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Hey Brothers!

Welcome to LenDentonThrive Letter #63!

Finding The Best Exercise For You!

Fitness magazines and social media are filled with articles about the best exercises for bigger arms, a flatter belly, a better-defined back, etc. But, what is the best approach for you to follow? In this week's edition of the LenDentonThrive Letter, I’ll show you a simple but effective way to find the best exercise for you! 

Exercise Matters

We all know that exercise is an important part of any fitness routine. It's especially important for Over-50 Guys. As we age, our ability to produce testosterone decreases. This makes it difficult to increase and maintain muscle mass, a condition known as sarcopenia. This is common among men over 50, but can actually begin in your 30s and 40s! Exercise helps us combat issues like sarcopenia, as well as maintain our coordination, mobility, and agility. 

Another important benefit of exercise is it helps us create a calorie deficit, which is critical to losing weight and maintaining a healthy body weight. (A calorie deficit is simply burning more calories through exercise and daily activity than you consume through your food.)

So Many Choices, But…

We have many choices today when it comes to fitness. The fitness industry is a $35 billion industry in the USA. There’s a gym or health club in every strip mall. We have high-tech home fitness solutions. The internet connects us to thousands of fitness gurus who promise us the right way to improve our fitness. 

But, in this overabundance of fitness solutions, there’s a massive problem. American men, including Over-50 Guys, are becoming less healthy! Rates of obesity are at historic highs, and growing fast.  And, the incidence of chronic, lifestyle-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and dementia is growing as well. 

Something is broken!

Certainly, there’s a problem with our nutrition, which I’ve discussed here and here. But, there’s more to the problem than nutrition alone. Our fitness programs are obviously not meeting the need for the majority of us. I surmise that there are too many false starts and early exits from our fitness programs. Gyms typically lose about 50% of all new members within the first 6 months.

Fitness programs only deliver benefits as long as we’re able to stay engaged and do the work. Too many times, a one-size-fits-all approach to fitness leads to disappointing outcomes. To achieve better fitness outcomes, I think we need a better decision-making process when it comes to choosing an approach that’s best for us.  

It Begins With You

As I noted above, the fitness industry has a plan for you. It just might not be the right plan for you. Something’s missing, and it’s probably related to your personal goals and preferences. 

Your goals are the single most important aspect when choosing a fitness approach. And, it’s important to be clear and specific with your goals. For example, if your goal is simply to get into better shape, you aren’t being specific enough to make a good choice. A better, more specific goal might be losing 25 pounds, or adding upper-body muscle mass. And, if your goal is to do both, I suggest that you should prioritize weight loss as your first goal, and add muscle gain as you progress.  

Once you’ve settled in on your goal(s), your personal preferences will be your second most important thing to consider.  For example, do you prefer to work out alone, or with a buddy? Are you a gym person or not? Do you enjoy lifting weights or do you hate lifting weights? These kinds of considerations will ultimately play a major role in your fitness success. 

When it comes to fitness, a one-size-fits-all approach probably means that it fits no one well!  

The 4-PM Approach

Once you’ve figured out your goals and preferences, you’re ready to make some decisions on the best exercise approach for your health and fitness routine. I’ve created a simple, but effective way to help you evaluate and choose an exercise program that will serve your needs, will fit your personal likes and dislikes, and integrate well with your life. I call this decision-making process the 4-PM Approach, and it stands for: 

Personal-Practical-Portable-Permanent-Measurable

Let’s take a closer look at each element of the 4-PM process.

Personal: This is the initial step, and its where we take your personal goals and preferences into consideration. Everyone's needs are slightly different. So are your preferences in exercise types, foods that you like, etc. This step helps you dump the one-size fits all approach to focus on what works for you. It’s important to focus on exercise activities that you actually enjoy!

Practical: Think about how well your exercise plans are going to fit your life. Do you like to work out with others or alone? Do you have easy access to your preferred exercise activity? How much time do you have for exercise?

Portable: Do you travel frequently? If you do, choose an exercise activity that you can easily take with you. Otherwise, you’ll have to stop and restart your fitness program every time you leave home. 

Permanent: I recommend that you choose exercises that you can do for the rest of your life. That's because the benefits of exercise end when you stop doing them. So, let's choose activities that we’ll never stop doing!

Measurable: One of my core principles is this - if you can't measure it, then you can't manage it!  In order to track your progress, it's important to choose exercises you can easily keep track of. Here are some quick examples of measurable exercises:

• Steps walked or ran per day

• Laps swam 

• Weight and reps lifted

 As you can imagine, everybody is going to have a slightly different 4-PM. This is exactly as it should be because every Over-50 Guy has different goals and preferences. The 4-PM process allows for lots of personalization.

My 4-PM Solution

My 4-PM has slightly evolved over the last 10 years as my fitness goals have evolved. Here's my 4-PM today, and how is changed to meet those goals: 

Personal: My initial focus in the early days of my ThriveLife was maximum weight loss. Today, I'm focused on maintaining my healthy weight and adding muscle mass. I also prefer to work out alone instead of going to the gym.

Practical: To meet my current needs of maintaining my body weight and building muscle, my current exercise routine is a combination of three activities that I enjoy doing:

• Daily Zone 2 Cardio (walking 12,000 per day is my current daily goal) 

• Daily body weight exercises

• Weightlifting 3x per week in my home gym

Portable: I've traveled frequently throughout my ThriveLife, so I’ve needed an exercise plan that's easy to pack and carry with me. My walking and bodyweight routine has been perfect for my mobile life. (Your need for portability may be different than mine.)

Permanent: My personal exercise routine has been a part of my daily life for 10 years, and I feel like I can continue this approach for the rest of my life. I only choose activities that will work as a permanent part of my life.

Measurable: I measure my daily steps, body weight, and body fat percentage in my Fitbit app. Being able to see my progress in graphical form in my app is a mental game-changer for me. (It's a Jedi mind trick that I highly recommend.) I track my other exercises in a paper exercise journal. 

Using the 4-PM Process has allowed me to build an effective exercise process that fits my personal needs and preferences.

It has worked well for me for the past 10 years. It can work for you, too!

Your Best Exercise

The 4-PM process will help you align your personal goals and preferences to choose an effective and sustainable exercise program that will empower you to achieve your fitness objectives.

So, what’s the best exercise approach for you?

It’s the exercise activities that you’re most likely to do and enjoy regularly. If you enjoy it, you’re more likely to do it. If you don’t enjoy it, it won’t be long before your brain finds a way to sabotage your efforts.

So find something you enjoy doing… something that works for you…something you can do for the rest of your life…then keep doing it!

 That’s the smarter, not harder way.

Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for reading this week.

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