You MUST Work Out 3 Times a Week // Fitness Myths Series

So many people fall at this hurdle when it comes to undertaking a new fitness program. So let's get the record straight. Once a week of ACTUALLY training is better than wishing you could train 3 times a week, or 5, but in reality not training at all. @ramit shared an cool story about a woman who every week told him "I'm gonna run 3 times a week" for about a year, and every week she ran exactly zero times. He suggested to her: "Hey, why don't you just run once a week". Her reply was: "Why would I run once a week? It doesn't do anything". This woman would prefer to go for an imaginary 3 runs a week instead of one real run. So many people set themselves up for failure in this way. It can be overwhelming getting into fitness when you feel unfit and have had a big break, and the expectations are so high. It doesn't help that trainers say things like "you have to train at least 3 times a week" or "you don't burn fat until 20 minutes into your workout". This is pure nonsense. Why do they say this? Either because they don't know what they're talking about or because they want your 💰. Either way you should turn around and run away. To share a personal experience, I was super unfit a few years ago, university and drinking had taken their toll. I wanted to start running, and much like the lady in the story above, I set myself the goal of running 3 times a week for a silly amount of time (probably about 2 hours). I proceeded to come home from work and watch 2 hours of TV instead, only vaguely entertaining the possibility of actually going for a run. This went on for some months, until I gave myself permission to go for just a 5 minute run (and then sitting on my bum and watching TV). It wasn't too bad and I set myself the goal of adding JUST ONE MINUTE each run. It wasn't a huge change to my lifestyle, so I could stick to it, and it didn't seem overwhelming to do just 5 minutes. Each time I went for a run, the one minute that I had added also didn't seem so scary. After a few months I was running 40 minutes 3 or 4 times a week. - The goal may be to EVENTUALLY train 3 times a week, but it's ok to start with much, much smaller steps. Break the big goal down into much smaller, more manageable chunks. Give yourself a pat on the back for small wins and set your sights a little higher when your confidence grows and the step you just made becomes manageable.