Not all exercise counts

I had a client the other day who frustrated with her weight tells me about her “active” weekend. Her fuel band told her she hit about 5 miles total, which included hiking and trekking. She argued that doing extra work, especially on the weekend should count for something, right?

This totally makes sense and is a common thought, after all it’s in addition to what she’s already doing. Let’s put this into context though; Her job has her on her feet in a hospital and she covers at least 2 miles a day everyday, sometimes more. She works this job at least 5 days a week and has so for many years. Her body is very conditioned to the activity. This “active” weekend she recently had won’t really translate to fitness levels because 2.5 miles on a Saturday and Sunday is just like a regular day at the office to her body.

So…no, it doesn’t really count.

Did she sweat? Sure. Was she moving and pumping? Sure. But in this context her she’s not ringing that bell hard enough or loud enough for her body to take note. Think about it it’s what she does everyday she’s just doing it outside. That doesn’t mean it was pointless it just means that you’re not getting as much bang for your buck as you thought. Those extra couple miles won’t make a dent.
If you drive in the wrong direction and don’t realize it for 2 hours, the best intentions and all the effort in the world don’t mean anything. It’s the wrong direction, it sucks but it is what it is.

Many people think of exercise in a quantitative fashion instead of a qualitative one. As a general rule of thumb the more active you are and the more in shape you become, the more you move into the need for qualitative activity; the type, the intensity, the recovery…. all these things matter. The more sedentary you are however the more quantity plays a role.

Get any couch potato on a 30 day shake plan, or infomercial fitness program and most of the time they’ll do well if they stick to it. Even the individual who is habitually inconsistent will see better results by simply being consistent. As you drill down and get more specific however quality matters.

This is where a lot of people get stuck. They start a routine, it works and 10 years later they’re doing the same thing. No matter what the activity is, whatever gets you started and staying consistent is what does the trick not so much the actual activity and many people can’t move beyond that initial spark. Most people assume that whatever the activity was they had success with was the magic pill. You hear phrases like “ABC workout is the only thing that ever worked for me”. The actual commitment to ABC workout is more significant. Putting in a good six months to a year of quantity and driving that home over and over is good and works for the newbie.
The truth of the matter is the more advanced your fitness levels are the more you operate off of a signaling basis. Exercise is a communication not an accumulation. There’s no piggy bank that you put all your workouts in that produces a body that’s healthy and in shape, that typically happens when you’re a novice. Even people who are in good shape have a problem with using quality instead of quantity. Logging in more hours and more workouts has a place but the majority of people would benefit much more from a good night’s sleep than trying to cram in as many workouts as possible before vacation. More isn’t always better and sometimes it can be detrimental to do more. The proper signaling in the body will make the changes you’re looking for; this includes repetitions, variation, stimulus, intensity, etc. So no..not all of it counts, and that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do more activity but you have to manage your expectations.