Why can’t you out train a bad diet?
There are many sayings out there that hold merit within the health and wellness industry, one of which is the aforementioned “You can’t out-train a bad diet” and despite its popularity, it’s often lacking the substance needed to drive home its importance. This is how your diet is impacting your fitness progress.
Rigorous exercise puts muscles under acute mechanical stress, which causes the muscles to adapt and get stronger. For example, repetitions of a squat (with the addition of a challenging weight) will break down muscle tissue.During the recovery process the muscle responds by healing and becoming stronger, which makes the previous weight easier to squat.
Load/ Reps → Exercise
Muscle Breakdown
Stronger (Adaptation)
In order for the muscle to adapt and grow, it is a NECESSITY for it to have the adequate building blocks. You cannot expect someone to build a brick wall if all you provide is a handful of feathers, the same way you cannot expect a muscle to grow if you do not provide the necessary nutrients.
This is the exact reason why you can’t out train a bad diet. I always tell my clients we are building a body you love, not destroying one that you hate. And with that in mind, we need to determine what does the thing I love need?
Day to day living, coupled with an intelligent exercise program, will require a diet that facilitates the energy requirements dictated by the body.
But what is a good or bad diet? It can certainly be difficult to separate the truth from fiction and avoid information overload and paralysis by analysis. I have been told to avoid sugar, only eat fats, avoid fats, aspartame will make me grow horns and dairy will make me sexually attracted to cows!………
I believe that a good diet adheres to the following fundamental principles:
#1 Balanced Kcal consumption appropriate to the goals of an individual.
#2 Inclusion of all macronutrients (albeit at varying percentages and preferences).
#3 Inclusion of all micronutrients.
#4 Consistency.
(*The only exception to these rules are anomalies, rare conditions or allergies)
#1 dictates body composition/ weight adhering to the scientific principles of Energy balance, #2 and #3 form the foundation of ‘vitality/ energy’ whereas #4 determines level of success and longevity.
When I sit down to discuss “diets” with clients, I am not necessarily referring to protocols, approaches or even the type of food you eat, but more so the current total composition of everything consumed and how this fits into the four foundations mentioned above.
My goal as a coach is to improve the health and wellness of each client with weight loss, improved physical adaptations and psychological adaptations being a positive byproduct.
It must be understood that yes; you can work out and not have your nutrition dialed in and see results the same way you could travel 10 miles walking in a straight line for 3.5 hours or you can do indirect loops and circles and eventually get there in 10 hours. A bad diet just slows down progress, and in some cases counteracts the hard work you put in at the gym. However, an intelligent, manageable and appropriate diet can streamline the journey to your desired results.
What will ultimately determine success is having a true understanding of how badly you want to get to your ‘destination’ or desired state and how you willing you are to stay focused for an extended period of time to get there?
Acute mechanical stress (Exercise) + Energy required for daily functioning
Right Recovery
– Adequate kcal
-Balanced macronutrients
-Rest/ recovery (time spent
parasympathetic state)
-7+ hours sleep.
Wrong recovery
-Kcal all over the place
-Nutrient deficiency
-High levels of stress (too much time in sympathetic state)
Positive adaptation
-Desired results
-Body composition change
-Increased energy
-Increased physical capacity
Poor adaptation
-Slow progress
-Fatigue/ low energy
-Frustration
-Increased potential for injury
If you want to learn more about a diet can affect your fitness progress, then send us an email.
If you’d like to work with us then schedule a complimentary consultation at our website. And you can also follow us on our social media, we often post info about diet and fitness progress.