How do I know which exercise is best?
The other version I hear of this is, “Does (insert exercise program) actually work or is it BS?”
This is part 2 of a little series of drawing ideas I had about those county fair type facehole boards you put your head into to take a silly picture. If you haven’t read part 1 go here for the whole explanation.
Essentially, I interpret these sorts of questions as I’m a busy person and I don’t want to waste my time doing something that won’t get me to my goals. This is usually because my answer to the above question is, “Well, what’s your goal?” Unless you know what that is, it’s pretty hard to steer you in the right direction.
I would say that the majority of people I work with want to stay fit enough to do the OTHER things they like doing physically. Hike, Bike, Tennis, garden, etc. The rest would be folks interested in improving their health/losing weight. However, that might not be yours.
Those interested in strength building or sport performance will need specific sorts of programming to achieve the results they want. I think this makes sense to most of us. However, that’s not the same thing as a program, “not working” or being a “waste of time”. It just may not suit what you’re trying to achieve.
It’s also not the same thing as being something that may not be appropriate for your current physical condition. Understanding where your level of fitness is at the moment relative to any exercise program is going to go a long way towards avoiding injury.
To wrap up, no exercise plan is a waste of time. There’s no reason that a 3 day per week tennis player wouldn’t benefit health-wise from following a 5k run program or a strength development plan. Listening to both your mind and your body are also important. If you find that you didn’t like Yoga, there’s nothing wrong with not going back. Keep trying something else, think about your own goals or needs and if you get stuck give me a call.
Jason
Need a little more inspiration? Check out these other posts to get you moving today!
– Why Weight Training is a Must for Weight Loss