Just like diet trends come and go, fitness trends come and go. One day we’ve got P90X, another we’ve got Barre Sculpt. Each claims to be the secret to body transformation (and often, happiness) that we seek. But, is there really any magic exercise protocol and body type that will fix everything? Will that make you feel 100% happy with yourself? Will that give you the body you want?
Definitely not!
And here’s why. The best exercise program is the one that you feel motivated to do, what you want to do, and you consider fun. That is the program you will stay consistent with and therefore, get the best results from. We have several that you can choose from based on your goals https://www.pdxstrengthsociety.com/programs.
However, the best results come from an external and internal approach. You and your neighbor’s best results could be totally different, but why? Our bodies are complicated. Our past diet history, genetics, environment and even things like food poisoning can affect our internal health more than we know.
The unfortunate catch to an all-physical approach to fitness is that sometimes you can be doing all the right things – eating well, getting good rest and recovery, taking care of yourself mentally, getting exercise daily. But your body and the results you’re getting don’t match up with the effort you’re putting in! It’s frustrating as heck!
Something we do for clients that feel stuck like this is have them work with our nutritionist who guides them through a metabolic assessment test and analysis. For more about that test, visit https://www.pdxstrengthsociety.com/private-sessions. For example, one recent client was doing all the right things and had plateaued in her results. After taking the metabolic assessment, she found that she had problems metabolizing fats and had some gut overgrowth of certain yeast and fungi that lead to inflammation, hormone imbalance, and blocked fat loss. Once she resolves these internal issues, her results will continue to come, but, my point is, you can’t control all variables from the outside.
On top of this, just an external and internal approach is not enough.
From personal experience and from others in fitness that I know, creating happiness with our lives and bodies, no matter how we look, is key. It’s not that you shouldn’t care how you look, but basing our goals, value, and happiness solely on how we look is a trap. As I’ve seen over the years that no matter how my body looks, my mentality stays the same. I still have the same insecurities, the same perfectionism negative self-talk, and the same feeling that it’s not enough.
What I’ve found is that we have to add another criteria to the “best exercise program is the one that you feel motivated to do, what you want to do, and you consider fun” to keep mental health in check and to establish goals that are not solely based on aesthetics.
Basically, the key to keep you coming back is to add strength and/or performance goals.
I’ve achieved more myself and have seen better results physically with clients when we focus on strength and/or performance. I hope this inspires you to ditch the “6 pack ab goal” and embrace some strength and performance goals!
Amelia (& Alberto) @ Level Up Strength Society
For more information on our workout programs, coaching or to schedule a free Clarity Call with us, visit https://www.pdxstrengthsociety.com/.
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