how to choose your workout

Today’s gonna be a little bit of story time, so if it gets long please hang in there I promise there’s a point to the wall of text I’m about to share.

I think when it comes to fat loss and working out there’s a lot of things lost in translation. I mean hell, I was there too. I’ve been to the doctor checkups where they told me I was overweight and their solution was for me to go “do a sport or something.” I’ve been through all the articles, talk shows, magazines all emphasizing that working out is the key to losing weight, I thought so too for the longest time.

Except it’s incorrect.

Yes working out can help the process of fat loss, but isn’t the main cause for it.

Diet is.

You could workout as often or as hard as you want, but if your diet is rubbish your weight’s gonna be pretty rubbish too. On the flip side if your diet is on point it’s 100% possible to lose weight with zero working out. Not that I advocate it cos obviously a balance of both would be ideal, but nevertheless possible.

I know that for a fact not just cos of the literature, but also cos I did it.

I lost over 50kg with zero workouts.

I’m pretty sure if you’re reading this letter you’ve familiar with a lot of the fundamentals and concepts I share here about losing weight. I’m sure you’re familiar with me hammering down that diet is key, and exercise is a bonus. Today I wanna dig into that bonus.

Let’s talk about workouts.

Specifically, let’s talk about what kind of workout you should choose to compliment your fat loss journey.

I know it may sound like exercise isn’t important at all, but it still is in the grand scheme of things in terms of health and well being. You can definitely tackle them one at a time like I did (diet first, then add on workout later) or do them together and enjoy the benefits both at the same time. I did it ‘one at a time’ not cos it was some shortcut or anything, I did it cos I had no idea what I was doing back then and what I was doing was working so I was terrified that by adding workouts into my routine I’d mess everything up.

Kinda the “don’t fix what ain’t broke’ thought process.

Back then I told myself “I’ll start working out as soon as I hit my weight goal.”

And I did. The very next day.

Looking back I can understand why I did things the way I did, but if I were to do the journey all over again with everything I know today, I’d definitely include some kind of regular workout in my routine.

The first workout I chose to pursue after hitting my weight goal was bodyweight workouts. My mindset was simple. I knew that whatever I chose had to be something I can be consistent with. Bodyweight workouts needed zero equipment so I’d have zero excuses to not do a quick workout no matter where I was even during travel or vacation.

I started with doing a simple 20-30min routine everyday.

I followed a simple template from startbodyweight dot com where it had of 6-8 exercises and different progressions of them depending on my fitness level. There were squats, pull ups, handstand pushups, leg raises, pushups, dips, horizontal pulls and planks. I followed the template for a couple of months. I forgot if I did it every single day or if I took Sundays off, but I was definitely at it regularly and being consistent with it since it only took 20-30min of my day maximum.

After a few months I started to hit a stuck point.

I was starting to get into advance versions of all those exercises and I felt that my technique was holding me back. Making bodyweight workouts harder wasn’t as simple as adding weight to a bar, it usually required a whole new version of the exercise. Thing is working on technique could take weeks & months of hours of dedication which honestly I just wasn’t willing to commit. I didn’t want to be some gymnastics bro, I just wanted to do some form of resistance training where I can easily increase the resistance week after week, month after month.

So then I turned to google.

I was on a quest to find the easiest exercises that I could perform at home that would hit most or all muscle groups. I’ll openly admit it here, I was never a workout fanatic. I mean you give me a choice of netflix & chill versus hit the gym with zero health consequences, I’ll chill all day!

I looked into everything I could do at home from yoga, to pilates, to TRX etc, I was willing to to purchase simple equipment for home cos I knew being able to do the workout at home would be my key to consistency. I’ve been through the whole gym thing back in the day when I was 123kg. I remember having a mental fight with myself each time I was packing my gym bag on whether to skip the day or not. I’d look up at the sky hoping it looked darker than expected, looked at my calendar trying to find things I have to do so didn’t have to go to the gym.

I’ve been there. It was a constant struggle.

So this time around when figuring out what workouts to do, for me I knew I had to be doing it at home if I wanted to cut all my bullshit and have a chance at consistency.

That’s when I came across powerlifting.

Back then I had no idea what powerlifting was, I mean I’ve heard of the term, wasn’t sure what it was all about. The deeper I looked into it, the more I loved what I was seeing. Powerlifting is a competitive sport based on 3 lifts: Squat, bench press, deadlift. That’s it, 3 exercises. Best news was these 3 exercises basically hit all muscles.

My personal goal for workouts back then wasn’t to become big or strong or anything, I just wanted the most bang for my buck exercise-wise to stay healthy. I know writing this now that you need to add extra exercises to supplement those 3 big lifts if muscle or strength is the goal, but back then it wasn’t something I cared about.

The great thing for me about powerlifting was that all I had to focus on was mastering the technique of 3 exercises, and from there making the lift more difficult is merely adding on weight unlike bodyweight workouts where the advanced exercises relied a lot on other skills like balance and core strength and there wasn’t a reliable way to merely “add weights”.

A friend back then was competing in powerlifting competitions so I was lucky to be able to pick his brain on how to start my new workout journey. Back then I was skin & bones. Hit my weight goal, had visible abs, but looked more skeleton rather than anything like Men’s Health covers. My friend told me to start with dumbbells. Just buy adjustable dumbbells from home and work on squat, bench and deadlifts from there.

From there (2017) my lifting journey started. From 2 adjustable dumbbells to a squat rack with barbells today.

I don’t think I’ve ever shared how I started my workout journey in such detail, but I hope it helps you figure out what kind of workout you want to pursue during your weight loss journey. Everyone has different goals, everyone has different preferences. It’s impossible for me to recommend a workout to you without knowing details to your lifestyle so that’s something you have to slowly think about yourself.

There is no universal right or wrong exercise. It’s just got to be right for you personally.

What led me to lifting weights was my pursuit of looking for the “easiest” workouts for health (also cos I got stuck with bodyweight workouts), I didn’t choose this cos it’s superior in any shape or form. I chose it cos it fit my lifestyle and goals. More importantly, I kinda do enjoy it. There’s a zen to being alone with iron for a couple of hours a week. Put the headphones on, zone out the world, just me and the iron.

Kinda fulfilling.

There is no “best workout”. Stop looking for it.

“Best” is whatever you enjoy and can still see yourself doing 5 years from now. “Best” is based on your goals. Not everyone wants to be a bodybuilder on stage, not everyone wants to lift 300kg off the ground. Not everyone wants to do flips and the splits.

Everyone’s different.

Workout based on your true goals and desires.

Don’t worry if you choose an exercise and only a few months later realize you don’t like it or can’t continue for whatever reasons (like me with bodyweight workouts). It’s no big deal, you tried and it didn’t work out and now you know. 

Move on and try something new.

The goal of picking the right workout for you is to find something that you can stick to. Basketball, badminton, football, dance, skating, swimming, running, climbing, hiking, ping pong, yoga, pilates, weight lifting, wrestling, bjj, MMA etc. all are great choices.

There is no wrong answer.

Hope this helps!

Any questions you have feel free to ask! Would be more than happy to help!

—Po