Fitness Results are 70% Diet, 30% Exercise – True Or False?

There is a saying in the fitness, weight loss, and personal training field. It goes “Results are 70% diet, 30% exercise”. Is this really the case?

After 15 years and over a million hours of personal fitness training sessions. I can safely say that our team of fitness coaches in Singapore has found this to be false. Read on to find out why.

I’m not saying exercise and diet are not important. But training and diet combined are only a part of the whole picture of health and fitness results. In my estimation combined they are 50% of your results.

The other 50% is made up of your… ENVIRONMENT.

We can see this in studies where populations who have very long lifespans may even do unhealthy things like overeat or even smoke! But if they have strong community relationships, people still live to old age. This is an influence of the environment. Not some magical supplement or exercise programme. The world health organization calls this kind of environment “safe, secure and supportive”. There are studies of ‘blue zones” where the lifespan of the people is much longer than the national average. Again, strong community is a key factor in these areas.

Another example more related to bodybuilding are the physiques of native tribes. During his study of the dental health of native populations in the early 1900s, the dentist Weston Price also noted their physique development.

These tribespeople did not have supplements, gyms, steroids or personal trainers! But they had natural environments, low pollution, low stress and physiques that most gym-goers would love to have. Not the juiced-up steroid look. But perhaps something like an Olympic 400m runner.

Wake up, go fishing, play with kids and sleep early when the sun goes down. This is what we now know as a vacation!

The influence of the environment can also be seen in the experiences we have with the Genesis Gym Singapore personal training clients. We have seen many clients get faster results when they go on holiday than when they are in their stressful jobs in Singapore.

This is why we place so much emphasis on helping clients control their environment. Not just on their training programmes or diet plans.

Here are some things that impact your environment and thus your results. I hope that you can take note of them and try to make improvements. Then you can get better results without spending more precious time exercising.

1. Sleep environment – dark, quiet room, 7-8 hours a day.
2. Minimize exposure to toxins – don’t jog near busy roads, wash vegetables to minimize pesticides, wear a mask if you work in a place with more pollutants
3. Strong relationships – quarreling with colleagues and family members is a stress hormone factory. Love and be loveable! The stress from emotions also factors in your environment.
4. Culture of the people around you and even the country you live in. If you have a super workaholic country it is harder to get fit. The best “average” physiques in gyms that I have seen are in Australia and in the Nordic countries. People are generally less stressed and there is a greater culture of exercise and doing sports.
5. Nature helps – sunlight, outdoor walking, and some even say the earth’s magnetic field from barefoot, all contribute to a good environment.

Just imagine if you did these things. It would bring you closer to the “native” environment. While that time had less wealth and comfort, it was good for lower chronic disease and had few overweight people.

If you want a Singapore personal training programme that helps you optimize your environment for best results, you are always welcome to schedule a consultation with the Genesis Gym Singapore team to see how we can work together for maximum long term fitness and results.