If a primary goal of yours is to lose fat or to get leaner, the strongest tool for you is exercise selection. Exercise selection is the most influential factor in fitness. Determining which exercises to include in your workouts and how to organize them within your training program will dictate how well your performance progresses. You can't build a mansion without first building an elaborate foundation. A similar tactic applies in building a body that can easily stay lean and healthy throughout the years. Now, when I talk about "foundation" and "body" I don't mean your home or physical appearance. I'm talking about your health.
As a fitness professional, I know how important it is to choose the right exercise for your goals. I've spent my entire life trying different types of exercise and finding what works best for me. In today's post, we're going to talk about five reasons why exercise selection is key to achieving your fitness goals.
1. Exercise Selection Helps You Stay Motivated
If you love the gym, great. If not, don’t force yourself to go just because it’s what everyone else does. Exercise selection is about finding an activity that makes you happy and keeps you motivated to keep going back. If running isn’t your thing but rock climbing is, then rock climbing it is! There’s no point in forcing yourself into a routine that makes you miserable every time you have to go through with it (and there will be times when you feel like quitting). You need an activity that fits your lifestyle and makes you want to come back for more!
2. Exercise Selection Builds Confidence
In my experience, exercise selection is the biggest factor for building confidence. This is because it's a simple formula: The more you do something, the better you get at it.
If you want to be confident in your ability to move your body in a particular way, then doing that movement over and over again will help you get there. For example, if you want to be able to squat with good form, then squatting over and over again will help you build that skill. If you want to be able to do pushups with good form, then doing pushups over and over again will help you build that skill.
This is why I always recommend that people start out with basic exercises like pushups, squats, planks and pull-ups before trying more difficult movements like swings or snatches because those exercises are easy to learn but hard to master (for example if done correctly). However, this isn't always possible - for example if someone has never done any strength training before then they may not have access to equipment like kettlebells or dumbbells which makes it difficult for them to practice those movements commonly used in deadlifts.
3. Exercise Selection Helps You Lose Weight and Get in Shape Faster
Losing weight isn't always easy, but research shows that certain exercises can help boost your metabolism and burn more fat throughout the day. For example, one study found that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) boosted participants' resting metabolic rate for up to 18 hours after exercising. Another study found that people who performed high-intensity interval training lost more weight than those who exercised at a moderate intensity for the same amount of time.
4. Exercise Selection Keeps You from Getting Bored with Your Workouts
Exercising gets easier when you find something you enjoy. If you're bored by your workouts, they won't seem worth it and you may soon stop going altogether. That's why it's important to mix up your routine with different activities that challenge your body in different ways. For example, if running is boring, try swimming instead! Or if biking feels like drudgery, try rock climbing or kickboxing instead!
The results will be more noticeable (and faster).
If you're doing the same type of workout all the time — even if it's challenging — your body will become accustomed to what it's doing and adapt accordingly so that your progress slows down over time (this is called "functional adaptation"). Switching up exercises keeps your muscles from getting used to one specific activity so that they continue improving at
5. Exercise Selection Makes It Easier To Stick With Your Workout Routine
If you know what exercises you’re going to do and how many sets and reps you’ll be doing, this makes it much easier to stick with your workout routine. It helps you stay motivated because you know exactly what you need to do and when you need to do it during your training session. If you don’t have a plan, then it’s easy for excuses like “I don’t have time today” or “I feel tired today” to get in the way of reaching your goals.