I have written anywhere between three and seventeen blog posts about “the biggest lie in fitness”.
And, no, it’s not because I love clickbait-y blog post titles (although, believe me, the powers that be wished I was using more clickbait-y blog post titles instead of vague references to obscure Bob Dylan songs).
Nor is it because I think most fitness information is a lie (although, perhaps, I do feel that way). Or that I am an opinion waffler.
No, the reason that I keep going back to the well on fitness deceit is because it’s a moving target.
One week everyone is talking about how drinking celery juice is the key to losing weight (it is not) and the next they are claiming that squats won’t improve run performance (it will).
This isn’t limited to social media influencers or conversations overheard in the back of a Lululemon. I’ve heard dyed-in-the-wool fitness bros debating whether or not testosterone influences muscle growth based on a poorly designed study released 15 years ago (it most certainly does) and, if performance enhancing drugs replace the need to work out at all (they do not).
The fitness misinformation that is currently grinding my gears is actually not something trendy but gets parroted so often that I can no longer ignore it.
And that is the concept of time.
Not how long your strength training sessions should be (although research shows about 48 minutes is optimal), not how much time under tension is maximal for muscle growth (there does not seem to be an upper limit) or even what time of day you should work out (two schools of thought here: either 3 or 11 hours after waking up or after you’ve had at least two full meals).
No. The “time” that I am referring to here is certain people questioning why so many people claim they have no time to train. Then they cite things like “if you didn’t binge watch your favorite television shows” or “if you spent less time doom scrolling Tik Tok” that you would have plenty of hours to train.
And that may be true for some people. I train very often and watch very little TV and wouldn’t even know where to start on Tik Tok.
But, honestly, I don’t think that is what holds most regular adults back.
Most adults have full time jobs, have to walk the dog, get their kids ready for school, make dinner, do laundry, pay their bills, wait for the handyman to come by so they can figure out whatever the hell is happening behind the refrigerator, walk the dog again, make sure the kids brush their teeth before bed and about a thousand seemingly other “nothings” that add up to a whole lot of time.
With these people - who, again, I’d argue are most of us - they aren’t suffering from an abundance of recreational opportunities distracting them from prioritizing the gym. They are struggling with a dynamic and responsibility filled existence that doesn’t create ample time for certain personal priorities.
OK, before I digress into the whole Robin Williams “it’s not your fault” speech from Good Will Hunting, let’s get to the actual issues that are holding you back from getting to the gym regularly (or at all) and let’s solve those. Because, as we’ll discuss later, you have to solve them.
In my experience, people who struggle to train consistently usually have one of two problems. Either they dramatically overestimate how much time fitness requires, or they feel guilty spending any time on themselves at all.
So, just how much time do you need for training to be effective?
Most people think to make improvements in your fitness you need a dedicated mobility routine, 6 days per week of body part split training, three days of cardio, a membership to a stretching place for recovery and a 20 minute drive to a health food store for an organic colostrum-filled protein shake.
And while it is true that you would need to dedicate a lot of time to training if you were looking to earn a collegiate sports scholarship or properly prepare for a bodybuilding show or to land on the podium at Hyrox, most people who simply want to train for health, longevity and reasonable strength and body composition improvements can make measurable progress with two 40 minute strength training sessions per week.
This is not only my opinion or observation. Research backs up the notion that strength and body composition will improve with this exact protocol.
So if that is all the time you can muster, it’s still worth going.
The second issue is a psychological one. Many of us, particularly if we are parents or business leaders or caretakers of any sort, are taught, trained and believe that our entire lives must be in service to others.
And that is a lovely thought. I wish more people approached life from this perspective. We’d certainly be much kinder to each other.
Of course as a parent you are going to often prioritize your child’s needs above your own. As an entrepreneur you are going to self-sacrifice in order to take a phone call or make yourself available for an opportunity that might drive your business forward. As the child of elderly parents of course you are going to prepare meals and spend your Sundays at their home in order to make sure they have companionship and are cared for.
But the belief that your entire life should be one of sacrifice and that you are being selfish or causing harm by also carving out time to take care of yourself is not only false, it actually harms the entire mission.
Do you want your child to be a person who prioritizes her own health and wellbeing? Of course. But how do you think they learn that? By observing your behaviors and how you treat yourself.
Do you want to be a good partner to your significant other? Well, which sounds better - prioritizing a few hours in the gym so you can generate endorphins, optimize your hormonal health and spend productive time outside the home or feel like you are trapped in an endless cycle of chores and obligations that lead to unexpressed resentment?
Will falling out of good health yourself become a good strategy when you need to help you aging parents or a sick sibling or friend or do you want to feel fit and capable of rising to any occasion?
You've heard the metaphor at the start of every plane trip you’ve ever taken. In case of an emergency, put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others around you. But so many of us are scrambling to affix everyone else's mask that we end up dangerously running on fumes. And that works out well for exactly no one.
If this resonates at all with you, you are probably a kind and caring and wonderful person.
So let me be the one to save you if you won’t save yourself. Take care of your health, physical and mental wellbeing.
It’s the best way to show up not only for yourself, but everyone else around you.
The caretaker also needs some care.