The more I talk to people, the more I realize how confusing exercise can be. One common question I ask people is “do you exercise?” If they say “yes”, I’ll ask some follow-ups to see if their exercise actually supports their goals. Spoiler: it usually doesn’t, which is why they’re talking to me in the first place
A great model to have in mind is to think of exercise as medicine. To make medicine effective, you need two things:
- The right medication.
- The right dosage.
If you use the wrong medication or dosage, you won’t get the outcome that you hope for. An example would be if someone is an epileptic, taking a medication for diabetes (when they don’t have diabetes). The diabetic medication won’t improve epilepsy. It’s not supposed to. That’s not what diabetic medications do.
Likewise, if the epileptic takes the right medication, but at a dose that’s too low, it may not reduce the seizures at all.
I see the same thing in the realm of exercise. A person’s goal might be to reverse their osteoporosis. Cool. I ask them what tool they’re using for that job (the actual question is “what does your exercise routine look like?”). It might be yoga or hiking (those are very common answers).
Let’s run it through our criteria:
- Is it the right “medicine” for the job?
- Is it the right “dosage?”
To answer the first question, to know whether they’re the right “medicine” to reverse osteoporosis, we have to know if they strengthen bones. The answer is a strongly definitive “no.”
Because it’s the wrong “medicine”, the dosage doesn’t matter. The wrong medicine at a high dose is still the wrong medicine. Doubling down on the wrong thing is still the wrong thing.
Some of my clients want to gain muscle/get toned. So I’ll ask them what they do for it. They may say the right “medicine” (in this case, strength training). But they’re using the wrong “dosage.”
When it comes to strength training, the “dosage” is defined by:
- The frequency: number of days per week.
- The intensity: how much weight is lifted relative to a person’s own abilities.
- The number of sets.
- The number of repetitions (reps).
So if the goal is muscle gain, but someone is not achieving that goal, despite strength training, they are using the correct “medicine”, but at the wrong dosage. It takes knowing what “dosage” it takes to build muscle, or achieve any goal. For example, someone who is a beginner to strength training, and is under 60 only needs 6-10 sets per muscle per week to make that muscle grow. Someone over 60 needs 8-12 sets per muscle per week to make that muscle grow. Intermediates and advanced trainees need even more.
When it comes to cardio, the “dosage” is defined by:
- Frequency: the number of days per week.
- Duration.
- Intensity: your pulse during the workout.
In my article, You’re Active, You’re Not Fit. Here’s the Difference, I talk about how often people state that they do a lot of cardio – yet, still complain of a lack of endurance. I ask them what they do for cardio, and they say walking. Unless a person walks on a pretty steep incline, walking is not cardio. The “dosage” is not high enough to qualify it to be cardio. The minimal intensity required to improve cardiovascular endurance is 65% of your maximal heart rate. That’s called your “aerobic threshold.” That intensity needs to be maintained for a minimum of 20 minutes for beginners (more for intermediates and advanced trainees).
The conclusion to all of this is to ask yourself – “Am I reaching my fitness goals?”
If the answer to that question is “no”, ask yourself:
- Am I using the correct “medicine” (type of exercise)?
- Am I using it at the right dosage?
Of course, unless you have a background in kinesiology, exercise physiology and exercise science, you simply might not know what the right dosage is. But my team and I do. If you want professional help to figure it out, just respond to this email with the subject line “fitness help.” Just responding to this does not obligate you to anything. We’ll simply set up a quick, 10–15-minute chat so that we can understand your situation, and see whether we can help you. There’s no obligation, sales pitch or pressure.
