Fitness As a Process

A question we get a lot is, ‘When will I see results?’ We will try to answer this as best we can here, but first let’s think about the benefits you can’t see.

For example, improved bone density. This isn’t something you can see with your eyes, but it is there. Exercise improves glycemic control, which is a subject way beyond what we can discuss here, but just know it is important. Exercise improves your blood pressure; again something you can’t see. Exercise reduces your chance of falls, which becomes important in later years. Exercise improves your sleep. Exercise improves your brain health and cognition. The benefits of strength training and movement are multiple.

If you are consistently moving and challenging your body, then it is guaranteed you will be rewarded with improved health and wellness, even if it is happening in ways that might not always be visible.

For those interested in further reading on this matter, we refer you to a paper in The International Journal of Obesity entitled “Health-enhancing physical activity in obesity management: the need to (seriously) go beyond weight loss”, by Jean-Michel Oppert, et. al, 2024

So, you know exercise is good for you, now try to enjoy the process. Try to find the intrinsic pleasures in the Activelab movement system. Appreciate the miracle that you have this body, it functions, and it moves. Take pleasure in the good company in our space. We like to say that you get 85% of the benefits of exercise by just showing up, and for a lot of people, that is enough.

Now, back to the question about results. The results that most people are concerned with is to lose weight, preferably adipose tissue, or fat. The first thing to know about this topic is that people respond differently to exercise. Some people will lose significant amounts of fat when they start exercising, other people will not lose any. This is called inter-individual variability, a topic which is not fully understood by scientists.

The second thing to know is that, on average, exercise does help burn fat, but the amount of fat loss the average person gets from exercise is not as large as you might hope. It is important to be realistic about this. The Oppert paper has the numbers. This is why it is so important to not to lose sign of the broader health benefits of exercise.

If you start Activelab but aren’t seeing the results you hoped for, then we have the option of ramping up the volume of activity and pushing harder, but it wan’t be easy. Stuart Phillips, a leading researcher in exercise, has this analogy: When you twist a wet rag, you can get 85% of the water to come out pretty easily. Getting the last 15% of water out of that wet rag is going to be a lot harder. In the same way, to get the last 15% out of Activelab, or any exercise system, you will need to push through discomfort. We can discuss with each client the direction they want to go in as when the time comes.

At Activelab, each person decides for themselves how hard they want to push. Meanwhile, try to enjoy the process!