The Two Paradoxical Principles of Improving Fitness

by Doug Jackson, M.Ed.,CSCS

(Quick note: I am now accepting personal training clients in Weston, Florida. Limited spots available. Fill out the online consultation request to apply.)

About an hour ago I completed my interval run along the beach in Boca Raton, Florida. It was beautiful... and a great way to end one week and start the next. I also worked out the details for the newsletter that I'm presenting right now. The ideas for it had been rumbling around in my brain over the last couple of weeks and I think that the combination of exertion and peacefulness of the beach run helped me put it all together.

Today's newsletter covers two crucial ideas which are rarely implemented correctly into fitness programs. These important, yet paradoxical concepts are consistency and chaos. Let me explain.

Consistency:

I was at a friend's home a few hours before his wedding. As he was downing one protein shake, he was packing more servings of protein powder for his honeymoon. Most people would think that's a little extreme. In fact, I teased him a little about it.

In response he said, "Hey, I know that I won't be eating that well during the trip and these shakes are a way for me to keep my blood sugar up. Doug, you know how it is, for those of us who follow the fitness lifestyle, our bodies go nuts if we don't eat every few hours. Then when our blood sugar is low, we binge on whatever is in front of us."

Okay, even with that explanation most people would still think that he's a little nuts. Of course, I thought it was admirable. He was displaying the consistency that has made him very successful in many areas of his life. He was doing what most people wouldn't do. Most people, by definition, are average. He was displaying a characteristic necessary for a lifetime of sustained fitness...consistency.

For those of you who have been reading my newsletter on a consistent basis and consistently implementing the ideas in the newsletter, your fitness results should be much above average.

To give you a personal example, I've been consistent in my workouts for years, but I've never been extremely consistent with my nutrition. Don't get me wrong. By most standards, my nutrition was very good. But to the exceptional health and fitness personal trainer, I could improve a bit. I've typically improved my nutrition little by little each year.

Since arriving in Florida, I've gotten to spend time with some of the "who's who" among personal trainers. I've been amazed at the dramatic results that their clients have received. What was the differentiating factor between getting good results and getting great results? In the specific cases I've seen, it was usually diet related. Since I've surrounded myself with those people, I've been even more consistent with my own nutrition and the results are becoming apparent. We are talking about the consistent application of excellent strategy.

Okay, so what about chaos... the other factor to long term fitness improvement that is the paradox of consistency?

Chaos.

When applied to fitness, chaos is the unusual stimulus that forces the body to adapt and improve fitness or become injured. If you never ask the body to do what it has never done before, it will never improve. Will the runner who runs the same mileage at the same time for six months in a row be in better cardio shape at the end of the six months? No. The runner has maintained their cardio fitness, but has done nothing to increase his cardio fitness. The body must be pushed beyond its comfort zone for positive adaptation to occur. However, there's a fine line. If someone with no training tries to run a marathon, they will be injured.

So how do consistency and chaos fit together? To explain this, I'll use an analogy comparing calluses on ones hands to our muscles.

Think of how calluses develop on your hand. You start out with no calluses and soft skin. When you slowly begin performing physical labor, calluses develop (moderate consistency, moderate chaos). This is analogous to starting a moderate fitness program and seeing some improvement in your fitness.

What happens if you continue with the same amount of physical labor on a consistent basis (consistency, no chaos)? Since there is no increased demand, the calluses will remain the same. This is analogous to where people reach a fitness plateau.

What happens if you do extremely high amounts of physical labor, but on a very inconsistent basis? Your hands remain soft because of the lack of consistency and these soft hands develop blisters when exposed to high amounts of stress (lack of consistency, high chaos). This is analogous to the weekend warrior who works out once or twice per week and gets very sore or injured. These people may be surprised to find out that their soreness would likely decrease if their exercise frequency would increase.

What happens when you mix a wide variety of physical labor on a daily basis? Your hands will continue to callus further as long as the amount of chaos they are exposed to increases in a gradual manner (high consistency, high chaos). The body is adapting to the demands placed upon it. Fundamentally, it's as simple as that. If you remain consistent with your fitness program and make sure to strategically implement chaos into the mix, your total fitness should be very high and should always be improving in some manner.

I will note that for specific fitness results, the program must be more scientific and specific as well. It would be a mistake to throw a random mix of exercise strategies at the body with no understanding of exercise science and if and how that random mix will help you reach your specific fitness goals.

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