By now many of us have fallen off that well-laid track we set in January. We’ve been busier than we expected with work, most of the days have been 30 degrees or lower and finding the time and motivation to get in the shape we wanted to has been challenging, to say the least.
But it’s way too early in the year for us to give up on those goals we set. We just need to find the perfect workout — the one that we can fit into our schedule, has a tangible effect on our bodies and minds, and somehow makes exercise something we look forward to instead of fear.
What is the perfect workout?
The answer is simple: the perfect workout is the one you actually do.
The days of working out by ourselves wandering around a sea of exercise equipment seem to be coming to an end. People are getting bored and the market is responding with new, exciting options. Fitness has become more than a way to stay in shape, it’s become a subculture.
I’ve experimented with countless types of training including Crossfit, yoga, obstacle course racing, acro yoga, boxing, mixed martial arts, gymnastics, calisthenics, pole dance (yes, there is video footage), running and even a trampoline-dance cardio hybrid workout. No matter how different the disciplines, the same three things kept popping when I asked people why they loved their particular choice of exercise.
The first thing people want is a community. Even though the culture might seem dominated by ego-driven gym selfies from the outside looking in, what’s really happening is physical fitness has become a social movement that we take part in together. We need to be there to push each other and hold each other accountable just as much as we need to physically be in the same space together — especially in a time when our lives are isolating us more and more. When we look forward to seeing our friends, a little sweat and soreness is always worth it.
People also want, or possibly need, something that is challenging for them. To me, this means something that isn’t always the same routine. Our muscles (and our minds) easily plateau if we don’t keep them guessing with different compound movements. This is why we are seeing such a hockey-stick curve in the options available for people. What good is being flexible if you don’t have strength in that range of motion? What good is being super strong if you can’t move fluidly when you need to?
My biggest goal with clients at SyncStudio (which offers yoga, cycling and strength training) is to help people achieve body control in their movement first. Weight loss, muscle growth, and cardio endurance are the secondary results of that movement.
The last and possibly most important thing people want is for their workouts to be fun. That doesn’t mean we are laughing hysterically the whole time — most likely, it means the opposite. But by “fun,” people mean something that they actually enjoy. This is why we are seeing such creative new workouts dominating the space.
Remember that trampoline-dance cardio hybrid workout I did? It might’ve been the hardest one I’ve done. No lie. But it was also, hands down, the most fun. This is why we now have ninja workouts where we jump around like monkeys or acro yoga, where we flip each other around with our feet. We have to actually look forward to our fitness choices or I promise they will not be sustainable.
I play soccer every weekend in the Orange County Adult Soccer League. Without fail, when my girlfriend bring me ice for my knees and a heating pad for my back on Sundays, she shakes her head at me. But she never asks me why I do it. I do it because when I’m out there on Saturday, whether in the snow or sweltering heat, there’s no place I’d rather be than on that pitch. And that allows me to keep running with these 20 year olds as I near 40.
Find the workout that is fun for you, yet challenging, and that you’ll wake up every day excited to do. Then find a community that shares your passion.
Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t where you want to be yet. Like anything, it’s the journey, not the destination.
Pictures by Anna Routh Photography
Picture via Rain Bennett
Rain Bennett is a two time Emmy-nominated filmmaker, fitness professional, public speaker, and writer. His mission is simple: to help people realize that they too can be great, no matter where they come from or what they start with. It just takes passion, persistence, and a plan.
Bennett directed and produced his first feature length documentary in true indie fashion by traveling the world with only a backpack and a Canon DSLR camera. That film, Raise Up: The World is Our Gym won “Best of the Fest” at the Hip Hop Film Festival NYC and received global distribution through Red Bull Media House. He’s been featured in publications like Men’s Health and Sports Business Global and is a regular contributor to Breaking Muscle. When he’s not making movies or training clients at Sync Studio in Durham, he’s hosting a new webseries called The Perfect Workout Show.
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