One of the annual, clichéd resolutions that most people make for the New Year has something to do with getting into shape/losing weight/being healthier, yadda, yadda, yadda. And as noble a pursuit as this may be, many people – make that MOST people – “pursue” the wrong way. This “bad pursuit” results in failure, usually by the time the Super Bowl comes around (February 6th this year).
So, after a handful of weeks of “trying to be good,” too many people give up and spend the next forty-five or so weeks digging themselves into a deeper hole, hence the getting into shape/losing weight/being healthier becomes an annual, clichéd resolution.
The fitness business is in large part responsible for causing this ridiculously high rate of what I call “user failure,” as there is no shortage of fitness “experts” who are willing to sell anything to the public in order to make a buck.
In an attempt to get the interested parties on the right track – and to prevent some failed resolutions - I’m going to introduce a concept called “the least amount of specific work” and apply it to the “get-in-shape for the new year” crowd.
“The least amount of specific work” – or TLAOSW - simply means that you should start slowly and see what happens as a result of your efforts. If twenty minutes of exercise a day, two days per week produces results then that’s all the activity that you should do, especially if you are a beginner. Getting in shape shouldn’t be about pounding yourself into a pulp and a healthy lifestyle shouldn’t include five - or more - days per week of exercise.
The concept of TLAOSW focuses on establishing a reasonable exercise program first, before you worry about embarking on a draconian nutritional program. You must crawl before you can walk.
The problem with the crash diet/crash exercise approach is that this philosophy starts at such a “high point” that there are no adjustments that can be made when the results stop coming, and make no mistake, they WILL stop. Someone who crash diets and exercises will only be able to keep up this high-intensity pace for so long.
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