Setting The Right Fitness Goals

 

What’s the Right Type of Exercise?

A few days into January 2025, a few family members and I were talking about health and wellness.  (This often happens when the Chiro is around–he doesn’t usually initiate it but answers lots of questions and 3 hours later we actually start playing the game or whatever it was we had initially gathered for…)  A wide range of topics were covered that night, but there were several questions that focused on the “right” type of exercise.  And so many of his answers included “well, it just depends on what your goals are.”

Whether you are wanting to lose weight, gain power, build muscle, balance cortisol, increase athleticism or do the right things to navigate perimenopause (ahem)–he had a different answer for each goal.  I guess that’s why individualized fitness plans are appropriate.

After a while of hearing about the various benefits of HIIT, strength training, cardio, CrossFit, etc., I chimed in with “I just do whatever I want.”

 

We Do Whatever We Want

Really, that’s true for all of us.  We do whatever we want, based on our own individual priorities and motivations. Because we control our actions at the most basic level.  It’s the amazing, God-given attribute we have as humans.

But at that moment I was feeling a little bit of guilt for not choosing to subscribe to a more structured exercise approach.

After all, I’ve announced my plans to spend a week backpacking on the Appalachian Trail this spring.  From where I was 2 years ago, there’s a big gap of where I need to be physically in order to get through that with some measure of success.  In my head I’ve been “training” for the last couple of months.  I have set a few goals along these lines, but my exercise approach is still a bit haphazard.  I sometimes lift weights at the gym.  Every now and then I try to jog.  I do a lot of treadmill walking with high incline.  I try to get on the stairclimber when it’s available. I have started low-mileage hikes with a 20-25 lb pack on.

The Chiro has been trying to get me into kettle bell workouts but that approach hasn’t really clicked for/motivated me yet.  And then there are the days when I’m just not feeling it and don’t do anything.  (I’m still trying to figure out the balance between honoring my body’s need for time off and not feeling lazy!)

So I’m definitely doing physical “stuff,” it’s just not real structured.  Going back to the earlier conversation, my guilt went away when the Chiro reiterated something he (and many others) have said often: the best exercise you can do is the one you will actually do.

Could I be getting better “results” if I followed a structured plan?  No doubt.  Should I be doing more to strengthen my core and not focus so much on legs?  Probably.  And maybe that will come.  But as I start this new year, I’m reminding myself and anyone else reading that it’s okay to start simple.

You don’t have to have a fancy gym membership or invest in expensive workout equipment (unless you want to).  You don’t have to know how you’re going to move through every phase of a long term goal.  You certainly can’t do everything at once.  What’s important is that you just start doing something–whatever you enjoy–that gets your body moving.  For me right now, it’s walking and hiking and preparing for functional needs of being on the Trail.  And a little bit of Pickleball because I’ve got to keep up with the older generation…

 

Momentum…and Wisdom

The more we move–however we decide to do it–the more motivated we are to keep moving. Our energy increases, our mood improves, and we get a little bit of momentum.  And then with our increased energy, we might start thinking about ways to improve our nutrition or other lifestyle habits. There can be a host of downstream positive effects that come from picking up whatever physical activity you enjoyed as a youth, or just trying something new.

However, when that momentum slows down, as it inevitably does, it’s also easy to beat ourselves up.  Don’t beat yourself up.  If your body is telling you it needs some recovery time, listen to it.  This was a major struggle of my challenging journey that lead to the diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency.  While most people’s adrenal glands won’t be destroyed the way mine were through antibodies, adrenal health is a huge area that gets overlooked or ignored.  Too much stress–whether physical, emotional, or psychological–will tax those hard working glands and “working out harder” is not always the answer, despite the endorphins that sometimes come.

So consider this your permission to “just do whatever you want” as your approach your fitness goals this year.  If you want to go hard core and lift weights 3x a week, do it.  If you’re motivated to walk a mile every other day with a friend after school drop-off, awesome.  If you want to follow along with some hip-hop YouTube tutorials in the privacy of your living room once a week, go for it. Whatever you enjoy, do it.  And if you want some personalized guidance on what kind of exercise will help with your specific goals, well, I know a guy…

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