Fitness Doesn’t Take Two Hours

In this time of New Year’s resolutions, Facebook continues to be plastered with updates on the latest fitness goals and progress of others. Many head to the gym for hours on end, spend ridiculous amounts of money on supplements, memberships, and much much more. Around the month or two month mark of the new year a noticeable decline begins to be seen. The problem? Burn out. Setting lofty goals and charging too hard towards them simply sets people up for a resolution disaster.

Creating a better body and a better life is journey. A journey that is long and full of fulfilling self-enlightenment if you simply take the time. Less is more in this journey.

Heading to the gym each day for marathon workouts lasting longer than 45 minutes can lead to long term burn out, decrease in weight loss potential, illness, and a poor frame of mind. Unless your training for a specific athletic event, that requires long periods of sustained stamina, marathon workouts will only cause harm. Sufficient weight loss, endurance, and strength can be obtained in more frequent bouts of exercise. With shorter more intense workouts you can reduce the risk of burnout and maximize your weight loss process. Long workouts overtime raise cortisol (stress hormone) in the body and slow down your weight loss process. Additionally, bi-products or cellular waste such as lactic acid build up in the muscle system and bog down the liver. As a result, sluggish liver can cause weight gain and a toxic internal environment, which can lead to a variety of unsightly health issues.

Less is more when it comes to dieting in many ways. Simply trying to avoid overly processed foods aides the body in natural digestion and helps detox the system, especially when consuming mostly fruits and vegetables. Many of the packaged convenience products that are available on the shelf in the local supermarket are packed full of ingredients that no one has ever heard of and not to mention usually carcinogenic (cancer causing). Food isn’t supposed to last for weeks, months, or years. Such additives add to the toxic internal environmental state that should be avoided for health, sustained weight loss.

The key to sustained health and weight loss is setting realistic attainable goals. Understanding that health and weight loss is a journey, there are no quick fixes. Spending hours in the gym is counter productive. The body you want is more than just working out, you can out exercise a poor diet. Remember to take care of yourself, and be efficient.