Exercise Is Terrible For You

Introduction:

When you think of exercise, you always think of its health benefits. Well, what if I told you that exercise is terrible for you? Additionally, what if I told you that when you understand this concept, you'll be able to coach your patient's how to live a healthier lifestyle while providing them with the recipe for guaranteed results. In this article, I'll discuss the following topics: 

• Why Exercise Is Terrible For You
• Example 1: Optimal Stress
• Example 2: Insufficient Stress
• Example 3: Excessive Stress

If you're a visual learner, click the video below to watch the same concepts discussed: 

Why Exercise is Terrible For You

 You may not realize it, but exercise is inherently bad for you — let me explain. When a patient or client completes their session/workout, what determines the workout's overall success? Although it's rarely discussed, the answer is how much you broke them down. In an optimal training session, we are seeking to create micro-tears within the muscle for the body to rebuild and grow. So, if we take a snapshot of exercise, we can accurately label it as a harmful or destructive process on the body from the damage it causes.

So, if exercise is terrible, then what makes it so healthy? The adaptations.

Here's the thing, not everyone achieves the adaptations they're looking for when working out. The lack of results occurs because of two parameters that are not fulfilled — stress and recovery.

1) Stress on the body is the stimulus that tells it what to do next. If there's not enough stress, nothing happens. But, conversely, if there's too much, injury can transpire. So there's a necessary balance that needs to be maintained during a workout to create healthy adaptations. As movement professionals, we must master the balancing act of stress to produce optimal results for our patients/clients.

2) The recovery strategies can encompass a wide variety of options. However, rest, nutrition, and hydration are simple and the most familiar. When these strategies are respected, we see results. When they're neglected, people quit. It's your job to educate your patients/clients so they understand the appropriate strategies to take to optimize their recovery.

Now that you understand the factors that produce healthy exercise let's look at three common examples.

Example 1: Optimal Stress

For our first example, let's label our patient/client as Joe. Joe enters at a fitness level of 50 out of 100. During the session, the proper amount of stress was produced to appropriately breakdown the body. When Joe leaves, he is worse than when he came in. His fitness level is now at 40 out of 100 due to the effects of the workout. While resting, Joe employs the correct strategies for recovery. He then comes in for another session later on in the week. However, because the appropriate stress was combined with proper recovery strategies, he enters with a fitness level of 60 out of 100. The same workout techniques are followed, and Joe continues to progress as the weeks continue.

This example depicts how results in the gym are achieved. Proper stress combined with optimal recovery allows Joe to break down his body and rebuild. This is the recipe that every physical therapist and strength coach should be obtaining.

Example 2: Insufficient Stress

In our second example, let's use our same patient, Joe, but now he is working with a different coach. He starts at the same point at a 50 out of 100 as we saw with our first example. However, this coach keeps Joe in his comfort zone. Although Joe's sweating, exercising, and working hard, he remains in his comfort zone. In other words, the coach is not placing the body under enough stress. Joe leaves the workout at the same 50 out of 100 since there was insufficient stress. Even if Joe has optimal recovery strategies, the stimulus to grow and adapt was never placed on his system. As he continues to work with this coach, he remains comfortable and doesn't leave his fitness level of 50 out of 100.

We've all seen this scenario! Yet, how often do you see people start working out only to quit a couple of months later due to the lack of results? The problem is that stress isn't high enough to produce a change. As a movement professional, this can be frustrating because you believe you're doing a good job, but the results show otherwise.

Example 3: Excessive Stress

In our final example, Joe returns to work out with a new coach at his 50 out of 100 fitness level. There is an excessive amount of stress placed on his body during the session. As a result, he leaves the session at a 30 out of 100. In this example, to make matters worse, Joe does not have proper recovery strategies. During his time away from training, he manages to increase his fitness level only to 35 out of 100. He then has his next session that follows the same workout techniques, which lowers him from a 35 to a 25 out of 100. This vicious cycle of excessive stress met with improper recovery continues and ultimately leads him to poor results and a high likelihood of injury.

As a movement professional, you need to be cautious of this scenario. To break this negative cycle, two changes must occur: 1) Understand the amount of stress you place on Joe. 2) Educate Joe on proper recovery strategies.

Conclusion: 

Now that you understand the different effects stress, recovery, and exercise can have — use it! Use these examples and the phrase, "exercise is terrible for you," the next time you're with your patient or client. Then, educate them on the different outcomes to better understand and appreciate the importance of stress and recovery.