How Much Fitness Can I Fit Into One Hour?
Fitness. It is Elementary.
I have learned a lot about various aspects of fitness. Much of what I understand about fitness, I have learned within the past few years. Of the most practical and useful lessons has very little to do with anything involving any physical exercise. None of the most important things I have learned have to do with nutrition. The most important thing that I have learned boils down to understanding cause and effect and how what I do and what I eat affects how I look and feel. It seems my most significant learnings have come from consistently logging and understanding the results I get from nutrition and exercise.
Take notes and make gains.
I have noticed some incredible similarities between how I trained for Olympic distance triathlons and how I have trained for weight loss through resistance training. While it is evident that both training regimens have different goals, they both required me to log my efforts. While triathlon training, I was always timing my one-mile runs every week and my three-day per week weight training schedule over 18 months. I made mental notes of my average mph for a 20-mile bike ride. I remember many milestones. I remember improving my average mph on the bike by one mph. I remember one particular seven-mile run where I completed mile-one in less than 5'30". I ran the next six miles reasonably well. It could have been better. I spent much of the run wondering if I had enough stamina to finish the seven-mile loop. Usually, my seven-mile runs were on Fridays. The seven-mile out-and-back would take about 51-52 minutes, and I probably ran that one in less than 49 minutes.
I will have to say that I wish I had been maintaining detailed logs of my triathlon training. I wish I would have taken more detailed records during my triathlon training days. I probably would have been a much better runner, and I probably would have gotten better gains with a lot less stress.
Performance gains. Performance gains.
I should also say, though, that keeping track of the foods I eat works well when attempting to lose weight. I have never really used it, though, to help me reach my performance goals.
My macro logs.
Calories-in, Calories-out works well when ensuring that you do not eat more calories than what your body needs to maintain body weight. For me, what has been even better than the calories-in/calories-out method for losing weight has been counting the macronutrients I consume. For me, it has been the best way to ensure that I do not eat meals that may spike my insulin.
Do random things, get random results.
Once I learned a few elementary aspects of diet and fitness, logging every day seemed to lose its appeal. After a while, I refined a personal fitness and nutrition framework to the point where logging my efforts did not seem to yield much. A detailed log, for me now, offers a little more than just reminding me of what I had eaten. My habits around food, nutrition, and exercise are a lot less random now. The next frontier for me is to blog about my fitness journey so that I can develop a much broader awareness. I need to make note of what works, what works well, and what does not work that well for me. Hopefully, my one-hour blog posts can help me grasp certain aspects of fitness that has eluded me until this point.
I have learned a lot about various aspects of fitness. Much of what I understand about fitness, I have learned within the past few years. Of the most practical and useful lessons has very little to do with anything involving any physical exercise. None of the most important things I have learned have to do with nutrition. The most important thing that I have learned boils down to understanding cause and effect and how what I do and what I eat affects how I look and feel. It seems my most significant learnings have come from consistently logging and understanding the results I get from nutrition and exercise.
Take notes and make gains.
I have noticed some incredible similarities between how I trained for Olympic distance triathlons and how I have trained for weight loss through resistance training. While it is evident that both training regimens have different goals, they both required me to log my efforts. While triathlon training, I was always timing my one-mile runs every week and my three-day per week weight training schedule over 18 months. I made mental notes of my average mph for a 20-mile bike ride. I remember many milestones. I remember improving my average mph on the bike by one mph. I remember one particular seven-mile run where I completed mile-one in less than 5'30". I ran the next six miles reasonably well. It could have been better. I spent much of the run wondering if I had enough stamina to finish the seven-mile loop. Usually, my seven-mile runs were on Fridays. The seven-mile out-and-back would take about 51-52 minutes, and I probably ran that one in less than 49 minutes.
I will have to say that I wish I had been maintaining detailed logs of my triathlon training. I wish I would have taken more detailed records during my triathlon training days. I probably would have been a much better runner, and I probably would have gotten better gains with a lot less stress.
Performance gains. Performance gains.
I should also say, though, that keeping track of the foods I eat works well when attempting to lose weight. I have never really used it, though, to help me reach my performance goals.
My macro logs.
Calories-in, Calories-out works well when ensuring that you do not eat more calories than what your body needs to maintain body weight. For me, what has been even better than the calories-in/calories-out method for losing weight has been counting the macronutrients I consume. For me, it has been the best way to ensure that I do not eat meals that may spike my insulin.
Do random things, get random results.
Once I learned a few elementary aspects of diet and fitness, logging every day seemed to lose its appeal. After a while, I refined a personal fitness and nutrition framework to the point where logging my efforts did not seem to yield much. A detailed log, for me now, offers a little more than just reminding me of what I had eaten. My habits around food, nutrition, and exercise are a lot less random now. The next frontier for me is to blog about my fitness journey so that I can develop a much broader awareness. I need to make note of what works, what works well, and what does not work that well for me. Hopefully, my one-hour blog posts can help me grasp certain aspects of fitness that has eluded me until this point.