If you are new to fitness and have just started going to the gym, this post isn’t for you.
For those people, continue showing up at the gym. Focus on increasing your strength and muscle mass by progressively overloading the weights that you use.
Working out is a top-tier habit and you should be proud that you have started
If you are still reading, I’m gonna assume you’ve been in the gym consistently for a few years now. You’ve made decent progress in your physique and fitness goals.
You have logged hundreds of workouts and know the ins and outs of how to maximize gains.
If the gym is your only source of fitness and has been for years, then you should consider yourself a weak man.
Sure, you look great, and you can bench 250 pounds, but these are superficial metrics.
The problem is that the gym is a modern invention. It’s designed to counter the problems that our sedentary lifestyle has caused.
As a result, it doesn’t mimic the physical exertion that humans have gone through for the majority of evolution.
Strength training is essential, but it shouldn’t be your only form of exercise if you want to be healthy, competent, and injury-free.
A well-rounded man will strive to become proficient in all aspects of physics fitness, seeking to optimize for longevity and injury prevention.
This means, not only strengthening the popular muscle groups but also the tiny little muscles in your feet and hands.
It means training muscular endurance and cardiovascular fitness through longer-duration exercise.
It means becoming more flexible, improving your balance, coordination, and stability.
There are so many dimensions to the physical capabilities of a human being. Yet the majority are neglected because they aren’t as ‘cool’ or won’t get you as many likes on Instagram.
Unless you aim to improve all of them, I don’t think you should be considered ‘fit’. Otherwise, you get bodybuilders who can barely climb a flight of stairs without wheezing. Or you get marathon runners who can’t do 10 pushups in a row.
Focus on a singular adaptation means sacrificing all others — this is how you develop weak areas in your body. Ultimately, this will result in a lower quality of life when the strength of your body is the most important — old age.
This is why I have changed the way I exercise.
Before, I would go to the gym and lift weights for 90 minutes, 6 times a week.
Now, I do a mixture of calisthenics, boxing, and various forms of cardio such as skipping, running, and rowing.
Although I still occasionally lift weights, I am beginning to transition to predominantly calisthenics when it comes to my resistance training.
In my opinion, calisthenics is a more natural way of training since our hunter-gatherer ancestors wouldn’t have been lifting heavy things all the time, but they would’ve had to learn to master their body weight.
Because calisthenics movements aren’t isolation exercises like a lot of weight lifting movements, more of the tiny stabilization and support muscles will grow stronger.
In the long run, this will translate to better posture and a lower risk of injury when performing everyday tasks.
Also, let’s face it, doing an L-sit to handstand pushup looks sick.
Both of these reasons are also why I love skipping so much.
It burns a ton of calories and develops your cardiovascular system, but the constant impact against the ground will also strengthen many of the muscles in your feet and shins.
(and I feel like Rocky when doing some side swings to crossover combinations)
Finally, boxing (or any other martial arts) combines all the elements, while also developing my skill of fighting.
A boxer has to have great stamina, endurance in the shoulder and leg muscles, speed, power, coordination, reactions, and strength.
Boxing workouts are some of the most brutal workouts I have ever done.
I believe more people who are seeking a well-rounded physique, as well as health and longevity, should train like fighters.
It encompasses so many adaptations that will place you far ahead of anybody who just lifts weights — and it will strengthen you mentally as well.
