Written by Garett Reid | NSCA, CSCS, CISSN, M.S.E.S.S
Fact checked by Tyler DiGiovanni, BSBM
FACT CHECKED
Maintaining an active lifestyle is the most important decision you can make to improve and maintain health. Unfortunately, the fitness world has become extremely toxic; "That training sucks!" or "Sumos are cheating!" or "You run too much!" or "You don't run enough!" or "Are you seriously going to eat that!? It has sugar!" - Chill out, bro, it's a banana. You get the idea. This doesn't mean every criticism is nonsense, but a lot are.
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Which Training Style Is Best?
One of the most absurd debates in fitness is which training style is best.
There are a few points to make;
- A little bit of friendly banter is fine
- We believe that some styles of training do offer more benefits than others
- It doesn't matter what we think, it's your fitness journey
While there is a very good discussion to be had here, and we think some are intrinsically better than others, it doesn't matter for most people.
This is especially true when we consider that most people just want to look and feel good while improving their overall health. An array of training styles can accomplish this.
It's fair to say that every personal trainer was very dogmatic when they first started training.
They were taught something, and they wanted to deliver the best information to their clients, so they stuck with what they learned.
- "Smith machines suck because they don't train the stabilizers."
- "Classes are no good because you need structure!"
- "Isolations aren't good because they don't build strength!"
- "Arm days (or core days) are pointless!"
You've probably heard all of these statements before; heck, we used to say them! And truth be told, each has some substance and nuance.
However, 100% of them are significantly better than doing nothing!
P90X was a home-based workout system that came out in 2005. It used high-intensity interval training. The more scientific fitness community lambasted it for some of its claims, such as "muscle confusion."
They claimed that you needed to confuse the muscle every day in order to grow. This is nonsense and simply a marketing tactic. Everything the fitness professionals said was true.
However, here's a question to ponder: If everyone in the United States followed P90X consistently, do you think the country would have worse health outcomes because it wasn't following a proper progressive training program? Of course not!
While the claims were dubious, and the program lacked the kind of structure you'd ideally see in a program, it was intense! And if people followed it consistently, they got better!
Now imagine telling someone to stop doing that because it doesn't fit what you think defines a proper training program! How awful would that be!
Fitness Is Not A Zero-Sum Game!
Now, to be clear, this does not mean you should just do anything you want, as we believe having a specific format is ideal. However, sometimes, "the best" training program isn't the best training program for you!
We also want to reiterate this doesn't mean you should seek out the minimum. We always believe you should attempt to do more overtime and optimize your training. Further, more is (probably) better.
This just means if you follow a training program you love that meets the minimum, don't let someone tell you it's no good because they don't agree with it.
Fitness is not a zero-sum game!
You get significantly more benefits by reaching the minimum guidelines and then gradually get more the more you do.
This is why we say the best training style is the one you can adhere to for a lifetime!
Does Your Training Style Matter?
In short, yes.
Different training styles are all going to stimulate and promote different adaptations; for example,
- Bodybuilding training will favor muscle growth
- Strength training will favor strength improvements
- Fitness classes will improve overall body composition
- Cardio will favor cardiovascular adaptations and burn a lot of calories
Therefore, you do need to decide what your primary goal is.
However, your specific training style won't make a massive difference if you have general fitness goals and are primarily concerned with maintaining overall health.
The most important thing is that you enjoy it and that you can stick to it for the rest of your life.
What Training Components Should Your Fitness Plan Have?
Keeping all this in mind, there are certain components your fitness program should have. While it's up to you how you apply them, this is what every fitness program should have;
- A strength training or power development
- Muscle hypertrophy - In addition to improving strength, you should also be concerned with building muscle.
- A cardio component - Ideally, you should have high-intensity training and endurance exercises that will last longer.
- Aim to use strength/power/muscle growth training twice a week while getting at least 150min of moderate-based cardio every week.
- As much daily activity as possible!
Move Or Die!
While this may seem hyperbole, it's not!
A very important study was just released (2024) using data from NHEAS. They found that of 14 indicators of mortality, physical activity is the number one!¹ This means a person's activity level is a better predictor than their age!
Now you see why we believe that yea, P90X may be built off faulty methodologies. We could easily come in, alter it, and make it more efficient.
However, P90X got a ton of people moving, and moving with intensity, and that is something to acknowledge.
What Diet Is Best?
The best diet follows the same logic as your training. However, some nuance needs to be addressed.
Unlike training, you have to eat. This means that any training is good in the grand scheme of things, as moving and being physically active are what's important. Further, there's no such thing as "bad" training.
However, this isn't so when it comes to nutrition.
While someone might say, "There's no such thing as bad food," there's 100% such a thing as a bad diet! You have a bad diet if your diet is pizza, cheeseburgers, and Coke.
However, it becomes counterproductive when people criticize particular diets, such as;
- Paleo
- Intermittent fasting
- Mediterranean
- Atkins
- Low-carb
- High-protein
- And so on….!
While we could go on and critique and find a "problem" with all these, again, at the end of the day, it's up to you!
The only variables you need to be concerned with are;
- Are you getting all of your micronutrients, i.e. vitamins and minerals?
- Can you hit all of your macronutrients?
- Is the majority of your food coming from whole foods?
- Do you limit foods with added sugar?
- Are you satisfied?
If you answer yes to all these, it doesn't matter!
Further, keep in mind that your diet should always be paired with a proper training program with plenty of activity. With this in mind, the percentage of your nutrition that's made of carbs isn't going to make a huge difference!
Follow a diet that meets the basic guidelines and get involved in a training program you can adhere to.
Get Involved With Sports
Participating in a sport is another crucial aspect of creating a long-term fitness plan.
For many people, going to the gym isn't something they necessarily find "fun" in the truest sense. Yes, they might enjoy it while they're there and enjoy the process. However, if people couldn't lose weight, build muscle, or get stronger, most would stop going to the gym!
Compare that to sports. People will cycle even if they don't burn calories or improve their cardio because it's fun and gets them outside. We would guess "losing weight" is pretty low on a list of benefits surfers would give for why they surf – they do it for the thrill!
This is why we truly feel sports are crucial to a person's fitness journey, when we say "sports," this doesn't necessarily mean team sports such as baseball or soccer.
It can mean any athletic hobby, such as;
- Surfing
- Cycling
- Paddling
- Paddling
- Even ping-pong gets your heart racing!
The basic concept is something you thoroughly enjoy – it just so happens that you exercise simultaneously.
Fitness Your Way!
Fitness comes in various modes and exercises and can look very different for different people. It's important to remember this when deciding what you want your fitness lifestyle to look like.
The most important factor is you're doing something!
If that means you buy a gym membership just to use the treadmill 1 hour a day, that's great. If it means you train to be an Olympic weightlifter; amazing. If your goal is to finish an Ironman triathlon in under 11:00; go for it. If you just want to walk your neighbors dogs every day, then that works.
Meeting the minimal guidelines for nutrition and training, paired with the ability to adhere, are the most important principles. Find that and then you can always optimize from there…or not!
Prepare to maximize your gains with our exclusive 12-week hypertrophy training program. Have the program customized to your personal needs with one of our expert...
References
- LEROUX, ANDREW, et al. “NHANES 2011–2014: Objective Physical Activity Is the Strongest Predictor of All-Cause Mortality.” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, vol. 56, no. 10, 1 July 2024, pp. 1926–1934, https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000003497.
Garett Reid
Author