Fitness is an over-complicated topic and it need not be. Between drug fueled pros to supplement hucksters to big corporate magazines and shows people are bombarded with fitness information day in and day out. Most of which is complete crap. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that never have people been exposed to more fitness information yet been in worse shape. Fitness is not a complicated topic and shouldn’t be for the vast majority of people. In my book Pareto Fitness I set out to lay out to basic framework that one would need to get them to their goals. If you are someone who wants to get in shape, be healthy, and look good doing it without dedicating their entire life to learning it this is the book for you. Below is a sample chapter from the book, enjoy.

The Basics

There have been countless fitness fads throughout the past century. From late night infomercials hawking “six minute abs” to protein powder that grows you muscles “1000%” in just six weeks. The fads change with the ages. There were fads during the age of Arthur Saxon one of the first strongman and there will be fads for our great grandchildren. Through all of this there are things that stay the same. As far as lifting is concerned what worked one hundred years ago works just as well today. Heavy compound movements. Adequate rest. Good solid nutrition. Getting enough sleep. While none of these things are considered “sexy” and don’t move product they are effective. Below are the basics of healthy living and Pareto Fitness.

Heavy Compound Movements

The first thing on our list is using heavy compound movements. Meaning movements that utilize many muscles of the body instead of a few. For example the barbell squat is one of the greatest exercises that there is. This is because it uses nearly every muscle in the body. The legs, glutes, abs to stabilize, and much more. Compare that with the barbell curl which uses fewer muscles and is therefore not as effective. Yet nowadays entire systems are designed around isolation exercises (exercises that tend to use only one or a few muscles).

While this may work for steroid laden bodybuilders this is no way to train for the natural trainee. As a natural trainee you will get the biggest bang for your buck from using relatively heavy compound movements. Things like squats, deadlifts, overhead presses, bench presses, rows, power cleans, and other Olympic lifts. These are the movements that will build you the body that you want. Stay away from machines and isolation exercises. Stick to the barbell first and foremost and then dumb bells. Keep them heavy and use compound movements.

Meats, Greens, and Fats

Like exercise nutrition also goes in fads. Some of these are horrible such as veganism while others have some merit to them such as the Paleo diet. If you follow the basic guideline here you will be doing better than the vast majority of people out there. At every meal make sure to have meat, greens, and fat.

So for example for breakfast you could have sausage, spinach, and eggs. For lunch turkey, a salad, and an avocado. For dinner steak, broccoli, and nuts. And so on and so forth. Stick to natural foods. Foods that you would find in the wild. Meats, greens, and fats. Nutrition is something that is easy to overcomplicate. Stick to the outline here and you will be doing fine.

Sleep

       Sleep is when your body grows. Sleep is when the actual muscle growth takes place. Sleep is when your body heals and repairs itself from your workout. Your body uses the nutrients from your food to rebuild the muscle tissue that was damaged during your workout. Getting at least eight hours of sleep is essential for both mental functioning as well as physical functioning. So contrary to popular belief it is not during your workout that your muscles are growing. That is when they are being torn down. Resting is when they grow.

Many people wonder what is most important for building a strong healthy body, sleep, nutrition, or working out? The answer is all three. That would be like asking what’s the most important thing to make a car run. The wheels, engine, or fuel? All three are needed to make the car run. Each has a role to play in building the body that you want.

Hydration

Your body is made up of anywhere from fifty to sixty percent water and it is used in a myriad of bodily functions. Many problems that people suffer from can be traced back to poor hydration. Dry skin, constipation, headaches, trouble focusing, and much more. Your body can survive weeks without food yet can only go three days without water. Water is essential.

When you work out you sweat meaning you lose water. An active person’s hydration needs are often higher than that of the average person. Many people in society today are chronically dehydrated. Hurting their bodily function as well as their overall health and wellbeing.  The average person should be drinking eight glasses of water a day. The active person should be drinking at least ten glasses of water a day if not more. If you don’t carry a water bottle around with you everywhere you go, now is the time to start.

Mindset

Having the right mindset is something that the majority of fitness books leave out or just put “work hard” or “be tough bro”. Or some other useless platitude. Your mind is the master over your body. This has many applications in overall health and fitness, in particular training. For example most people at the gym spend their time texting in between sets. They divide their mind while they are at the gym and have the results to show for it. Lifting requires complete fixation on the task at hand. You must focus on your lifts.

Another even more important aspect of mindset is how you see yourself. Do you see yourself as weak, fat, slow, or anything else? You need to begin to change that belief not just by working out but by changing your thoughts as well. Don’t think of yourself in a negative light. Only think positive thoughts about yourself. Over time the outside reflects the inside. Don’t work against yourself.

Summary

This book is designed to get you a general effective outline of fitness. Giving you quick tips and fixes to get you into the game. It will not be lecturing you about the latest scientific “breakthroughs” or the physics of the movements. It will show what has worked and what has withstood the test of time. Nothing more and nothing less. Do what is in this book and you will be well ahead of the average gym rat.

Don’t get bogged down by information overload. Fitness doesn’t need to be nearly as complicated as it is. Stick to the basics, work hard, and work smart and you will excel past the majority of people out there. Only after lifting for a year or two and getting solid results will you have to start to add on to the basics. Until then just stay consistent and you will progress.

It’s tempting to get caught up in the latest buzz or fad but it is always to the detriment of the participant. Don’t lose out on building a better body and being healthier just to enrich some clever marketer. Look at what is tried and true. Work hard, stick to the grind and you’ll go further than you ever thought you would or could.

If you enjoyed this excerpt then pick up your copy of Pareto Fitness today.