One of my nephews recently started learning his multiplication tables in school. He has this little game where a problem is presented and he has to select the answer he thinks is correct.
I watched him one day and started thinking about how simple basic math is. I mean, 2 x 2 will always equal 4. Once you learn the answer, it will never change.
As I kept thinking about this concept, something hit me about the state of health and fitness in our country.
Believe it or not, there are still people out there who believe that fitness = results. And by fitness I mean physical activity. Things like going the gym, riding their bike, or playing tennis.
They think that just exercising more will get them their ideal body. But, this is only one side of the equation. Going back to basic math, 2 will never equal 4 right? It must be added or multiplied by other numbers to get there.
It’s the same when it comes to your health and fitness.
In order to see any real progress from your effort, there must be multiple factors at play. There are 3 big ones in particular. The equation looks like this:
Fitness + Nutrition + Lifestyle = Results
Let’s break these down so you can see what I mean.
Fitness
Once again, this includes all physical activity. And it comes in all shapes and sizes. Here are some basic examples:
- Strength training: This includes lifting weights that focus on big compound movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, push ups, rows, and carries.
- Cardiovascular exercise: This could include things like going for a walk outside or hitting the elliptical in your local gym. Something that’s of moderate intensity for 20-30 + minutes.
- Sports: This could include any sport or recreational sports leagues. My wife Candice and I play in a soccer league on weekends. It’s an awesome way to meet new people, improve your fitness, and have fun.
Nutrition
Changing your nutrition is an absolute must if you are serious about changing the way your body looks. Here are some basic principles to follow:
- Eat more protein: Protein helps keep you fuller and build muscle mass. Both of the these will help you cut fat and get leaner. A good goal is 0.7-1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
- Cut back on calories drinks: An excess of calories can hinder your results. Unfortunately it’s easy to consume hundreds of extra calories through beverages. Cutting back on juice, soda, and alcohol will help you stay in a calorie deficit.
- Eat more fruits and veggies: This one is kinda obvious. Fruits and vegetables are packed with nutritious vitamins and minerals to improve your health. They’re also low in calories so you can eat more of them and still keep your overall calories low. Try to have a least one fruit and veggie with each meal.
Lifestyle
This is the one area no one thinks about, but it’s crucial to seeing continual progress. Here are two of the biggest lifestyle factors to think about:
- De-stress: Chronic stress can lead to elevated cortisol levels which make it extremely difficult to burn body fat. Be sure to de-stress each week by saving time to do things you enjoy like going to the movies, walking the dog, or spending time with your family.
- Get more sleep: More sleep (7-9 hours) has been correlated with a lower bodyweight. Research has shown that the less sleep you get, the hungrier you are the next day. This typically leads to a feeding frenzy and hundreds, if not thousands, of extra calories you didn’t plan for. Some extra sleep will help you make better food choices the following day.
The health and fitness equation encompasses each of these categories. I’ve seen many people make the mistake of doing one of the these things expecting great results.
But remember the math example from earlier, 2 will never equal 4. Take any one of these 3 factors by themselves and they’ll never equal your ideal body.
They must be done together to achieve the body you want. Use this as a guide and you will have a great foundation to build from to see extraordinary results.
