Do Workouts Have To Be HARD To Be Effective?

One response I often get from a client when they are done with their first workout is, “That wasn’t so bad.”

It was if they were expecting me to give them an exhausting workout that would bring them to the verge of sickness or profuse sweating.

Unfortunately, this is what many people have come to believe a good workout should consist of – a lot of sweating, panting, and a feeling of exhaustion.  I want you to know that this is not what makes a workout effective.

The way I like to explain it to people is that we at IFAST are huge on building a solid foundation of good movement, strength, and stamina.  After we have this solid foundation, then we begin to make the workouts a little more difficult to continue to push the person and provide a stimulus to his or her body.

If I took every new client and gave them the newest and hottest exercises or workout that made them feel exhausted, sure they would see results fairly quickly (if they did not get injured first), but what happens when they are no longer progressing from these fancy exercises and workouts?  Where do you take the person now?

At IFAST, each person receives an individualized program based on his or her assessment and goals.  This allows us to tailor the intensity and difficulty of the program to the person.

A beginner’s program may not provide enough stimulus to an advanced trainee for him or her to see results.  On the other hand, an advanced trainee’s program may not be suitable for a beginner.  The beginner could get injured because he or she is not ready for the advanced exercises.  Also, as I mentioned above, progress would be quick to start out but it would slow down and you would have few ways to keep making progress.

This is one of the many reasons that IFAST is different from other gyms.  We take into account an individual’s starting fitness levels and tailor their programs to their needs.

A lot of trainees these days have it in their heads that unless they feel like they can barely walk out of the gym after their workout then it was not effective.  This is not true.

I bring this point up because a lot of people dread going to workout or are intimidated by the process because they assume it should be HARD.  While we want to provide a sufficient stimulus to get your body to change, this level of stimulus is different for everyone and does not need to be dreaded.

For example, if I have a client whose only activity for the past couple of years has been daily 15 minute walks, I am not going to have them start walking an hour every day.  I may just have them increase to 20 minutes a day with 1-2 weight training sessions thrown in.

In conclusion, you should not have to dread working out.  The workout does need to provide a stimulus to your body to see results, but that does not necessarily mean a grueling and exhausting experience.  If you are interested in having someone prepare a workout plan for you that fits your current level of fitness, then consider giving us a call at 317.578.0998 – we are happy to help!