“Maybe You Shouldn’t Exercise?”

September 23, 2013 4:55 pm / Posted in , , ,

Has a personal trainer ever told you not to exercise? Of course not. Why would they? That’s like shooting their business in the foot. Well, sort of anyway.

Most trainers will say that exercise is king – that you absolutely have to exercise three to five times a week, if not more – in order to achieve any kind of results. They push the 20lbs in 20 days garbage on you, trying to shame you into losing weight. Know why they do that?

Because they know three things:

  1. You’re not a personal trainer or fitness expert.
  2. You’re desperate for change and maybe even insecure.
  3. If you yell at someone who is insecure, they’ll do what you want.

But I’m going to tell you something very different. I’m going to tell you the one thing your personal trainer never tells you. I’m going to say: “Maybe you shouldn’t exercise…yet”

Huh?

I know what you’re thinking:

Aren’t you a personal trainer? Don’t you make money by…you know…encouraging people to exercise? Well, yes and no.

I’ve built my personal training around a core concept: sustainable weight loss. I don’t want people to just lose weight fast and then put the pounds back on. I want people to make long-lasting, healthy changes to the way they live so they can live longer and more fully, and feel better about themselves.

For people who have been inactive for a long time, leaping into an exercise program is a bad idea. Why? Because of the free-radicals that are produced during exercise.

Picture of Hippy

No, not this type of free radical

Free Radicals and Exercise

Free radicals are groups of atoms that have an unpaired electron, which makes them negatively charged. And because they’re negatively charged, they pretty much harsh the mellow of the healthy atoms around them.

In all seriousness, nature seeks balance. So these negatively charged atoms cause damage to the cells they come in contact with, which can lead to all sorts of health problems, including the “Big C:” cancer. (For more about free radicals, read this article, or this one.)

The answer to all these free radicals roaming around your body is the antioxidant, which can safely interact with free radicals and effectively neutralize them. So how do you find antioxidants?

For active people, the body can naturally produce enough antioxidants to handle the free radicals produced during exercise. Combined with a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables, their exercise routine is beneficial to their health. If you’re generally inactive though, your body isn’t used to dealing with the spike, which can lead to health problems down the road.

If you’re inactive, I propose that you follow the following exercise plan over the coming weeks:

Fresh Start Exercise and Nutrition Plan

Notice that the habits that I’m trying to get you to incorporate into your exercise and nutrition plan are cumulative: they build on top of one another.

Week 1: Walk 10 minutes a day and drink 1.5 liters of water per day

Week 2: Start eating slowly.

Week 3: Increase walk time to 15 minutes a day and stop eating when you’re 80% full.

Week 4: Add five servings of fruit and and vegetables throughout the day.

Week 5: Add four light body exercises the the walking routine.

Week 6: Add a lean protein to every meal.

Week 7: Add a healthy fat such as oils, seeds, or nuts.

Week 8: Try to eat the “Anytime Plate” 70 to 80% of the time.

Week 9: Add two strength training workouts per week and pick five other exercises.

Week 10: Add one more set to your strength training workouts.

Weeks 11 and 12: Add an anaerobic exercise, pick a higher intensity, and continually micro-progress going forward.

Tah-Dah! Sustainable Weight Loss!

The point of this program is to gradually move you towards regular exercise and consistently healthy food choices. By the end of the twelve weeks, your body will be primed for regular and more intense exercise and you’ll be better equipped to neutralize the free radicals produced during your more vigorous workouts.

If you would like to find out more about how you can achieve your weight loss goals, contact me for a free consultation at my personal training studio today. I’ll help you build an exercise and diet plan that will work right now and over the long term.

 

 

 

 

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