
Four Ways to Get GREAT Results from ANY Exercise Program
By Fernando Paredes
Get GREAT result from ANY exercise program. Sound too good to be true? I can understand you being skeptical. You should be. The fitness industry has been overrun by unscrupulous, quick-fix marketers who take advantage of your lack of knowledge for their dishonest gain: greedy people only interested in promoting flashy programs that sell, instead of programs that actually work for their customers. I hate those cash-grab fitness marketers. They took advantage of me years ago when I was trying to get in shape. This led to years of wasted time and effort, and a lot of frustration. It’s the reason why I became a professional trainer: to show people the RIGHT way to get in-shape and achieve their goals. I only teach people what works based on my 40 years of personal study on the human body, 25+ years of in-the-trenches experience as a professional trainer, over 35,000 hours personally training people of all fitness levels from beginners to elite athletes, and my own trials of getting in shape. And in this article, I will show you four simple ways of making any program work!
How to Make Any Program Work for You
There are so many types of exercise programs out there, promising fat loss, fitness, and a new body: CrossFit, P-90x, various bodybuilding systems, bodyweight training, circuit training, fitness classes, etc. Are some programs better than others? Yes. Which one is best for you? I don’t know. Without knowing your full health history, exercise and lifestyle history, fitness level, personal needs, and goals, it would be impossible for me to say. But after I show you the four ways to get great results from any program, in time you’ll learn which type of programs are better for you.
1 – Modify for Your Body Type
There are three main body types: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. All will respond to training differently. Each has unique skills and abilities that make some programs better or worse for them. Here’s a brief breakdown on each.
Ectomorph: The classic ectomorph has long arms, long legs, a short torso, and lean bodies with little body fat. Below are some unique training tips for the ectomorph.
Mesomorph: The classic mesomorph is thickly muscled; more of the stocky type, typically with low body fat and more on the athletic side.
Endomorph: The classic endomorph has a round, soft body and easily accumulates body fat.
Compare these recommendations to the exercise program you are on to see if it fits your body type or if it’s working against it. Making the needed adjustments could mean better results for you.
2 – Modify for Your Body Structure
Like body type, body structure has to do with your anatomy: height, shoulder width, torso length, arm length, and leg length. Biomechanically, certain exercises are better suited for certain body structures. The right exercises for you mean less joint stress and better results. Here’s a brief breakdown of the most common problems and how to modify for them:
3 – Do Less for More Results
Most people fall into the trap of believing that if they do more training, they’ll get more results in a shorter amount of time. For example, a person who has a lot of weight to lose starts to think “I need to do a lot of exercise to lose all the weight.” So they go from doing nothing every day to doing 5-6 days of exercise a week. After the initial two weeks of change, all they end up with is a burned-out body shocked into stopping all progress. The flashy, quick-fix, cash-grab marketers spend a lot of money getting you to believe all this nonsense.
4 – Listen to Your Body
Listening to your body’s response to training and nutrition is one of the best skills you can ever learn. Look at all the other factors that lead to your results: mindset, nutrition, recovery, sleep, and supplementation. Here are the questions you should be asking yourself:
People who have learned how to listen to their body know the answers to all those questions. Spending time listening to your body will help you understand what your body will respond best to. Once you figure that out, just do more of the things your body likes and less of the things it doesn’t.
Make It Fit Your Body to Get Better Results!
As you can see, personalizing a program and making it work depend on the individual’s response to exercise. And since people vary, their responses to exercise will vary, making their program uniquely suited for each person. The four techniques I outlined will give you a start on personalizing and improving any program you try. Put these into practice and in time, you’ll figure out which type of exercise program is best for you. If you want to speed up the process, working with an experienced coach will help you figure things out and map out a plan that will get you better results in less time.
Fernando Paredes, NASM-CPT, CES, PES, FMS, a 25-year veteran of the fitness industry, is a sought-after health, fitness, and performance expert in the Bucks/Philadelphia region. He has been featured on Comcast Network’s “Your Morning” show, “It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle,” WFMZ Channel 69 News, CBS/CW Philly and The Philadelphia Inquirer because of his innovative Core-to-Strength Training™ approach. Fernando owns Fusion Fitness Studio, a personal training facility in Doylestown, Pa. Visit him online at www.fusionfpstudio.com.