Over and over again I see people making things much harder than necessary. As a general rule, I think part of what makes us human is our ability to overcomplicate things. I am certainly guilty of this when it comes to certain aspects of my life, and I am sure if you sit down to think about it you are too. We try to jam ourselves into tight little boxes when really it makes more sense to build those boxes around ourselves. This framework can be applied to a lot of problems and can be very helpful to open up new ways to solve a problem. Today, I will apply it to fitness.

Here are some examples of some things that many people think they should be doing:

  1. One-hour workouts
  2. High intensity interval training
  3. Running
  4. Stretching; hamstrings especially
  5. Barbell deadlifts
  6. Barbell back squats
  7. Burpees
  8. Eating low calorie diets
  9. Avoiding carbohydrates
  10. Intermittent fasting

The items on this list all have merit and I am not advocating against them. I am pointing out that these are not one size fits all approaches and you should make sure that the options that you choose will be the ones that you are most likely to do. Let’s go through a few.

  1. One-hour workouts: What if you are a parent of three who works 10 hours/day, and a 30-minute workout would fit perfectly into your day? Just because you can’t fit in an hour does that mean you should skip the workout altogether? Of course not. A properly constructed 30-minute workout can be just as impactful as a one-hour workout.
  2. Running: Running is a great activity to be able to incorporate into your routine and if you have the ability to run well you should do your best to maintain that ability. That being said, many people are not physically prepared to run. What is the point of running if you are just going to end up hurt or in pain? Pick something that won’t beat you up and if you want to start running make the goal to incorporate activities that will prepare you to run.
  3. Eating low calorie diets: Most people that specifically look to eat low calorie diets end up undereating over a long period of time. You may lose weight in the short term but could end up causing yourself a lot of headache in the long-term.
  4. Stretching: Stretching feels good, I get it. Keep doing it if you like it. Just know that it most likely will not solve the majority of your problems. For example, if your hamstrings feel tight there is a good chance they feel tight because your posture puts them into a lengthened position 24/7. Stretching a muscle in this position will only reinforce that tight feeling and won’t end up helping for more than the short period of time after the stretch. Just because everyone else is stretching doesn’t mean you should too.

If you want to incorporate something into your fitness routine or start a fitness routine from scratch, the list that you have in your head of what to do most likely is not a complete list and limiting your options could be hurting you. Do not limit yourself to the confines of whatever you would consider “standard”. You have to curate a system that works for you and if you don’t know how you should look for someone that can help you. Trial and error as a strategy is great for learning but spinning your wheels sucks. Be efficient with your decisions, don’t make the same mistake twice, and don’t hesitate to ask someone for help because it can save you a lot of time.