We all want more for less. We want efficiency. We want to be the best at our trade. Most people understand that if you want something, you have to work for it. It’s a universal value that is instilled into most of us from a young age. Yet in the fitness, healthcare and nutritional worlds we are always searching for the quick fix..

How many diet trends promise 6-pack abs in 4 weeks? How many magazine headlines read “Get buff with this simple 7 minute routine every day”? Somewhere along the way we lost the basic understanding that success takes time, patience, and dedication. There is a reason for the cliche’ “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Talk to any expert in any of the aforementioned fields and they will agree. The body is a complex organism that responds to stress over time. Most resources concede that muscle hypertrophy (growth) takes 6-8 weeks to show detectable change..

The solution is to take a sustainable approach to making positive changes. Start small and set realistic goals. Unrealistic goals like losing 20 pounds in a month, or getting that six pack before summer will ensure continued failure. Strive to eat a little better, workout a little more frequently, and get off the couch a few more times a day. Once you achieve these goals, progress them over time.

A recent article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) showed that, when compared to sedentary individuals, subjects that exercised between 10 minutes and 59 minutes a week had an 18% less risk of all-cause mortality. We often blame the lack of time for our lack of fitness. You don’t have to workout for hours a day to achieve some health benefits, and feel better. Start small, and build upon your progress.

-Brendan Clarke, PT, DPT, CAMT, CSCS

“Beneficial associations of low and large doses of leisure time physical activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality: a national cohort study of 88,140 US adults” BJSM