I hope I don’t get in trouble for posting this. It seems the well established forums are less threatened by an outsider posting knowledge than the smaller more private communities (which i will now not mention, because the way they approached me about it was very rude).
I’m sure some of you know which forum I speak of (hint: it’s the one that bans anyone who disagrees with the moderators) Anyways MODS pm me if its an issue, and I won’t do it anymore, or I will remove the link to my site. I add those simply to avoid being plagiarized, as I am not only a knowledgable fitness professional, but I am also a talented writer; so I am at risk. I’m trying to make a name for myself, not steal anyone’s business, nor do I think my small personal operation could possibly hinder a huge website such as this.
Anyways, this article touches on something I have noticed a lot of people do, in their dieting, and it is extremely frustrating, to watch people run backwards up the escalator.
2 steps forward one step back (eliminate counterproductive habits)
Posted on December 12, 2012
by Brendan Evans
This kind of relates to â??not being able to out-train a bad diet.â??
Ask anyone with experience, when someone is going 2 steps forward, 1 step backwardâ?¦.It is ALWAYS easier to eliminate counterproductivity , than it is to just move faster. The person taking 2 steps forward can maintain that speed of improvement for longer than the same person taking 3 steps forward and 1 step backward (despite the speed of improvement being identical). The second person burns out fast, because they are exerting more, fighting to undo the side effects of their own counterproductive lifestyle habits. It is like having two people race; one on stairs, and one on an escalator going the wrong way.
At the very least learn to exercise damage control when doing something counterproductive. Damage Control is a term you will hear me use a lot. Everything in life comes in shades of gray, everything is relative, and everything is a spectrum. No 2 junk foods are equally bad, just like no 2 health foods are equally good.
When â??having a lifeâ?? gets in the way of fitness, you can still drink and eat your sunday football food, but practice damage control.
An example of damage control is one guy, who normally has sunday off from working out, will take the day off from the gym, drink beer, and eat pizza (and obviously watch football). The experienced fitness professional will slam a shot of esspresso for energy in the am(to counteract the hangover) get a quick BS exercise session in at 10 am to increase insulin sensitivity for the day (not too overly strenuous), opt for burgers and fries over pizza (at least its not ALL carbs, it has a macro split where it can build muscle, and not just fat) and go for whiskey on the rocks over beer (less kcal, less carbs, less gluten. Just as much lovely intoxication). The overall fun of the Sunday afternoon will not be affected, but the pizza and beer guy will gain AT LEAST twice as much fat as the whiskey and burger king guy.
If fitness is a major priority in your life, keep it in the back of your head while youâ??re busy having a lifeand you will never end up in the situation where you look in the mirror and say â??Oh shit! I have to go on a diet!â?? Instead, you will be faced with deciding whether to diet into ridiculous shreddedness, or maintain a normal ripped physique, without trying very hard. Its because this is the guy is on the stairs. Every bit of progress you make, if you donâ??t RELAPSE into counterproductivity, is permanent progress.
Beer and pizza guy is the one sprinting up the escalatorâ?¦ Repeatedly busting his ass, getting out of breath, having to take a break, and ending up back at the bottom.
To take it out of metaphorical terms, pizza and beer guy will gain bodyfat %, then try to undo the beer and pizza with excessive cardio, then over-diet, and lose muscleâ?¦. and even then still end up slightly fatter, (now weaker), and more exhausted than the person that stayed mindful of their actions.
The little things, in and of themselves, donâ??t make a huge difference, but when you incorporate a lot of these little â??tips and tricksâ??, they really add up and make a world of difference.
originally posted by author Brendan Evans
