Stop Burning Calories!!!

Another week has passed. How did you spend your time? How did you spend your energy?

Did you have some fun?, did you hang out with friends and family?

The point I'm alluding to is ; What we do is important to us. We only have so much time, and life is really short. Wasting time can be a real problem. 

The topic for this week is about time wasting in the gym. 

I have been in the gym scene for over 25 years and have accumulated a whole lot of stories. I love to know what makes people tick, and what reasons we have for doing what we do. I also love seeing people achieve and maintain results that are life transforming. 

One of the issues I have with the fitness industry just like the diet industry is that it is set up to make you fail. Most people don't achieve their goals and maintain them long term. Why not?

You are fed lies!. 

Faulty science, short term carrots, unrealistic pipe dreams, and a lack of holistic approaches. 

How many people have been fed the idea that burning calories in the gym should be a main focus?

Charts that depict fat burning zones, rooms of treadmills, aerobic classes, Hiit classes. Don't even get me started on functional cardio workouts that include getting yelled at while you box jump so poorly that your knees now sound more like a snap, crackle and pop cereal. 

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against fitness training, working hard and using a few weird looking gym machines. 

I just like to make sure you know what is really going on, and you are doing things for the right reasons and being cognizant of the fact you have a body that must last the distance of life.

 I always ask the question: "Do you LOVE IT?". If you dislike certain exercise, then the likelihood of sustaining that fitness practice as a habit is short lived. Then you may opt for a boot camp leader who whips you with discipline. How long does this last? I'm sure you can tell me!

Remember, a sustainable routine is the ONLY successful routine. 

More questions:

- Are you going to the gym to burn fat?

- Are you going to the gym to get stronger?

- Are you going to the gym to get fitter? 

- Are you going to the gym to learn how to move better? 

In my experience, when people go chasing the fat burn and the calorie burn, they are on the road to disaster.

So you have been told a HIIT (high intensity interval training) or what I call for many: HIITT (high intensity interval training trauma) can burn 500-1000 calories!!

First of all NO!, If you knew how hard you had to work to burn that, you may not show up to the first session. Seasoned athletes may play this massive calorie game, but most of us are not that.

By the way, athletes usually don't go after workouts to burn fat, they hunt fitness and function.

The general population are getting poor information on top of trauma and potentially life long injuries along side a yo yo weight game syndrome that can get very depressing.

The risk reward ratio does not stack up well for me to advocate most people choosing random cardio over well controlled mobility programs. 

Calorie burning is very individual, and can be difficult to calculate. On the flip side, measuring calories in is much easier with the right tools. That can be a topic for another day.

So if we continue to play the burn calories model game and chase the much desired lean physique, what happens when we get fitter?. Your body burns less calories as you get more efficient. So now you have to do more in order to get the results you are hunting for.

We are a survival preservation animal, and this is designed for our own good. 

So I go back to the "Do you Love it" question. If it still no, then increasing the volume of a disliked activity, no matter how much the fun people around you supporting this practice try to enforce it, will lead you back to the couch!

So I will add a few very simple points that will be expanded in a later blog:

If you want to lose fat, EAT LESS (Preferably the crap)

STOP trying to work off a bad diet, and lazy lifestyle!

I love the gym industry and have dedicated my life to helping people. I may die with less money in my pocket compared to the big franchise gym's, but I'm not selling my soul to lie to people.

I'm sick of idiot personal trainers, boot camp morons, gym owners with low morals!

Now listen up:

THE GYM IS FOR LEARNING HOW TO MOVE MORE EFFICIENTLY, IMPROVING MOBILITY, GAINING STRENGTH & MUSCLE YOU CAN ACTUALLY USE, ACQUIRING A VARIETY OF FITNESS SKILLS, AND ENGAGING WITH LIKE MINDED PEOPLE HAVING FUN.

How do we measure all of this? 

Easily. Get assessed by a movement coach rather than a personal trainer. Learn from people qualified to teach each skill. Keep records, study books or online programs to up skill your required needs and desires. This does require some effort, and is a big reason why treadmill and bike rooms were created. More lemmings into a facility, less teaching required equals more money!

The cheaper the gym advertised specials, the less they care about quality. It's all about quantity!!

Moving on.......

Have a look at this chart:

This really needs to be explained and understood. The realisation you will be hit with, will feel like a kick to head from Chuck Norris (painful, but worth it)

Around 60- 70% of your daily calories are expended form doing nothing!. Just keeping the lights on.

About 10% of your daily calories are used to digest and eliminate.

NEAT is your non exercise, activity thermogenesis. Think general moving, fidgeting, blinking etc..

This accounts for about 20% of daily calorie expenditure.

Now exercise is left. Approximately 10% of expenditure????

I don't know about you but it seems if I get really efficient at doing nothing and maybe fidget a little more (maybe fidget spinners were onto something) I can stay LEAN and HEALTHIER. 

So why has the gym suddenly become the owner of the calorie burn??

Everything you do burns calories. We all have huge variations in how this works exactly. Variances in metabolic rates from genetics and muscle mass. Natural propensities to move constantly or not.

But knowing how little gym workouts are in the big picture, you can now start on the road to some emotional freedom. It is a bonus that a really solid gym workout may burn anywhere from 150-1000 calories depending on  many variables. But this should not be the foundation of your thoughts around your gym membership or your weekly exercise routines.

Wipe the slate clean!

A re-design of your weekly exercise plan may be needed?

Write down your specific goals and dream for your body and health.

Work with a more holistic coach to balance your exercise, nutrition and lifestyle plan.

I will have many discussions with people to understand their mindset around health and fitness. I will use many questionnaires to gather more information about history, genetics and behaviour. 

I then assess any areas that require a designed plan:

- Posture

- Mobility

- Strength

- Breathing/ lung function

- Specific fitness

- Body-fat modification

- Nutrition for life

- Stress management

The list could go on. 

Why not love yourself a little more. Give yourself more respect. 

You were not designed to be a hamster on a wheel.

You were designed to be amazing!

My advice is to get in the gym and use it like the super movement laboratory it was designed for. 

If you need fitness, try walking, running, biking, swimming, or playing sport. 

Yes I own a gym! (I prefer movement lab)

Maybe my age and experience gives me the right to rant and want better for humans?

So make a good choice as to where you spend your time and energy. 

#sorrynotsorry

✏️Tony Small 

Health Coach