Why Exercise Isn’t One Size Fits All

Walk into almost any gym and you’ll see people doing many of the same exercises. Squats, bench press, deadlifts, rows, machines and some cardio.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with these exercises. The better question is: Are they right for you?

Your workout should reflect your body, your lifestyle and what you’re already asking your body to do every day.

Start With Your Life

Before deciding what you need to do in the gym, look at what you do outside of it.

• Do you sit at a desk for eight hours?

• Are you a contractor swinging a hammer, carrying materials and working overhead?

• Are you a nurse spending long shifts on your feet?

• Are you a parent constantly picking up and carrying a child?

• Do you play a sport or have physically demanding hobbies?

• Where do you regularly experience stiffness, fatigue or discomfort?

These things matter because your daily life is already placing physical demands on your body.

Your Workout Should Reflect Those Demands

A contractor may already perform hundreds of repetitive movements throughout the week. More of the same in the gym may not be what their body needs most.

A desk worker has the opposite problem. Hours of sitting provide very little movement variety or physical loading, so their training can help fill some of those gaps.

A nurse may spend an entire shift standing, walking, bending and helping move patients. Their training should consider those demands and their ability to recover between shifts.

A parent may repeatedly bend down, pick up a child and carry them on one side. Building strength and capacity around the demands of parenting may be far more useful than simply following a generic workout.

This doesn’t mean your occupation determines your workout. It means your program should have context.

Look at What’s Missing

A good program isn’t simply a collection of “good exercises.” It should help address what your body actually needs.

Consider:

• Movements you already repeat constantly

• Areas where you’re strong or relatively weak

• Movements you struggle to control

• Your mobility and stability

• Previous injuries or limitations

• Your goals outside of the gym

• How much physical stress you’re already recovering from

Pain is also important information. Persistent or unexplained pain should be evaluated by an appropriate healthcare professional rather than something you simply push through.

So, Are You Working Out Wrong?

Possibly.

Not because squats are bad, machines are bad or there’s one perfect way everyone should exercise.

You may simply be following a program that wasn’t designed with you in mind.

Before adding more exercises, more weight or more workouts, understand what your body is already doing and what it might be missing.

If you’re unsure how to identify those strengths, weaknesses and movement patterns yourself, that’s where a qualified coach or practitioner can help. The point isn’t just to hand you another workout. It’s to understand your body well enough to create a program with a reason behind it.

Your training should prepare you for the life you’re actually living.