A New Take on Fitness

When it comes to fitness, there is almost no way of knowing which style is better for you until you try it. If you grew up playing team sports, chances are, you’d be drawn to working out in a community setting – CrossFit, outdoor Bootcamps, or gyms like F45. If you are the kind of person who uses fitness as their window of personal space and “me time”, you’re likely to do better with a personal trainer. This kind of distinction helps you to figure out where you’d perform and feel your best.

We’re spoilt for choice nowadays with fitness, but that isn’t necessarily a good thing. Nowadays, with the tap of your finger, you can access thousands of different fitness studios each serving up a different type of workout. I find, though, that the average person cannot tell you what type of workout they actually prefer. There’s a kind of training ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) that sets in - people want to try a little of everything without ever getting good at any one thing.

Before you change your workout style or add variety to your training, ask yourself honestly if you’re ready for it. For example, if you’ve only been training for 2-3 months, you have no business mimicking a Pro Crossfitter's training regime. The workout video that you see on Instagram that you want to try? Think again. These random fitness routines published in magazines or on social media don’t mean anything unless you have a foundation that has prepared you for them.

A good fitness program uses progressive overload to make sure that you get stronger, and are able to handle more activities. If you’re an absolute beginner, this typically happens at the three-month mark. You need to be building up your strength instead of jumping into an intermediate-level workout designed for people at a different stage in their fitness journey.

I personally don’t think it’s important to add variety to your workout style. Going to a spin class one month, doing HIIT the other, and then moving on to boxing and 10k runs all in the name of changing things up is silly and short-sighted to say the least. Instead, I would recommend leaning upon fundamental movements and building variety around that. I’ll lay this out in my second Power Read: The 7-Day Balanced Workout. Variety is great, but you need to be curating it carefully. How would doing this benefit YOUR specific function as a human being? If this is something you cannot answer on your own, meet up with a fitness professional for advice.

Get Your Facts Right

I’ve spent enough time in the fitness industry to be well acquainted with the myths and misconceptions that float around. I’ve heard it all. Most times, I hear women telling me they want to “tone their butts” and “shrink their calves”. Fact is, there’s no such thing as “toning” in this context, and the only way you can shrink your calves is by getting a surgeon to cut them out. Another big myth is that lifting heavy will make women look big and bulky. Absolutely not, unless that’s what you choose. When you lift weights sensibly and supplement that with a healthy diet, you will be stronger and leaner. On the other hand, if you’re training the wrong way, binging on desserts, or drinking too much, you’ll find yourself getting bigger. It has to be said.

Men, on the other hand, come to me with statements like “I don’t need to train my legs because I run every other day”. Running isn’t resistance training. So while you bench press and do pull ups (all of which are resistance training), your poor legs get zero attention. The result? You guessed it - twigs for legs. I also get people who think that doing HIIT workouts is enough to be fit. Sure, they’re aerobically efficient at it. But if I were to put them in another environment where loads exist and they have to push and pull at near maximal efforts with a heightened heart rate in the presence of lactic acid - they won’t be able to perform.

Perhaps the most frustrating statement I hear is "I cannot afford a fitness professional”. Most times, this is simply the case of prioritising what matters to you. If you are going out for drinks regularly or splurging on designer outfits, you definitely could be channelling some part of that money towards your own health instead. Make your own health a priority.

Now that you know what you might be doing wrong, let me show you how to change your focus from hopping between fitness trends to building strength and mobility that will help you stay healthy in the long run.

Everyone needs a solid foundation of strength and mobility. As we age, our strength and mobility are the first to deteriorate. Put simply, people in their 30s and 40s exercise be cause they want to be able to live the next 20 to 30 years of their lives well. Living well means being able to move (mobility), as well as being strong enough to move well (strength).

So instead of trying to find the “right” workout for yourself, you should be working towards building a strong foundation of strength and mobility. Once you’ve achieved this, you can move on to other movement patterns and activities. For example, if you cannot even squat with your own bodyweight for a given number of repetitions, you shouldn’t be doing more dynamic patterns like a box jump or burpee. Of course, your biological age and training age will affect the kinds of exercises you will begin your training with. But building strength and mobility should be your main priority.

A balanced workout is one that incorporates well-designed elements of foundational strength and mobility. You’d work with bodyweight squats, hinging patterns, overhead or sagittal plane pressing patterns (like push ups), unilateral movements (like lunges), lateral patterns (like side lunging) and possibly movements on the transverse plane (like twisting/rotating at the midline). All of these movements would cover the basic strength portion of a "balanced" workout. I would also recommend sustainable conditioning. You could practice biking for 10-20 minutes or rowing for 1000 meters without getting "gassed out”.

