How To Get Fit

Anytime, anywhere, the key components of fitness for life.

When I was in University one of my jobs was at a community fitness centre.  It was in a rough neighbourhood. A the end of the day I had to run a chain through all the weights and lock them together. My desk was an old-fashioned wooden school teacher’s desk in the middle of the room. I used to joke that I should have a sign that said “don’t steal the fitness centre staff.”

The clientele was eclectic. Many of them had been to jail. 

When I worked at the downtown YMCA they had long-term rooms for rent and a number of gyms in the building. The one in the basement was full of the oldest pieces of equipment. Some of it looked like it was from a 1970s bodybuilding magazine. Many of the people that worked out in the basement had definitely been in jail. 

At another high-end fitness facility that prided itself on its commitment to access for all I met and frequently talked with a man that had spent years in solitary confinement. Don’t ask why, I never asked, there is no good reason to spend years in solitary confinement and I didn’t need to know. He was also very well-read.

When people would ask, how do you know they had been to jail? I would say. They are exceptionally polite, put their weights away, and never leave a mess. They don’t look you in the eye and never bring any attention to themselves. 

The exact opposite of fitness influencers who overpromise and underwhelm. 

If I was going to take fitness advice I would go with the jailhouse gym every time. 

Why? Because if you truly want to get fit and keep fit the basics matter. 

Before we get to those basic components of fitness ask yourself three things.

1. What do you want to achieve?

2. How hard are you willing to work?

3. Why does this matter to me?

The answer to these questions will establish the foundations on which your fitness program is built. Health and fitness are a continuum, not an endpoint. What may be healthy, walking daily, may not significantly improve your fitness. This works both ways, running an ultra or a marathon is not necessarily healthy even if you get fit.

Once you know what matters to you and what you want to achieve the most important aspects of fitness are in the following 5 key components to getting and staying fit.

The big 5

Do something every day.

Regardless of your overall goals, you can’t hack fitness. Fitness is like a retirement savings plan, start young, contribute regularly, and be in it for the long term.

How much exercise do I need to do? The science.

Intensity matters

This doesn’t mean high intensity, at least not every time.

Whether it is cardiovascular or strength training the majority of benefits come from training around 70% effort. Does this mean you should never do interval or high-intensity training? No. However, if you want to be fitter, faster and stronger, most of your training should be at moderate to vigorous intensity. New research, proving what bodybuilders already knew, is that maximum gains come from 70% of your maximum load.

In the bodybuilding world, 75% of your one-rep max is the equivalent of 10 repetitions. The key is that you should not be able to lift more than 10 reps. Failing, which in strength training means reaching your max, on the 10th repetition means that you are working at 75%. In other words, whatever weight you are lifting is 75% your max effort if you can’t lift it 11 times.

The research from the University of Cambridge has developed a mathematical formula for predicting optimum exercise. Or you could go to the gym and figure it out yourself, carefully and best with supervision.

When it comes to aerobic fitness there is a lot of noise about short high-intensity fitness benefits, unfortunately, these leave out the fine print. Any coach that wanted their athletes to do high-intensity fitness programs would first establish a base level of fitness and only do high-intensity training once or maybe twice a week. Only doing high-intensity training means burnout and an increased risk of injuries, not a prescription for lifelong fitness.

Strength training is non-negotiable.

Muscle is health. Losing muscle reduces your longevity and your fitness. No, you don’t improve muscle mass with endurance activities. Yes, even if you run, cycle, ski, (fill in the sport of your choice) you still have to do strength training.

These 6 exercises in the post below should be part of everyone’s program. There are variations on each of these, but the muscles groups are ones that everyone should train.

Get strong this season

Be prepared for setbacks.

Everyone gets injured. Goes on vacation. Gets sick. These are normal and doing what you can is key to keeping fit. Just because you can’t do your preferred exercise is not an excuse to do no exercise.

Trust me.

After being injured for the last 18 months, I can tell you that it is better to do what you can with what you have than quit. Starting over is much harder after an extended lay-off. While I haven’t been running until recently I did surprisingly start mountain biking. Another unexpected surprise was how much mountain biking improved my running.

Don’t quit. Don’t push through the pain and even if it is not your favourite activity just do it.

Do something you like doing.

Exercise is not a punishment for bad behaviour. If your friends love (fill in the blank) and you don’t, don’t do it. There are so many choices. You might love exercising in a group. Or you might find that as satisfying as a high school gym class… you might love running while your partner thinks why would I run if no one is chasing me?

If you don’t like you won’t do it.

Try new things, learn new sports, and find a few that you enjoy. Even better if you can find a few seasonal activities so you can stay fit and enjoy the season.

Jailhouse gym

The man who spent time in solitary once told me that without exercise he would be back in jail. It was that simple. The other men that I assumed had been to jail knew it too. Their why was obvious. It was important to their future, they were willing to put in the time to stay out of trouble. Fitness meant freedom.

Fitness is simple. No need for fancy equipment. The basics are what matter and they haven’t changed. Fitness still means freedom.

No matter what the influencers would like you to believe.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla