What is the most effective fitness approach with Ryan Spurling on Podcast Episode 8

There is no doubt that exercise is an integral part of living a healthy lifestyle. Not only does physical fitness help us cope with the normal demands of life but also helps us respond well to in an emergency.

Due to the numerous health benefits of leading an active lifestyle and regular exercise interview fitness expert, Ryan Spurling in this episode of Ditch the Quick Fix Podcast. A healthy and fit body is the first line of defense from any illness or injury.

Now, Ryan is not your ordinary physical trainer. He is a former Marine, State Patrol trainer, Army Reserves Sergeant, and a multiple certified physical training expert with more than 35 years of experience in fitness.

So, you bet he knows a thing or two about fitness.

We dive deep into the different elements of fitness, including finding a good balance between activity and rest, injury prevention, nutrition, supplementation, and the common pitfalls to avoid.

What are the Best Exercises?

The best exercise is the one that you enjoy the most. Even though most of us understand the power of exercise in rejuvenating our bodies, we often find it hard to remain consistent. With an exercise you enjoy doing, you are more likely to stay motivated.

So, it doesn't matter if you love running, cycling, swimming, playing tennis, or lifting weights. Just get moving, and once you build some fitness, it becomes easier to cross over to other exercises.

You simply have to put in the effort. Those 60-day and 90-day programs might make you lose a pound or two but won't work in the long term. Those programs put us at risk of injury. Ryan suggests having the mindset that exercise is a part of your life if you want to reap the health benefits. Make it a habit and enjoy it.

‍

Keep doing it, never give up… there is no easy fix"  -- Ryan Spurling 

The Most Effective Fitness Approach for a Beginner

The very first thing you need to do is to establish your goals. Why are you doing this? What do you aim to achieve? Secondly, it is highly advisable to consult your doctor if you have any health conditions before you start.

Once we have established those things, Ryan advises us to go for a balanced approach. What this means is that from a physiological standpoint, we should aim to hit all three of our metabolic systems in a general fitness program.

These are the:

• Aerobic system
• Glycolytic system
• Alactic system (ATP-CP) system

Without getting deep into the physiology of these systems, a balanced fitness approach will involve some form of strength training to challenge the ATP-CP system, some form of cardio (walking, running, biking, etc.) to challenge the aerobic system, and High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to challenge the glycolytic system.

Having said that, it is important to find an activity that you enjoy doing and try to work around that. For instance, if you love running, you can try mixing your long-distance runs with some sprints to challenge all three systems. After you build some fitness, then you can cross-train to avoid overuse injury from one form of exercise.

Common Pitfalls of Health and Fitness to Avoid

The biggest pitfall that we see with many people is unrealistic goals. With social media and all the hype about exercise, it's easy to have unrealistic goals around body composition. This often leads to frustration once you are unable to meet those goals.

It's common to see people give up on exercise after just one or two months. Remember, it comes down to your quality of life. This is a lifelong commitment to improving our health.

The Role of Nutrition and Supplementation

Your body works as a whole. Nutrition and exercise go hand in hand, and just like we have previously talked about, a balanced approach to nutrition, just like in exercise, will give you the best results.

Our nutritional approach is eating right 80-90% of the time, then don't stress about the 10-20% of the time you don't get it right. The stress we often put on themselves when we don't get it right is worse than that junk food you ate.

For supplements, it would be much better to get as much of your nutrients from your food as possible. However, it might be necessary to supplement to get what you might be lacking.

Just do your research on the manufacturer of the supplement as there are many substandard products out there.

How Rest Impacts our Ability to have Good Physical Fitness

A good fitness program incorporates enough rest. Rest is as important as exercise and nutrition. Across all levels of fitness, whether a beginner, intermediate, or advanced, rest is something that we should take seriously.

‍

"If you don't rest, your body will make you rest" Ryan Spurling 

Plan your rest days, just as you plan your exercise days, and teach yourself how to relax and enjoy that time. Good rest aids your recovery and helps in injury prevention.

Even if you miss a workout, don't stress over it. The stress you put yourself through creates a wrong balance of negative hormones which ultimately affects your well-being.

The Bottom Line?

Do whatever gets you moving.

Go for a balanced approach

Cross-train to avoid overuse injury

Start your fitness journey today!

Listen to the episode here at Ditch the Quick Fix