The Weekly Exerciser
A weekly newsletter with actionable tips to make exercise easier.
How to make less exercise lead to more action
Read time: 4 minutes It‘s a damning statistic. In 2022, global physical inactivity levels - defined as the percentage of people not meeting aerobic exercise guidelines - were estimated at 31.3%. This figure was higher than 12 years earlier (26.4% in 2010), which in turn was higher than the rate 10 years before that (23.4% in 2000). And things are only projected to get worse from here. Clearly our current physical activity strategies aren’t working. Here’s another sobering statistic: even...
6 practical ways to overcome inevitable strength plateaus
Read time: 4 minutes The perception of progress is a powerful motivator with exercise. A special kind of satisfaction comes from being able to lift heavier or walk or run faster than before. But this can be a trap, too. I was chatting to a friend of mine who’d hit a wall with his gym routine. He’d finally managed to string together a period of consistent training - but could no longer increase the weights he was lifting. Like many, he was frustrated with what he saw as a lack of progress. And...
These are the times you need exercise the most
Read time: 4 minutes It’s no surprise a good reason to exercise is better health and fitness. But there’s more to it than that. You see, there are times when exercise simply isn’t a possibility. Because at some stage we ALL succumb to periods of: Injury Illness Or hospitalisation And this is when a critical goal of exercise is realised: To build our reserves to protect us from unavoidable periods of inactivity. Because the reality is, these “disuse” events can have disastrous consequences for...
This is how much exercise could extend your life
Read time: 4 minutes Living longer is high on many people’s list of reasons to follow a healthy lifestyle. And let’s be honest, the pursuit of longevity has some doing some pretty crazy things (blood transfusions from your kids, anyone?). These antics aside, it’s clear plain-old exercise is one of THE most potent tools to help us live longer. But the question is - how much impact does physical activity actually have on our life expectancy? And is doing more - or going harder - the key to...
Why big weights aren’t mandatory to benefit from resistance training
Read time: 5 minutes The idea of lifting heavy things often goes hand-in-hand with resistance training. But there’s a problem with this. Because not everyone is a fan of big weights - nor busy gym environments either. And these very factors prevent many from enjoying the benefits of resistance training. Which is why you should know the amount of weight you lift matters far less than you might think. In fact, some of the upsides of resistance training are comparable - and even superior - with...
Does aerobic training really blunt your “gains” in the gym?
Read time: 4 minutes Most of you don’t know this. But back in the summer of 2012, I began the long journey towards my PhD. The topic? Something very different to what I focus on now. It had more to do with how to - dare I say it…”optimise” training. And specifically, the combination of both resistance training and aerobic training. You see, since the early 1980‘s we’ve known combined or “concurrent” training can blunt some of our gym gains. In other words, the benefits from one type of...
The best kind of exercise goals
Read time: 3.5 minutes Why do you exercise? If you ask most people this question, the usual suspects will pop up. They’ll say they exercise to: Live longer Lose weight Build muscle Keep doing physical tasks when they’re older Sure, these types of goals are important. But there’s also a problem with them. They relate to the destination, not the journey. The outcome, not the process. Setting only long-term goals is like planting a garden without watering the seeds - you might dream of the...
This is how strong even the oldest old can be
Read time: 3.5 minutes Despite what most people think, getting older needn’t mean being weak or frail. There’s no doubt exercise is the key to bucking the trend - no matter how old you are. And who better to showcase how strong even the oldest old can be, than those who train exactly for that reason. These older adults exemplify the fact strength loss isn’t “just ageing”. And there is a better alternative. The sport where it’s all about strength In the sport of powerlifting, there’s only 1...
Halve your gym time with this simple strategy
Read time: 4 minutes Look, I love the gym, but I don’t want to spend more time there than I need to. So if I can make similar gains in less time, that sounds like a pretty good deal to me. The good news is one simple change to the structure of your resistance training workouts can take a big chunk from your training time. And two recent studies show this strategy doesn’t compromise the benefits - despite taking up to 50% less time to do. The time-saving power of “supersets” The time-saving...
This is how to make HIIT more enjoyable
Read time: 3 minutes So interval training has got a bit of a bad rap lately. I’ll admit it. I’ve become more and more skeptical that HIIT is the answer to our physical activity problems. But that doesn’t mean HIIT can’t feature as part of a lifelong exercise routine. And one simple tweak can make your sessions far more enjoyable - and therefore more sustainable. What’s the problem with HIIT anyway? There’s no doubt HIIT “works” for improving fitness and health outcomes. But the big question...
A weekly newsletter with actionable tips to make exercise easier.