I have to admit I enjoy exercise a lot. I’ve enjoyed many different kinds of exercise and been exposed and even trained with some of the absolute visionaries of human performance. Even when I am traveling I can always find time for a good workout.
But exercise is not really as much of a transformation tool as the exercise industry would have you believe. Now before you start leveling criticism at me for this grand departure from the accepted dogma let me remind you I do have a CPT certificate and continue my education in the industry even though I don’t make a living that way.
I have written many blogs on the best kind of exercise as well as diet which seem to be two inseparable topics for most people.
But for the moment I want you to separate them and digest these statements.
I view exercise as a fitness tool. I diet as a weight loss tool.
If you ask me what would help the most people in the U.S. I would have to say diet at least at first.
While almost everyone who is overweight is also out of shape and it may seem artificial to separate the 2 ways of improving our bodies the truth is that each contributes to health in a very different fashion.
An average of 30 pounds weight loss for the typical overweight/obese American would go a lot farther than 3 hours a week in the gym in the first 12 to 18 months. Put another way, if I found a Genie in a bottle that would grant me one wish for the population of this country first, it would be weight loss.
Weight loss, especially significant weight loss revamps your body’s metabolism, resets your hormones, your sleep, your sex life and so on. Exercise may do a lot of those things as well but it takes a lot longer.
Now with the American obsession with looking good..
I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you the 6 pack ab look is all about body fat, which in turn is linked to body weight. Again put another way, you will only see your 6 pack if you lose enough weight and fat to let it show, no matter how much exercise you do.
Now the corollary question of all this is can you be fat and fit? That would depend on what you call fit. If you are looking for pure strength then you will find a lot of fat looking people who are very strong. But they do not age well. Indeed the older we get the more being lean becomes super important.
And what about this common question: Can you do both together. Again it depends. If you are morbidly obese or seriously overweight I would stick with weight loss as the main focus and add in exercise slowly in increasing doses.
If you are already lean and strong and have endurance chances are you stopped reading this a long time ago.
You might, if you are a regular reader, even wonder why I am writing this. After all The Longevity Edge audience are probably among the fittest people in the world.
Two things: First we are getting a lot of notoriety out there in the big world and that means a lot of first timers are visiting looking for how to get started in an effective anti-aging program. Second I do a lot of traveling. I cannot help but notice how many of my fellow Americans are just plain fat. I call it carb poisoning these days. The bloated faces, waddling walks, giant bellies, etc there is far more of that amongst us than there are lean healthy specimens!
Worse TV has been taken over by reality shows! Part of that reality is preponderance of fat people. And that my friend is a real reality no matter how silly/phony the shows are!
If you want it all…
Is a 6 pack, leanness, power and strength then the ketogenic/Paleo diet has been a mainstay for me for a long time with great results.
I had someone ask me if I still look like I did when we introduced Energy X Maxx. The truth is I am lighter and not quite as buff, but I am still OK with how everything looks and more than OK with how it feels to grow younger each year.
Stay tuned for a pic or two but remember this: I am anything but special and anything but an exception. I follow the same guidelines I give you and I do so with consistency including my supplementation, diet and exercise.
Trust me if it works for a genetically very average guy like me, YOU should have glorious results.
Here’s to you.
Doc