The truth behind fitness trends

Cairo – 10 August 2017: I have been on and off diets and workout routines for over six years now, and I am here to expose the truth behind fitness.

I am not going to review the DVDs I have tried, because I am sure there are so many reviews about them. I am going to walk you through my journey as an average person who doesn’t necessarily go to the extreme to achieve fitness goals.

It all started back in January 2015, when I decided to create a healthier lifestyle for myself, and like any 21st century young adult, I resorted to the internet for answers.

I remember googling workout routines for beginners and “Beachbody” popped up. At that point, I had a pretty good idea about “Beachbody”, and I had previously done “Insanity” and attempted the “Brazilian Butt Lift” (by attempted, I mean tried the first 5 minutes and died, so I gave up)!

Anyway, so I checked out some other programs that are easy paced with good reviews. I started with the “21 Day Fix”, and it was a great start up. I eventually grew bored after finishing two rounds. I want to mention a very good point in this post: I did not follow any meal plan from those programs. I try to eat as healthy as I can and have up to three cheat days a week, but I have never attempted to follow the diet plans. Why?

Because I am like your average Joe who says, “Oh, I want results, but I still want pizza and fries.”



After “21 Day Fix”, I started “Insanity”, which of course was torture. Following that program was a quick week of “T25”, which I abandoned for “P90X3”, because as much as I adore Shaun T, I became bored, so I decided to switch it up.

If you know me, you know how much I rave about this program. For me, it was my solution to every single problem I ever had: time, boredom and the need for quick results. I never followed the meal plan for any program. I tried, but I have never achieved results like those I have achieved with “P90X3”.

After ”P90X3”, I did “T25”, but I ended up getting bored again, so I decided to do the “21 Day Fix Extreme”.

I ran into the same problem again: boredom! I went on to “The Hammer and Chisel Workout”, which was newly released by Beachbody, but I kind of injured my back, so I stopped in the seventh week. Either way, I wasn’t that impressed with the results, but I built up my strength, so that was cool.



I tried “CIZE” to ease my way back to exercising again, but never made it to the last week due to time constraints. Since it was summer and I had so much free time on my hands, I decided to test out “22 Minute Hard Corps”.

This is another new program by Beachbody, but due to the lack of decent stretching, I was always tight, which eventually lead to exhaustion. I took three days off after finishing one month of “22 Minute Hard Corps” and decided to do “P90X” since I love “P90X3” so much. And let me tell you, it was the best thing I have done all summer.

I went into the first phase thinking it is not as tough as “P90X3”. I reached the second phase, which was so much fun. Basically, phase one works you slowly into phase two, from normal pushups to “Plyo” pushups.

I was very, very pleased with that. I was basically looking for something to challenge my body with a decent rate of progress. I was also very pleased with the fact I decided to follow the double schedule in phase two, and so far it has been great!

If you could not tell, all the other programs I participated in were about 30 minutes long. Let’s be real, a 30-minute routine usually took me 45 minutes to an hour to complete, because I took breaks, which eventually decreased when my fitness level improved.



With “P90X”, it was a challenge to dedicate myself to an hour every day, but let me tell you, I have never needed to pause the DVD, but when I do, I only do so for a few seconds, rather than minutes, and move on.

Then, I decided to follow the double schedule, dedicating two hours and 15 minutes for three days a week and one hour the other three days in order to finish the routines, and I kept asking for more! I mean, “P90X3” was my favorite home workout DVD ever, but I think “P90X” is beating it!



The problem with this trend is that you do not know what happens behind the scenes. You see people preaching weight loss due to fitness, when in reality it's food deprivation or an eating disorder. I'm not going to say that I am perfect, of course; I did have my days when I was too obsessed with the calorie count.

I am just like everybody else who is trying to achieve a healthier lifestyle. I started questioning myself. Why do I need to resort to unhealthier habits to become healthy?

It's ironic! To be able to keep this lifestyle long-term, it doesn't necessarily have to come from a change of lifestyle if you are already comfortable with yours. I haven't changed my eating habits; I only tried to increase the amount of protein and fruit and veggie intake per day, as this ultimately led me to decrease my carb intake, because I can eat carbs all day every day.

I still had a cheat day (more like cheat days), but that’s what worked for me. I know it is hard sometimes to look in the mirror and feel comfortable, but I promise you, the day you start is the day you are already there, because you decided to seek something different.

You don't need to change who you are or how you eat or deprive yourself from things that make you happy. All you need is to add new things into your life and try them out. I like home workouts and absolutely hate the gym. I hate running or anything that puts me in the public eye.

You may enjoy the gym, so do that. You may enjoy jogging or swimming; do that too. The key is to start small and slowly build up as you begin to enjoy your activities more. Always remember that it’s okay to make mistakes and it does take trial and error.

Just give it time and do not feel pressured to join this crazy trend just because it’s what everyone else is doing.