Home > Good Form > Archives > 2007 > March > 12 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWeight Loss and Fitness Myth #11: Doing Something is Better than Nothing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Commonly, I hear the phrase “doing something is better than nothing.” Though this may be a little true, it’s usually just a abdication for the efforts of the person who says it.
Now, before I get chastized, I want you to hear me out and unsderstand what I am getting at. I understand that there is a starting point that everone must start. However, if you want to make progress and reach your goals, you have to do more than just “do something” every time you go “do something.”
If you expect to improve your fitness levels, lose weight (build a body that burns fat), and become healthier, you have to implement a principle known as progressive training.
Progressive training is nothing more than the understanding that if you want to make improvement in your physical fitness/weight loss efforts, you’re going to have to push it a little. More specifically, it means that you must make changes in your frequency, intensity, and time of your training. Progressive training includes a concept known as overload.
In weight training, overload is the understanding that you must lift heavier weights than what you are accustome to in order for you to get stronger and increase lean muscle tissue. You can implement this same methodology to your aerobic/cardiovascualr fitness. If you walk 3 miles for the same amount of time every time and at the same speed, you will not improve your fitness levels. You must try to at least walk those first two miles in a faster time.
My examples are vague, but all you need to understand is that you must not be afraid to push it if you want to make progress. You were already meant to do activity by design. So, doing something like going on a walk all the time is not sufficient enough if you want to get results. You have to steadily increase what you do if you want to get results.
Comments