It was a few weeks back. No sooner had I informed him of my
destination and he was off putting the world to rights. In less than 5 minutes
I knew his life story, the exact number of famous people he’d had in his cab
and his unyielding admiration of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. ‘She
cut the red tape and let businesses flourish without interfering’ he took great
pride in telling me.
Flippin’ ‘eck all I wanted was a quick cab ride and there I
was getting a lesson in politics from some third rate STIG/Paxman wannabe.
In a vain attempt to switch his monologue to dialogue I
thought I’d broach the ‘elephant in the room’ and garner his thoughts on UBER.
‘They’re a bloody disgrace, they ought to be regulated much more’ was his curt
response. Gordon Bennett, one minute he’s a Thatcherite, the next he’s a
socialist wanting to regulate things. (That, of course was probably a crass
characterisation, and probable denigration of both Thatcherite and socialist
policies, but much like the British tabloid press, I haven’t got the
inclination to find out the truth!).
Conversation soon turned to me being a personal trainer. ‘If
you can guarantee me I’ll lose a stone in 2 months, I’ll train with you’ he
said.
I told him I was unable to guarantee such a thing and set
about explaining why. Sadly, he had about as much interest in my explanation as Katie Price has in celibacy, so if
you’ll allow me a moment of indulgence I’d like to share those reasons with you:
Homeostasis
Homeostasis is basically the term used for the body’s desire
to maintain its current state. For the vast majority of overweight people, it
didn’t happen overnight. It happened over months and more than likely years. As
a result, their bodies have got used to being that way. When trying to alter this
by going on a diet, peoples’ bodies react differently. Some people’s body’s
(just like Rod Stewart's stylist) are resistant to change, and weight loss proves
a lot harder for them than others.
Training ability
Some people are simply able to train harder than others.
Some, can train really hard 5-6 times per week and continue to make rapid
improvements in their physique. For others, 2-3 sessions per week may be all that
they can physically handle before suffering from injury or illness.
Training response
People respond to training differently. Given the exact same
training programme, some people (known as high responders) make terrific
improvements whilst others (the low responders) make much slower progress. (As I've written about in more detail here).
Training compliance
No matter how well designed a training programme is, you can
never guarantee that an individual will actually do it. How many people do you know that have expensive
gym membership, upwards of 70 squid a month, yet hardly ever step foot in the
place?
Training induced food choices
This sounds like a rather grandiose term but what I’m really
trying to point out, is that some people find that training really tightens
their focus on their diet. It’s as if training acts as a catalyst for them to
eat better. For others, affectionately known as ‘compensators’, they seem to
overeat as a result of their training. It’s as if they think ‘sod it I’ve
trained hard today, I can have Big Mac and chips…thrice! They seem to overestimate
the number of calories they burn whilst drastically underestimating the number
of calories they consume.
In conclusion…
The moral of this story is to always book an UBER instead!
Only messing black cab driving friends I love you really.
What you should really take from this is to never trust the
weight loss claims you see on many a diet or exercise product. The human body
is such an AM-AZ-ING thing (regular readers will know I don’t use that word
lightly) that no-one knows exactly how it’s going to respond to a particular
diet or training regime imposed upon it.
And as for those guys in the fitness industry who
‘guarantee’ you’ll lose a stone of fat or gain 10lbs of lean muscle, approach
them in the same way you’d approach dogs mess on the pavement – by giving them
a wide berth!
Thanks for reading,
Matt
