Here’s to the death of the more is better mindset – why doing less is going to help you finally break free of poor health

Everyday we are bombarded with images, ads and information of how someone dropped 30 kgs in 30 days, or transformed over night and everyone on social media has abs and is perfect. The message they say that got them there is to “Smash” every workout, Eat less, Beast mode, No pain no gain, be keto, be vegan be a sunlight eating non mouth breather who practices ancient martian kung fu! The newest weight loss miracle training plan and diet your favourite celebrity has just come out  so you get this massive boost of motivation and get yourself a new gym membership. You buy all the food you need for your newest diet and get your shoes and active wear ready to start the gym on Monday.

 For the first week you are going great, you SMASH every workout, you are sore and can hardly walk but you remember no pain no gain right? week two comes you are tired but you know you need to go beast mode and keep powering through your sessions even though you feel terrible and you have decided to do two sessions a day to make it happen faster. Week 3 arrives and you are tired on Sunday and forget to do your meal prep, Monday’s workout wasn’t the best and you don’t really feel like training. You try to give Tuesdays group session everything you have but you just have no energy, you decide not to do your second workout and sit on the couch instead. The next morning you check the scales and they have hardly changed since you started, you are shocked because you have been putting in so much effort and you almost want to cry 😞 every day you have been giving it your absolute best but it hasn’t worked, the training program that was designed for a celebrity to get in shape in 30 days for their movie hasn’t given you the results they promised and you are disheartened. you miss the gym for a week because you wonder whats the point and then if you are like 75% of people who have a gym membership you will go less than 4 times per month for the next 5 months and then cancel your membership or not go at all.

I have seen this cycle so many times. At The Evolved all female gym here in west end we have had so many members come to us after failing over and over again with training and are at a desperate point. Then we tell them, We want you to not train as hard as you are used to, We want you to eat more, and we want you to work on reducing your stress levels, at first people are willing to try anything but are probably not sold on the idea of doing less and eating more but they are at the point where they will try anything and give it a go.

This is why we need a less is more approach.

In our modern world our bodies are constantly producing cortisol the stress hormone at consistent levels never seen before. Before we had our modern society cortisol was great for helping us out run lions or survive an on coming attack of wild flying martian monkeys but in our modern world where out brains haven’t caught up, it cannot distinguish the difference between a band of wild flying monkeys attacking us or our alarm waking us up before we are ready to get up with the sun add on top of that money stress, work stress and family stress all combined with the illusion of perfection that social media gives us and to make it even worse the  connection to our devices that produce all sorts of over stimulation which leads to an over production of stress hormones and a stressed out us. This is not ideal to say the least.

Now lets go and take the old approach of smashing your workout, this adds another stress on top of your already stressed out body, wears you out and slows your recovery and when your body is already struggling to keep up it eventually wears you down. High levels of HIIT cardio or long distance running mobilises a lot of energy and cortisol is one of the main mobilisers used to get this energy out this can add to your stress levels and once again make your body feel like you are under attack.

The alternative is a less is more approach. Using strength training we can minimise the high stress approach that is HIIT or cardio training, build lean muscle which will help to burn more energy and stored fat while sculpting and toning your body. We build in rest periods that allow your body to become a lot more stable and not feel like its under attack all the time.

Adding in some precision cardio and constant daily movement, this low stress approach has shocked so many of our members who realise in about 3-4 weeks the weight keeps falling off and you have energy for the rest of your life rather than dreading the gym and how easy it actually was. They almost wonder how its possible.

The beauty of a less is more system is it gives you just enough training to set your body up to be an efficient fat burner, but also gives you a chance to work on your lifestyle habits outside of the gym. Weekly stress management techniques like infrared sauna, Yoga meditation and mindfulness can help you reduce stress levels and give you a new lease on life, while also balancing out hormones in your favour for fat loss, vitality and energy.

More is not better in our modern world we are already doing enough, the secret is allowing yourself to cultivate enough patience and build consistent routines in your life so that in 6-12 months you never have to worry again about having to figure what you are going to try next to solve the underlying issues that exercise and eating less wont solve.

Our recommendation

Weight training 3-5 days per week

10,000 steps per day

6 cups of veges per day

Daily mindfulness practice

No smashing yourself or going beast mode, just the basics that are easy to follow, simple to action and actually get you life long results.

We are doing our best to shine a light on what is a confusing part of most peoples lives. Give the less is more approach a go your future self will thank you for it.

Our group strength sessions run 4 days per week and are coached by our expert coaches. You will be guided and supported on your journey and given the tools needed to make a healthy lifestyle easy and achievable. This includes nutrition, stress management and a helping hand and someone to not let you give up when you want to give up on yourself sometimes all we need is a empathetic ear to get you back on track.

For a no obligation chat with one of our coaches book in a call on the link below.

Yours in health,

Coach Dylan