My Fitness Philosophy
During my time studying Human Biology, I came to understand two key truths: our body is an honest machine—give it a stimulus, and it will respond without fail. Secondly, homeostasis is the driving force behind the progress that shapes our lives. The timeless saying, “You reap what you sow,” perfectly captures the essence of progress, especially when it comes to how our biology works.
Adopting this approach, I focus on aligning what my body receives with what I want in return. I aim to make the stimulus as close to the desired reaction as possible, progressing with minimal fluff and emphasizing raw movements or habits that aren’t flashy or complicated but deliver the greatest stimulus-to-reaction ratio. Understanding this has opened my eyes to the overwhelming amount of unnecessary noise in most training regimens and self-help programs. It’s clear that many people are addicted to solutions that look complex or modern, believing these are the missing keys to shortcut their way to success. The truth is, there is no shortcut—nothing will improve your ability in a specific activity more than doing the activity itself. Want to be a better speaker? Stop reading about it and speak. Want to write more fluently? Write every day. This philosophy applies universally: the best way to get better at something is to immerse yourself in the thing itself. The introspection required to identify the core “exercise” you need to progress is often challenging, but that process alone is transformative.
Supplementary practices, like strength training, should serve a clear purpose: to increase strength in the exact positions you need and to minimize over-training and injury. They’re not about over-complicating the process with distractions but about enhancing your ability to perform the primary task. Progress isn’t found in chasing novelty; it’s in committing to what works and stripping away what doesn’t. This approach grounds you in the fundamentals while maximizing the efficiency and sustainability of your efforts.
Here are a few examples and how to think about them to help you understand this concept;
Training Example:
Why do you want to strength train? So I can be stronger
Okay, but for what reason? Because I want to be more explosive.
Why do you want to be more explosive? Because I have a slow first step when sprinting.
Now you have a specific area of a sprint you can work on, this could have been anything, it could have been stride length, it could have been stride frequency, etc. Knowing what the desired reaction is, you can formulate a plan to create a proper stimulus. You work backwards.
Lets look at the first step in a sprint;
What exercise can we find that simulates this movement?
Well, the start of the sprint itself! Great, so how can we increase the load of this exercise so that we can become stronger in this exact
movement?
A Bulgarian Split Squat is an example of an exercise that creates a great parallel between the first step of a sprint and an exercise you can replicate over and over in the gym with a variation of weights.
Should I replicate the sprint itself as well? Of course! Remember replicating the exact exercise itself will almost always be the most beneficial(taking proper load management and technique out of picture).
Why would this work?
We know from physics - Power = Force x Velocity ; increasing the Force in this equation must logically increase the end of the equation as well. Increasing the velocity is inevitable with training the launch at max effort.
Football Example:
Do you want to be a better football player? Yes
What are your key weaknesses?
Is it your left foot? Yes
What about your left foot? Shot
What is wrong with your shot? Not accurate
Now you have a specific problem to work on, your desired reaction is better left-foot foot-eye-coordination, and accuracy with a soccer ball.
Get a tennis ball and drill left foot juggling until you get at least 100% better
You can drill this without much attention to overdoing it as the stimulus to fatigue ratio is low.
You get a ball and drill passing at a desired location on a wall
Using the Goldilocks Principle (the perfect success-to-failure learning ratio), start by aiming for a target area on the wall that is small enough to ensure you miss 15-30% of the time. As you improve and hit the target consistently, reduce the size of the target area to increase the challenge. Continue this process, progressively shrinking the target as your accuracy improves over time.
Life Example:
I am bad at public speaking
What books have you read on it? - Said no one ever.
In order to be a better public speaker you must speak in public-you will be uncomfortable, your palms might sweat, your stomach might churn, your voice might tremble, but guess what…the more you do it the better you will get and the less of those symptoms you will feel. To make the situation easier, you can adopt a progressive approach;
1) Greet people on the street
2) Start conversations in public with strangers
3) Speak up more in meetings or in the classroom…make it a habit, visualize it
4) Give a speech.