If a person who has never done any exercise in her life decides to start embarking on his or her fitness journey, the first steps for a fitness professional are to:

1. Consult
2. Assess
3. Test
4. Program
5. Re-test after a month

Before you commit to any fitness program, make sure to assess your starting point. This will help you exercise without injury.

Assess Your Base Fitness Level

In these assessments, you are looking for glaring abnormalities that are very obvious. You should not be trying to find slight imperfections or be hard on yourself. At this stage, you’re not trying to correct your movement faults. All you’re doing is observing and taking notes. This will help you or your coach work towards correcting faulty movements in the program design. I always say “when in doubt, refer out”, meaning if something is quite obviously not right, check in with your doctor or your physiotherapist. I’ve arranged these assessments in three levels, each testing a different movement attribute.

Before we start, you need to understand Tempo Training. If you are new to the method, here’s a really quick overview. You’ll see that I’ve used a series of four numbers to denote a certain tempo for each exercise.

Let’s take the example of a tempo 4011:

• The first number is the lowering “eccentric” component of the lift - so you’d lower for 4 seconds
• The second number shows any pause at the midpoint while lowering - in this case, 0 means you don’t pause
• The third number is the lifting “concentric” component - so in our example, you lift for 1 second
• The fourth number is any pauses at the top of the lift - so you’d pause for 1 second at the top
• An X denotes a rapid change in movement without pause

Level 1: Stability Strength

Perform one rep of each of the following movements only with your bodyweight:

• Squat

Stand with your feet apart, slightly wider than your hips and your toes slightly turned out. Keep your gaze on a point in front of you, and lift your arms parallel to the floor. Planting your feet firmly into the ground, send your hips backwards as your knees start to bend. Make sure your knees are not buckling inwards. Squat down until your hip joint is parallel to your knees. To rise up, squeeze through your glutes as you stand upright.

• Split Squat

From a standing position, take a long step forwards as if performing a lunge. The heel of your back foot should be raised. Keeping your torso straight, lower slowly until your back knee almost touches the floor, then push back up. Switch between legs.

• Step Up

Stand facing a box, bench, or step. Place your right foot on top of the box, so that your hip, knee, and ankle all form 90-degree angles. Press your right foot into the box and push your body up until your right leg is straight. Don't rest your left foot on the bench at the top; instead, hold it in the air. Repeat on your other leg.

• Toe Touch

Lie down with your back pressed against the floor and legs touching each other. Lift your legs up in the air until they are almost perpendicular to the floor with a slight bend at the knees, and your feet are parallel to the floor. Keep your arms at a 45-degree angle from the floor. Now, with your lower back pressed against the floor, exhale, lift your torso and use your hands to try and touch your toes. As you lower your torso slowly, inhale, and go back to the starting position.

• Active Straight Leg Raise

Lie down flat on the floor, keeping your lower back in its natural curve with both legs straight on the floor and feet hip width apart. Keeping your knee straight, lift one leg straight with a neutral foot position. Stop when you find your other leg lifting off its “set position”. Repeat with your other leg.

• Scratch

While standing, reach one arm up and bend the elbow to pat your back. Reach your fingers down your upper back as far as you are able to. At the same time, put your other hand behind your lower back and reach your fingers up your back as far as you can. Try and touch your fingertips.

Write down whether you can perform each movement with your left arm/leg and right arm/leg and if you notice any differences between the two. Also note down any major outliers you see.

Now, let's move on to a Supine Bridge on each leg. To do this movement, lay on your back with your hands by your sides, your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Make sure your feet are under your knees. Raise your hips up to create a straight line from your knees to shoulders. Slowly raise and extend one leg while keeping your pelvis raised and level. Hold, and then return to the starting position with knees bent.

Pay attention to your hips as you lift each leg. Note down whether or not your hip lifts off the ground for each leg.

To end, hold each of the following exercises for 90 seconds:

• Prone Plank

Facing the floor, prop your body to a rigid and long position, where the only contact points are your forearms and the balls of your feet. Keep your eye gaze at a point on the floor in front of you such that your neck is not curved. Make sure your back is not curved or caving, and your forearms are shoulder width apart. Squeeze your glutes and core to hold yourself in that rigid position.

