Everyday Fitness

With any new undertaking, it's one thing to read about and prepare for what you're about to do. It's another thing to do it. In actually carrying out a new task, trial and error finds what works, what doesn't, and what the whole experience means to you. Now when I say "any new undertaking" I mean anything; not just fitness related. Take a relationship for example: dating advice from your friends is no where near as valuable as what you learn from the date itself.

But I digress, let's get back to exercising. I guess you could say by now, I'm a gym veteran myself. It's been about 2 years of consistent working out. And if I had to sit a keen novice down and share my wisdom, here's some of the most important things my experience has taught me:

1. To both gain and lose weight, diet is more important than anything else. Eating whole/natural foods makes counting calories almost unnecessary; it's high sugar and fatty processed foods that tend to make you go overboard on calories.
   
2. We should be getting less carbs in our diets, and a lot more fat. The low-fat scare shifted everyone to eating more carbs and guess what; people got fatter.
   
3. Don't bother meticulously timing your meals; eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty. Listen to your body.
   
4. Eating 6 meals a day is no better than eating 3 a day either. In the end, net calories is what matters.
   
5. You can gain or lose 10 lbs a week in water; don't mistake this for incredible fat loss when starting a new diet.
   
6. There is no such thing as spot reducing fat; your body burns fat evenly.
   
7. Health supplements are a business just the same as any other product. Their claims are exaggerated or outright fabricated to get your money. Coffee is and probably always will be the best (legal) performance enhancer there is.
   
8. If you want to get better at a particular activity or exercise, do that particular activity or exercise.
   
9. It's better to prevent poor health in the first place than try to reverse it. There's never a bad time to start working out though, no matter what physical condition or age. Muscle and fitness are easier to maintain once you have them; the road to get there may be more trying on your willpower.
   
10. Size does not equal strength.
    
11. Working out more often does not mean more results. Exercising less often can give better results; you need to lift heavy to get stronger, not necessarily daily. Plus you'll save time.
    
12. Gyms may have some useful tools you don't but a gym or equipment aren't required to be fit.
    
13. It takes a weekend to become a personal trainer; experience is what makes someone qualified to train, not a certificate.
    
14. It's important to be realistic with your abilities and leave your ego at the door; lifting heavier is worthless if you aren't exercising properly.
    
15. One of the best things you can do for your health is try new things, and see how your body adapts. Variability is what leads to growth.