Please enjoy the fourth in a new article series from the Franchise himself currently running as a blog on Broadwayworld.com.
It’s human nature to think that if something is working, doing more of it will work even better.
Let’s say you’re working out a five times per week, eating properly, and seeing some good results. Doesn’t it make sense that adding extra workouts will make things go faster? Or maybe eating less food will lead to faster fat loss? Or better still, working out more AND eating less to get better faster results??
Slow down there, gentle reader!
More is not better. More is more. More is often worse. Enough is plenty.
Although it seems like doing more of what’s working should lead to better results, sometimes it leads to worse results.
Think about it like this. If you take two aspirin, you no longer have a headache. If you take the whole bottle… you will never have headaches again.
While upping your workouts and eating less food isn’t exactly like downing a whole bottle of aspirin, it can still negatively affect your results. Burning fat, building muscle, or getting stronger all require just the right balance of stress on the body. If you start working out too much or start eating too little, things will backfire. Since your body is designed to survive, this approach is a surefire way for it to overstress it. After all, you’re challenging it with lots of physical activity and/or not nourishing it with enough food. This is to say nothing of less than ideal sleep, too much work, stress from your personal life, etc.
It may be counterintuitive, but remember the goal isn’t to do as much exercise at as high intensity as possible. It’s do the right amount for your goals and your situation. The goal isn’t to eat as little food as possible. It’s to eat the right amount for your goals and situation.
Although everyone is different, most people do best working out at least three times per week, but no more than five or six times at most. At MFF, that’s always the sweet spot where we’ve gotten our best results.
Nutrition will also vary wildly, so it’s hard to make any specific recommendations, but rest assured, you want to make sure you’re fueling yourself properly to train hard and be your very best at whatever your life demands; nailing the audition, delivering a presentation at work, or being a great parent.
One more time for good measure!
More is not better. More is more. More is often worse. Enough is plenty.
Want to learn more? Click here to get our free report, The 5 Most Common Fitness Mistakes Performers Make. (HINT: Many of these apply to non-performers too!)