Understand why ‘health and fitness’ are different
To be fit doesn’t mean you’re healthy
I read controversial articles everyday. I like to listen to both sides of a story, and I like to bio hack myself to find out what works for me, not what the latest fad is about.
Being apart of the fitness industry for over 20 years I have seen some plain stupid programs, I have seen some dangerous programs and I have seen some smart programs.
But as I have matured in this industry, I have become more involved in the health side of the title “Health and Fitness”, and believe me being fit does not mean you are healthy and being healthy does not mean you are fit.
I would like you all to understand this statement, because this applies to you.
You see the message relayed out there in media land is these two titles go together, they don’t!
People have been lead to believe that being fit is about “looking fit”, so ridiculous diets, ridiculous programs and out right dangerous challenges have been put in your faces.
Learning more and more each day, putting the puzzle together, I understand so much more to “health”, to starve your body of much needed nutrients that our body’s are designed to have but are missing out due to the latest ‘fad’, just to drop weight to look ‘fit’ is quite sad due to lack of knowledge and education.
For the past 17 years since I have had a title of ‘Personal Trainer’, I have people come to me every week asking for me to help them drop so many kilos in so many weeks, I have them ask me my thoughts on vegan diets, paleo, low fat diets, I have them ask me about 5:2 diets and I have also been questioned on my training programs such as putting “sit ups” in each workout!
This comes back to lack of knowledge and lack of education. This shows that people always want that quick fix or the results of the latest challenge. If I do not get them results in 6 weeks, they move onto the next program or trainer – which is quite disappointing.
So whilst we are on this topic – look at Bob Harper – America’s biggest loser trainer. God love him he is a beautiful man, but his extreme dieting and programs that he enhances is something you need to question – he himself that follows these protocols, has just recently had a heart attack at the age of 51.
So being ‘fit’ doesn’t mean you’re healthy – reports quoted “Harper told TMZ that his heart condition is genetic because his mother died from a heart attack.” Well the research I follow of late has been proven we can change our ‘genetics’ by our lifestyle, such as sleep, stress levels, nutrition and exercise. Just because your parent/s had a health condition, does not mean this will happen to you. This is where you need to work on your ‘health’ more so than your fitness alone.
Training everyday or at high intensity is not going to get you fit. Recovery is the key to ‘fitness’, recognizing your stress levels, getting adequate sleep and maintaining a diet that is full of wholesome food will all contribute to your ‘health and fitness’.
I know this from personal experience, I lived in the era of low fat diets, ‘eat less, exercise more’, I designed programs that included exploiting the person who lost the most amount of weight and improved their body composition – but now I hang my head in shame to think what I actually did to these people – I added more stress, I added more self doubt to those not in the ‘top 5’ so to speak and I might have giving them some knowledge during this challenge, I gave them support, but I did not give them the overall picture – the overall picture and education of ‘health’.
I still see so many programs that promise you the results you’re after “lose that last 5 kilos” or “shredded” programs – but do you know that to get that “shredded” look you have to become dehydrated!! Do you realise that those pictures of those ‘shredded’ models on the front of the program have dehydrated their bodies for 3 days to get that look. I know this because I have done this. Now I tell you this is NOT healthy, so why advertise this as ‘fitness and health’.
During this 3 days of dehydration your energy level is minimal and your cognitive ability is nearly nonexistent – so again please understand this is not healthy.
I understand the passion to go after this result, but I always tell my clients – if I see you walking down the road, I can not tell if you weigh 65kg or 61kg, so why do we get fixated on the scales – that’s because the ‘challenge’ or program you buy into gives you that fixated goal.
Let me ask would you buy into a program that advertised ‘health 101’ or ‘lose your brain fog’ would you buy into that over ‘lose your last 5kg’ or ‘drop 4 dress sizes in 12 weeks’. Unfortunately the later is what you go for because that resonates with you more because that is what the ‘fitness’ industry is marketing.
Once your body is healthy, then you lose weight.
Once your body has the right amount of energy, then it will be able to heal you, then you lose weight.
Once you receive education on ‘health’, then you improve your fitness.
Please be mindful of what programs you buy into – always ask questions, don’t go by what the marketing slogan says, ask what’s behind the title, ask why the program was designed and most of all ask yourself do you want to be ‘fit’ or do you want to be ‘healthy’ first?
Find a program that can be individualized – not a cookie cutter shelf program.
http://promo.bouncefitnesspt.com
If you would like to ask me any questions I am only too happy to chat.
To your health,
Kez
