By now most of us are familiar with applying the “80:20 rule” when it comes to nutrition. This concept suggests that we should fuel ourselves with a variety of wholesome, nutritious, minimally-processed foods ~80% of the time, and ~20% of the time we can enjoy foods that may be slightly less nutritious. This dietary principle is encouraged because it supports the notion that achieving our health and fitness goals is dictated by what we do the majority of the time, not the minority. As well, it encourages individuals to find balance between their health endeavors AND their quality of life, particularly when it comes to celebrations, travel, events, and social occasions that involve food.
However, given that this strategy is often successfully applied to nutrition, we encourage you to apply the same line of thinking to your fitness and exercise goals! For example, let’s say an individual has the goal of changing their body composition by adding more lean muscle mass. In this instance, the general recommendation would be that they dedicate the majority of their allocated exercise time to resistance training. Although, they also inform you that they can only commit to exercising five times per week, and that they also love playing social basketball with their friends.
The question is… would they still be able to achieve their body composition goal of building muscle while playing basketball? OF COURSE! By applying the “80:20 rule” and focusing on what they do the majority of the time, this individual could follow a resistance training program ~4 x per week and play basketball ~1 x per week. This structure allows the individual to follow a plan that not only aligns with their body composition goals, but also encourages them to be active in other ways and enjoy social occasions!
The take home from this post is that you CAN achieve your body composition goals while simultaneously enjoying other aspects of life. Also, the “80:20 rule” doesn’t suggest that certain foods or exercise modalities are inherently “bad” - it’s all about recognising your priorities, and finding balance with INCLUSION not EXCLUSION.
If you love to lift AND do other things – then GO FOR IT