A question that I am frequently asked is, “what is the fastest way to get in shape?”,
or “what is the fastest way for ME to get in shape?”.
Although the best answer is significantly different for each person that stands before me and poses the question, there are a few items that are universally true.
The first consideration that enters my mind before I answer is – who is this person (in the world) and what type of answer do they expect. Often, I may have a person that is looking for APPROVAL, not ADVICE. They have some ideas in their own head about how they are going to get back in shape as quickly as possible, but they want to hear what I say VALIDATE what they already plan to do. That’s okay. I don’t mind. Unless they have hired me as a coach, I do not feel obligated to spend considerable time and energy discussing what I have seen lead to success, or lead to failure, in my 35+ years of studying fitness and nutrition, exercise and eating, training and diet.
Of course, there are some who truly have no preconceived notion(s) on these topics, and they
- really listen to my advice,
- digest it,
- apply it,
- succeed,
- and ask for more.
I remember a good friend, who was part of a group of three guys (NL, SP, GG) I was partnering with for workouts about 10+ years ago, asked me once, “don’t you get mad when your exercise methods work so well that the guys you give it to surpass you in strength and get better results than you?”. I did not have to think long to find my answer, and I still don’t. If other men, or women, succeed on my systems, they may surpass what I can do, but their success is confirmation that my methods are valid.
For better, or for worse, I have always put much pressure on myself to find the right answers, to solve every problem put before me.
I enjoy a lot of personal satisfaction when I see that I am right. A dangerous trait that I recognize probably hurts me more than helps me. I also experience severe dissatisfaction with myself when I get the answer wrong, or cannot find the solution to a problem. 
Beginning when I was in kindergarten, my grandfather would quiz me incessantly with math problems. Often, I would cry and get extremely angry when I got the wrong answer (I feel like my personal nature has not changed much since then). Some may have said I was a little “intense” for boy that age who put so much pressure on himself. Looking back, I feel very fortunate to have had Paul Egan as my grandfather. Among other things, he impressed upon me the importance of math.
He clearly had a plan, because after I excelled in math at school, he parleyed my understanding of math into an understanding of the stock market, financial instruments, and investing. There are many things he said to me, some I did not understand at the time. Everything he said to me has turned out to be 100% true. I am sure that he may have felt that often I was not listening. My ability to excel in school, and receive top awards, in every subject, with little real effort, made me too sure of myself, arrogant. But I was listening, and I am here to say he was a much wiser man than I have turned out to be. If you have such a mentor in your life, count yourself lucky, and LISTEN.
Like most engineer types, I prefer the hard sciences, like math, because the answer(s) to problems are typically binary – true or false, right or wrong.
You can’t fake it. You either have the right answer, or you don’t. I care very little about general opinions or feelings on a given topic. I feel strong resentment towards people who write, or speak, and really don’t know what the heck they are talking about. If you don’t have the answer, it is okay to say, “I don’t know”. If you can’t speak with truth and authority on a given topic, the human race will be better off if you learn to keep your mouth shut. The uncertainty and grey area(s) of non-hard science subjects is nothing short of annoying, and I do my best to insulate myself against that type of information and/or debate (although, I am not always successful at keeping my mouth shut). Consequently, the subjects I gravitate to rely heavily on math for proper analysis. There are striking congruities between analyzing trading and training. Similar to how I look at trading (equities), I look at training (the human body)as being based on math.
There is much math and many formulas to apply to both trading, and training.
The proper application of which ensures your success and return on investment (ROI). My ongoing love of math and it’s certainty was inspired by my grandfather, and persists to this day. It’s not a coincidence that my exercise programs and eating plans are drafted in spreadsheet formats with as many formulas as possible built in. And, I tell my younger coaching clients that the most important piece of math that they should know, and understand, is percentages.
Here is an example of how trading and training are analogous endeavors.
How you spend or invest your exercise time is similar to a principle in investing called asset allocation. Just as various financial vehicles have a specific character (risk, volatility, time horizon) and average rate of return, each exercise modality has a specific return on your time and energy spent or invested. Just as you would not expect a certificate of deposit to have the potential benefits of underlying (principle) appreciation in addition to yield, you shouldn’t expect P90x to give you the strength and agility of an elite weightlifter. Nor should you expect burpees to give you the benefit of long-term increases in strength.
When you invest your time exercising, you choose the specific vehicle (exercise modality) that gives you the preferred result (expected rate of return). If you’re expecting your investments in Certificates of Deposit (CDs) to double every 5-7 years like good investments in stocks or mutual funds typically do, you will be disappointed. Invest in the correct vehicles for your goals.
I also see a parallel between the power of compound interest and the power of the body to respond to increased output (more exercise) with an increase in ability to perform and tolerate even greater output. Money makes money. Working out improves your ability to work out more.
So, when someone asks me, “what is the fastest way to get in shape?”, I am careful about how I answer, both for their sake, and for mine.
At this point in my career, there are a quite a few things I know for certain about “getting in shape”, but here are THE BIG THREE.
- You must effectively strength train with free weights and body weight movements
- Your eating habits must satisfy 2 criteria – a) they must be sustainable, and b) they must be compatible with your goals
- You must remove the destructive forces from your life as much as possible, or more effectively manage them
These are the 3 biggest factors in any personal fitness program.
This outline is not a super specific answer – I know that. However, each of these items alone deserves a book’s worth of information. You can find multiple articles that touch on any one of these factors on theperfect105.com. I hope my advice can point you in the right direction.
Thank you for reading.
Paul Newt has a passion for learning in all its forms, and finds great enjoyment in conceptualizing, creating, and improving systems that lead to success. Paul spends his time training, coaching clients, being a great husband and father, consuming non-fiction books, tinkering with new technology, researching investments, and building on old, refining current, and discovering new successful methods to improve human health, performance, and appearance. Paul’s lifelong goal is to become the best version of himself, and add value to the world by assisting others in doing the same.