Behold an observation that will doubtless trigger a number of people who read it.
Here it is:
The more someone tracks their workouts, food intake, rest, weight, body fat percentage, and so on, the worse they look.
Why?
Two reasons:
1) Tracking various fitness metrics diverts attention from solving the “lifestyle problems” that actually hold a person back from making meaningful progress. (Weak routine, poor boundaries with the wife and/or girlfriend, treating training like a hobby instead of an essential activity, etc.).
And,
2) Tracking everything in minute detail invariably results in a person optimising for the wrong things; typically in favour of their existing beliefs and values about training and nutrition. (Known as “confirmation bias”).
None of this is to say you shouldn’t track at all.
Tracking is very important and you won’t make much progress if you don’t do it.
The key is understanding what, when, and how to track so it enhances your training (and your life) instead of detracting from it and, in a minority of cases, precipitating an eating disorder or exercise addiction.
And how does one do that?
Ah, that’d be telling.
Although you will find the relative absence of detailed tracking involved in the system I share in “The Running Starter Kit” a breath of fresh air if you’re fed up with plonking numbers into spreadsheets or smartphone apps. (Or if you’re not doing that and don’t much fancy starting).
It’s £6.50, which I think is very cheap.
However, there are two important points to note before proceeding:
1) I am printing the reports to order on my personal printer using regular printer paper. An attractive document this is not, so please don’t buy it if you’re more concerned with how it looks than what it contains.
2) There are no refunds or guarantees beyond the 14 days on receipt of goods I’m obliged to give to comply with consumer protection legislation.
If that hasn’t put you off, more info and order below:
Thank you,
Phil Tyreman
P.S. Do not purchase “The Running Starter Kit” if you own either “The Conditioning Codex” or March’s issue of “The Phil Tyreman Letter” (where it was given as a bonus) because you’ll be paying for the same information twice.