• Double Leg Supine Bridge

Begin in the supine position (on your back) with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, hip width apart. Place your arms by your sides, palms facing down. Next, bridge upward by pushing through the heels and lifting your hips off the ground. As your hips come up, try to squeeze your glutes for a few seconds, then slowly lower your hips and repeat the exercise. Be sure to keep your head on the floor at all times.

• Left Side Plank

Lie on your side with your left forearm flat on the floor, bottom elbow lined up directly under your shoulder and both legs extended out in a long line. Feet can either be staggered for more stability, or stacked for more of a challenge. Engage your core and lift your hips off the floor, forming a straight line from your head to your feet. Your top hand can be on the side of your hip (easier) or reaching up to the ceiling (harder).

• Right Side Plank

Lay on your side with your right forearm flat on the floor, bottom elbow lined up directly under your shoulder and both legs extended out in a long line. Feet can either be staggered for more stability, or stacked for more of a challenge. Engage your core and lift your hips off the floor, forming a straight line from your head to your feet. Your top hand can be on the side of your hip (easier) or reaching up to the ceiling (harder).

Note down how long you actually are able to hold these positions, compare how far off you are from the 90-second minimum.

Level 2: Movement With Contraction

After Level 1, you’ll have a better idea of your range of motion. With Level 2, you’re checking if you can control your bodyweight.

Try doing a pushup. Can you do one with good form? Lie down with your face towards the floor. Position your hands shoulder-width apart, or a little bit wider. As you bend your elbows and lower toward the ground, your elbows should be at about a 45-degree angle to your body. If this doesn’t feel too comfortable, adjust your arms a little either towards or away from your body, but always close to a 45-degree angle. Spread your fingers apart. Keep your core engaged and your back flat such that your body forms a straight line from your head to your heels. Keep your core engaged the whole time.

Now, perform a Sorenson Hold and time your hold. To do a Sorenson Hold, lie face down on a bench and lock your ankles between the support bars. Your legs should be supported by the bench with your upper body extended over the edge. Hold your upper body parallel to the floor, with your arms folded against your chest for as long as you can. Write down this number, and note down how far away you are from the two minute minimum.

Let's move on to Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats with just your bodyweight. To do a Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat, place the heel of your back foot on an elevated surface such as a bench. Keep your torso in line with the thigh of your back leg. Keep the knee of your front leg in line with your toes. Don’t step too close or too far to the bench. Keeping your torso straight, lunge through the front foot until your knees find a 90-degree angle, then push back up. Do 8 reps per leg at tempo 3010.

Level 3: Movements Under Load

At Level 3, we are measuring how well you move under load and your relative strength ability. Start with 3 reps of pull ups at tempo 30X0. To do a pull up, hold the pull up bar with your palms down, shoulder-width apart. Hang from the pull up bar with straight arms and your legs off the floor. Then, pull yourself up by squeezing your elbows down to the floor. Raise yourself up until your chin passes the bar, and then lower yourself back down until your arms are straight. Then, do 3 reps of Stationary Bar Dips at tempo 30X0. Are you able to do this? Take note of any observations.

Next, we’ll go back to Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats. Do 8 reps at tempo 30X0 for each leg. Follow this up with 3 reps of Squats at tempo 30X0 using just your bodyweight. If you’re a woman, do 3 deadlifts with just your bodyweight. If you’re a man, do 3 deadlifts with 1.25x your bodyweight. Again, note down any observations or abnormalities.

Once you’ve assessed your base fitness level, you’ll have a better understanding of your foundational strength. Your foundational strength is the basis upon which you will build your fitness routine. What this means is, if you’re finding it difficult to touch your toes without rounding your back, your body simply isn’t ready for kettlebell swings or goblet squats. If you feel tired after six bodyweight squats, you shouldn’t be squatting with a barbell on your back. Focus on mastering the basics before you try to load your body when it isn’t able to properly support you. Work with a coach to figure out a program that helps you correct any movement issues you may have. That’s a great way to start.

1. Assess Your Base Fitness Level

Use my guide to assess yourself and see where you’re at. Pay close attention to any movement abnormalities and follow up with your physiotherapist or doctor so that you can exercise sustainably and safely.

2. Find a Good Coach

This is not a bodybuilder, or a HIIT trainer but someone who understands strength and conditioning. If you cannot afford a coach, hire a fitness professional to design a program that you can follow for the next 3-6 months. This should cost you about the same amount as a gym membership or a group class package.

3. Give It Your All

Now that you’ve decided to work with an expert, follow their program diligently for a few months. You might be tempted to try 25 different classes during this time, but avoid doing so. Check in with your coach instead to discuss adding variety to your program where possible.