you dizzy.

2. You don't have to enjoy it for it to be good for you

Second health and fitness quote

This is why pull ups are very healthy for you.

3. You don't have to have much to give much

Third health and fitness quote

This is how I personally cured my dry skin.

4. You don't have to live your life the same way as everybody else

Fourth health and fitness quote

Use these exercises to correct your back posture.

5. You don't need still waters to experience peace

Fifth health and fitness quote

Learn about calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium and chlorine.

6. You don't need to add spice to every story that you tell people

Sixth health and fitness quote

Discover the importance of magnesium, iron, cobalt, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, iodine and selenium.

7. You don't see everybody's struggle

Seventh health and fitness quote

There are many different types of creatine.

8. You enjoy things more when you do them in moderation

Eighth health and fitness quote

Cardiovascular exercise can help you to grow muscle mass.

9. You get to choose how you live your life

Ninth health and fitness quote

Alcohol reduces your ability to recover from exercise.

10. You grow when you face the right direction

Tenth health and fitness quote

You can fade your freckles without fancy products or procedures.

I hope that you enjoyed these quotes. If you did (or didn't), please let me know in the comments below. Your feedback helps me to give you more of what you want. Stay Strong!

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Health and Fitness Quotes (page 36)

Health and Fitness Quotes (page 36)

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1. We thrive together like most of creation

First health and fitness quote

Our keto expert tries keto pills to see what the hype is all about.

2. We'd never go anywhere without dreams to push us forward

Second health and fitness quote

You can use aromatherapy to reduce stress naturally.

3. What consumes your mind controls your life

Third health and fitness quote

This is a perfectly balanced diet for optimum health.

4. What if you are waiting for something that you already have to succeed?

Fourth health and fitness quote

There are some cons to a balanced diet.

5. What is good for the body is good for the soul

Fifth health and fitness quote

Use this eating plan to improve your gut bacteria diversity.

6. What looks good to one person doesn't necessarily look good to another

Sixth health and fitness quote

Most people eat way too many carbohydrates without actually realizing it.

7. What makes you special will one day become your greatest strength

Seventh health and fitness quote

Chamomile tea is really good for your health.

8. What you see doesn't have to determine how you feel

Eighth health and fitness quote

Vegetarians can lose weight with this easy eating plan.

9. When you don't know what to do look up

Ninth health and fitness quote

Follow this healthy living strategy during quarantine.

10. When you try a new hairstyle

Tenth health and fitness quote

Fruit salad also has its unique disadvantages.

I hope that you enjoyed these quotes. If you did (or didn't), please let me know in the comments below. Your feedback helps me to give you more of what you want. Stay Strong!

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