Back to Basics: No Secrets, Just Sweat

It’s that time of year again, when the gyms are full of ‘resolutionaries’ who swear—swear!—that this will be the year they get in shape and stick to a wellness program. Suddenly, everybody’s at the gym. And I do mean everybody.

This time of year also brings a host of influencers pitching the ‘secret’ to getting in shape, dropping those extra pounds and living your best life. They all claim to have the key to unlock some magical shortcut to fitness/weight loss that has somehow eluded everyone else who’s ever tried this. ?

The thing is, there are no secrets to wellness, beyond regular exercise, eating real food and getting adequate sleep. That’s really all there is to it. But if you’re not already doing those things, it takes discipline to amend your lifestyle, and there are all sorts of tripwires along the way.

For exercise newbies, the gym can be an intimidating place. All those chiseled torsos, all that unfamiliar machinery.…it’s like your first day in a new school and you’re definitely not one of the cool kids.

But those torsos didn’t look so chiseled on their first day. And you’ll get the hang of the machinery in time. And if you’re truly clueless on how to get started, there are loads of instructional videos online, just steer clear of the ones trying to sell you something. ?

If you still find the gym just isn’t the place for you, buy a set of adjustable dumbbells, a chin-up bar and an adjustable bench and you can do every strength exercise you’ll ever need in the privacy of your own home. Plus you can work out whenever you want and your cat doesn’t care how you look.

And for those of you with bad backs: do dumbbell rows lying face down on a low-incline bench. Takes the strain off the lower spine. https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a27736363/incline-bench-row/

As for cardio, you don’t need fancy machines. Running and walking cost nothing, and cycling outdoors (weather permitting) is a lot more fun than a spin class.

Or just structure your strength training as a cardio workout: no breaks between sets, shifting between antagonistic muscle groups—a set of push-ups (chest/delts/triceps), a set of rows (back/biceps), a set of lunges (legs/hips/glutes), then repeat—so the muscles get a recovery phase.

As for eating right, Michael Pollan maybe said it best: “Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.” Also, try to stop eating before you feel full, as the hormone that signals satiety takes a while to hit your brain. https://michaelpollan.com/reviews/just-eat-what-your-great-grandma-ate/

Try to stick to a routine bedtime/waketime. Keep the bedroom a few degrees cooler. If you live in a noisy area, get a white noise machine or earplugs. If you live in a brightly lit area, get some blackout curtains or just a sleep mask. And shut off the notifications on your damn phone.

I’ve been a gym rat since I was a kid. This year, I’m turning 64 (cue the Beatles song) and I have no intention of quitting. Certain types of sharks die if they stop moving and sharks have been with us for 450 million years. Lesson in there somewhere, I’m sure.

Overcoming inertia is the hard part. Once that’s accomplished, you’ll find maintaining momentum is a piece of cake. But maybe save the actual cake for your next cheat day.