Fitness "Ins" and "Outs"

Out: Big Muscles

In: Strength to Bodyweight Ratio

Why: Now don’t get me wrong, I think bodybuilding is a fine sport. Clearly most bodybuilders practice a much healthier lifestyle than not only the general population, but also many other athletes. When I say “out”, I’m expressing my own personal opinion (which is a qualification that applies to this entire piece, of course), about how wise it is for most people, the generally accepted criteria for popularity, to pursue a typical competitive bodybuilding lifestyle if their goal is optimal health and training that keeps the risk of injury and overtraining minimal. It’s just not the best way to “skin that cat”. The framework I use for myself and my clients is across-the-board increased physical capacity including strength, stamina, flexibility, core stability, balance, coordination and ability to recover fully between workouts so that the increased fitness can actually be enjoyed in their everyday lives. And this is perhaps the most important criteria for the middle of the age range I tend to attract, which is roughly 35-50: Minimal injury risk when training. So while this doesn’t necessarily create intensity boundaries, it does preclude some extreme training protocols such as multiple sets per body part, consistent high-impact and high-risk movements that put joint stability and safety in jeopardy. It also means not piling an additional 20-50 lbs. of muscle on your frame which can compromise agility and functional movement control. When I think of athletes that exemplify these qualities in a competitive environment, gymnasts, ballet dancers and surfers come to mind. I want my clients to be able to hike, ski and throw a Frisbee on the beach more easily and am less concerned about biceps and chest girth.

Out: Skinny

In: Athletic

Why: When I was a kid in the mid-sixties and early seventies most women wanted the figure of Twiggy and Cher. Many of the male stars of that time were built like Olympic swimmer Mark Spitz. Today it’s cool to have a more robust, strong-looking body. That’s good, because we’re all different shapes and sizes. Women chasing a size zero dress and men sporting a 30” waist are not ideals we should all be trying to achieve. Tennis players have square shoulders and soccer players have sturdy legs. Everyone who does squats or lunges on a regular basis has a bigger (rounder and firmer) caboose than they would otherwise. And guess what? They can climb up a flight of stairs more easily because of it. I can usually spot someone who exercises regularly from about ten yards or more, almost regardless of their body fat level. How? It’s in their posture, muscle tone and carriage. And it’s a heck of a lot sexier to look like you can help me clean out my garage or build a retaining wall in my backyard than if you look like you might faint if we sprint half a block to catch a taxi.

Out: Weight Loss Diets

In: Clean Eating

Why: Most weight loss diets have traditionally relied on strict calorie reductions, food group restrictions, or both to create a measurable, though often short-lived, loss in scale weight. The problems with that approach include frequent hunger, inability to sustain the practice, and, often, compromised exercise performance and post-workout recovery. Even today among many there is a preoccupation with calorie balance as the sole determinant in reaching an ideal body composition. All the wearable tech in the world is going to have limitations on the accuracy of how many calories you should eat and burn. But they ignore the nuanced balance between the ideal sources of those calories and their respective optimal proportions for the individual. And the average float of a few to several pounds of scale weight each day can make your mission to hit a particular specific weight goal an absolute nightmare. But managing nutrient segments (vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber) and keeping blood sugar stable, which is far and away the most underused and effective tool for eliminating impulse eating patterns is actually ridiculously easy and leads to life-long leanness almost effortlessly.

So how can you do it?

The key is in understanding and practicing habits that support simple principles that counteract and then preempt common self-perpetuating destructive eating habits. Consistently applying these principles weakens the grip of the unhealthy eating habits and neutralizes their physiological roots. We offer a great program to teach people to master these principles for life and learn how to course-correct when you drift back to old patterns. But here’s a hint – drink enough water at the right times, eat the right percentage of veggies (it’s higher than you think and much higher than you’re probably eating right now) and distribute both protein and fat properly over the course of the day and the rest takes care of itself.

These fitness “Ins” are huge positive developments and, I hope are here to stay.

Dan Taylor, ACE, NASM-CPT, is owner and head trainer at Pleasanton-based Tri Valley Trainer. They offer personal training and small group fitness solutions and an innovative, medically endorsed web-based group healthy eating coaching program.