No, that title isn’t meant to be click bait. It’s stone cold truth. Even though the perfect fitness formula for a lifetime sounds catchy once you figure it out it’ll make complete sense. Insert sarcasm.
So many fitness businesses, bloggers, and “influencers” are trying hard to sell you the latest and greatest “system” promising unbelievable results. They’re selling formulas. In other words they are broadcasting acute, short-term so-called fixes.
Formulas are great as long as they’re a part of a bigger mindset. A bigger lifelong lifestyle. We need to instead focus most of our attention to fundamentals.
Fundamentals Over Formulas
Just like most things in life the fundamentals are often neglected and nearly forgotten. Fitness is no different. The gym is a wonderful cornucopia of all types of people. From the serious bodybuilder to the wannabe Crossfitter, the gym is a unique slice of life. However, most will benefit from a quick review of the fundamentals.
Formulas
Here I’ll define formula as more of a tool. A tool utilized for a larger project. Think of your fitness/health goal as the project and the nuances of training and diet details as the tools at your disposal. Of course the organization of your tools of choice is important, but too much focus on the tiny, little things can bog you down sometimes.
Fundamentals
On the other hand fundamentals take a broader view. Think of a bigger picture perspective over a longer period of time, or even a lifetime. Some examples include: Are you getting in your training at least three times per week? Are you adhering to your eating plan at least five days per week? Getting enough sleep most nights? Managing stress levels?
At the end of a year you’ll be focused more on if you cultivated healthy habits or not – the bigger picture regarding if you moved the needle on your goals. I guarantee the “special program” you did for four weeks will pail in comparison to what you did on a weekly and monthly basis. Done is better than a perfect fitness plan clumsily followed. Focus on the fundamentals – those habits that make all the difference.
Brad Borland 