Have you ever heard of Myth Busters? You know the two guys–one in the fedora hat–who would pull off outrageous stunts to prove or disprove theories? I vividly remember watching that show and thinking what wild theory I could test.
Of course, I never shot flaming arrows at a gas tank or jumped off the roof into a dumpster to see if I’d get injured–or did I lol?
Anyways, I may not be testing a crazy myth to see if it is true, but I am writing to you to disprove one of the most dangerous fitness myths there is–“If Some Is Good, More Is Better.”
Have you ever been in the gym and have personally or have seen someone else just continuously add weight on to the bar or do crazy amounts of reps that seem like they never end? Do you feel like you have to do more every time you step into the gym?
Not saying you should never improve–you always should–but you shouldn’t overwork yourself to the point of injury or complete exhaustion.
Today’s culture revolves around more, more, more. I have seen in the fitness realm that most people want to do all or nothing–no real middle ground.
This could explain why people may feel unhappy, unhealthy, overweight, and far from their goals. We don’t treat our everyday lives at work or at home in this matter so why should we treat our fitness life like this? I want to help you if you feel that way by explaining why more is not always better in 4 different aspects of your fitness journey.
Today’s Topics
- Water
- Strength Training
- Cardio
- Fat Loss
Water
The benefits of water cannot be overstated. A HUGE percentage of our bodies are made of water. Staying hydrated is super important, but overhydration is possible.
People die every day from overhydration. The amount of water you need varies between people and has a couple factors that go into it.
For example, a 70-year-old, 100-pound woman in her home in the middle of winter needs a VASTLY different amount of water intake compared to a 45-year-old, 300-pound man working construction in the middle of June. If he drank her water intake, he would most likely die of dehydration whereas if she drank his water intake, she may die of overhydration.
It is a disservice to tell you more water is better because some water is great, but more is not always better. If you are curious as to if you are drinking enough water here are two tips–I am not doctor so this is not medical advice:
- Urine Color: it doesn’t have to be crystal clear. A good light yellow-yellow and you are probably drinking enough. Dark yellow or brown you need some water and maybe medical advice.
- Thirst: if you are thirsty, drink. If you aren’t, don’t drink. Your body knows what to tell you.
Strength Training
More can be better to a certain point, but it is not always better.
The x-axis is going to be the amount of time you are working out. The y-axis is progress. I am a fitness trainer, not an artist so please don’t hate on my drawing lol!
As you can see, you start to get the most progress (solid line) out of the first 1, 2, 3, 4 workouts a week, but as you hit the 5, 6, 7, 8 workouts a week mark it kind of plateaus. If the graph kept going, you’d see that the progress would eventually start to decrease. As long as you stay shy of your recovery (dotted line) then you are good.
Recovery differs person to person. That is why we recommend working out 2-3 sometimes 4 days a week for the everyday man and woman to allow your body the time it needs to recover properly to get you the best results.
There is a point where you can workout so much that you can exceed your ability to recover and create extreme fatigue; therefore, some is good, but more is not always better.
Cardio
This is good for your health, burn some calories, get some fat loss. However, if your diet is trash, goodluck out-cardioing your diet. To lose fat, you have to have both cardio and diet.
Cardio is the cherry on top of an ice cream sundae.
At some point, if you push yourself past how much your body can handle, your recovery will catch up to you and can cause fatigue and possible health issues.
Do a little bit of zone 1, zone 2, and zone 3. Give yourself a little work to do, but don’t overdo it. You will see great benefits from doing cardio 2-3 times a week.
Fat Loss
Calorie deficit is the only way to lose fat without surgery. Unless you are going to go the surgery route or chop off a limb then eating fewer calories is the only way to lose fat.
Calorie Deficit: eating fewer calories than your body needs so your body uses up the stored fat as energy.
If you create a huge calorie deficit of course, you’ll lose a good amount of fat. However, there are many factors to consider when doing a calorie deficit.
Too large of a deficit can result in the loss of muscle mass which will increase metabolism and won’t give you the lean and toned looked you want. It can also affect your blood sugar negatively, and your energy is going to be lower.
Just like the tortoise and the hare, the fastest way to reach your goals with calorie deficit is to stay steady.
Find a balance that works for you and progressively lengthen it. This will allow you to maintain the results you achieve. Many people choose the largest deficit to get the fastest results, but they end up falling off the wagon and going right back into their old eating habits.
Find an appropriate water intake.
Strength train 2-3 times per week.
Do some cardio 2-4 times per week to stay healthy and in shape.
Create a low-moderate calorie deficit or one that works for you.
More is not always better. Find that nice middle ground that works for you. Trust me, when you find the sweet spot, you will see such amazing results.
If you want guidance and accountability in finding that sweet spot, we are here to help you! Our trainers and nutrition coach want to help you find that middle ground so you can achieve results that you can maintain for life and that make you feel good while you are getting them!
