There is a scene from The Notebook where Noah repeatedly asks Allie “What do you want?!” I get that image in my head when I am talking about the goals people have when they want to fix their health or get fit.
Our bodies are amazing adaptation machines. They make changes based on our regular consistent life inputs. These changes don’t always make sense to us, but there is a logical, predictable outcome when we are willing to actually look.
Are you not happy with your current level of health and fitness? What have been your inputs or demands for the past few years?
The SAID principle means Specific Adaptation to an Imposed Demand. It means that the body will adapt or change specifically to the demand (our actions) we apply. It is why you are the way you are today, and can also apply to making you what you want to be, excepting things which are outside of your control (which are not as prevalent as we tend to think).
If we are easily tired from physical activity, have low muscle mass or bone density, it is likely because our lifestyle has not demanded it so the body has down-regulated that priority. It is “costly” to be fit and have muscle and the body will cut costs where it can.
If we are carrying extra body fat it is because we have eaten more energy than our body expends for its daily requirements and since the body prioritizes survival, it will store extra energy (calories as body fat) in case the food supply runs out.
We might not think of excess calories or being sedentary as a demand but we are giving the body a set of conditions that it must make do with, to adapt. We might rationalize why our lifestyle is the way it is, but the body doesn’t care, it just deals with the physical reality.
The principle goes the other way too. If we want more energy or muscle, we must create the environment for the body to make that adaptation. We must impose a demand for the body to adapt. That is typically exercise which makes the body more efficient at generating the energy needed and recovering from that effort.
If we want denser and more resilient bones, we must regularly make the body resist stresses that require dense bones in order to survive. If we want to lose body fat the demand we must impose is a small but sufficient calorie deficit so the adaptation is for the body to dip into its stores to make up the deficit.
Science fiction has long entertained the idea of something for nothing, the idea that a pill or download can replace the work. But this is not present reality. And I have doubts of that future becoming reality exactly because of the SAID principle. The pills don’t impose the necessary stresses. Performance enhancing drugs exist but they still require training.
There may also be highly touted supplements, but remember that supplements are to be added to an already present structure to maximize efficiency, they don’t replace it. Most supplements are not necessary, especially if we have room for improvement on the basics. They promise a lot and have great marketing, but if they could really cause those promised effects they would be drugs and you wouldn’t, shouldn’t be getting those from your neighbor’s sister’s new online business.
Becoming more fit means our bodies become more physically capable, and resistant to chronic health conditions like metabolic syndrome (high blood pressure, high blood sugar, too much fat around the waist, and high cholesterol or triglyceride levels). It requires both a nutritive and physical demand, a behavioural response.
In simplest terms, we need to strength train 2-3 times each week, we need to move with enough intensity to get a bit breathless 2-3 times each week, and we need to move at a longer but lower intensity level 1-2 times each week. Yes, this looks like we are intentionally physically active most days of the week.
We need to eat quality foods like protein and a variety of vegetables and fruit 2-4 times every day and quality starchy carbs in amounts that meet our energy needs and not facilitate extra fat storage. We should be able to identify the foods we are eating the majority of the time, rather than more processed convenience food products which are better kept for special occasions.
And we need to do this for years and years.
I have previously said you need 1000 workouts. All too often people try to make behavior changes and if they don’t see significant change in 1 or 2 months it is assumed nothing is working and the behaviors are dropped. The thing about 1000 workouts is if we only exercise twice per week that is just 104 in a year (less if we cut out on vacations). At this rate it would take about 10 years. If we even make it that far, which is not likely because the changes we are looking for will not happen quickly enough.
If we aim for 5 workouts each week, even taking time off on vacation, we will get about 250 in a year, and that brings the time down to about 4 years. I am not saying this is simple, because it would require cutting other things out of our lives to make room for fitness. But fitness is a trade-off and it is easier to do when we choose make it so, rather than imposed on us due to a poor health diagnosis.
I could also say you need 1000 salads and there would be a notable difference between someone who takes ten years to achieve that vs two.
So back to The Notebook with Noah asking “What do you want?!”
Look at your body as the adaptation machine that it is. What do you want your body to do or be? What survival function does that serve? Can you think of the demand you would need to impose to get that specific adaptation? If you don’t know, likely a good quality coach does and can guide you in the right direction. But take note, it will likely require you to take action in a different direction than your current practice and you will need to put in the reps.