Genetically programmed for success

 

Mark R. Hailey

ACE Certified Personal Trainer

 

Each year millions of Americans resolve to make health and fitness a priority in their lives... only to abandon those priorities a few months later.

 

One of the reasons for this surge in enthusiasm and fall off in execution is that when many people begin an exercise program they generally start out too hard, too fast, and with little understanding of what to expect. This ultimately leads to confusion, discouragement and failure. Also, there are no quick results... which does not play well in our “instant  access” society.

 

To understand what you can expect from fitness, you have to understand what fitness is.

 

Simply put, physical fitness is your body’s ability to adapt and perform, with efficiency, under a set of physically challenging variables. A healthy heart and beautiful physique are obtained through the control of those variables.

 

Getting in shape is not a quick fix, it is a life-style.  To understand why fitness exists in our lives you have to look back into our evolution.

 

The human body adapts readily to physically demanding situations. Muscles become stronger and firmer, the heart pumps blood with fewer beats, and fat stores are reduced to fuel the body.

 

As hunter-gatherers this adaptability served our ancestors well. The constant search for food, the laborious daily activities and physically challenging environment meant their bodies had to adapt to survive.

 

We are the beneficiaries of those adaptations; but our bodies have a difficult time adjusting to the modern jungle we have created.

 

We are simply not tasked with the constant physical demands that our physiology was designed to face. Also, the scarce food supply is now more than plentiful, tipping the balance on how many calories we consume oppose to use.

 

To achieve an optimum level of fitness, we have to artificially recreate the strenuous conditions that our bodies were intended to handle. And those conditions have to be addressed on a regular basis.

 

Working out at least 3 to 4 days per week, every week, gives the heart and muscles the conditioning and information needed to adjust, strengthen and operate with ease and efficiency.

 

Without adhering to a constant workout schedule the sedentary life-style becomes the dominant condition for which the body will adapt.

 

Nature has encoded the ability to become physically fit into our genes; but also installed safety protocols. When first exposed to exercise the body is unclear whether it needs to make long-term adaptations or use its existing resources to handle these new activities. Frequently performing the activities and gradually increasing the intensity teaches the body to adapt.

 

As easy as we have tried to make life for ourselves, the simple truth is that our bodies were designed to work at peak efficiency under strenuous arduous conditions. But unlike our ancestors these conditions are something we can control and enjoy.

 

So, if you are one of those that joined a gym in January and feel discouragement rising with the sap in the spring... hang in there, stick to your fitness program; and with a little more work and a little more time your fitness goals and resolution for the New Year will be met...  you are genetically programmed to succeed.

 

 

 

© Copyright Mark R. Hailey