Hey guys, I’m trying to work on an essay/course on the purpose of physical exercise and could use your input. What are your personal reasons for going to the gym and training? What helps you stay consistent?

When creating or selecting a workout program, it is important to make sure that it is a well-balanced one. If your goal is to look good, perform better, feel better, move better, you need to make sure you are not neglecting one of these major movement patterns in your training. If you do, it leads to you leaving progress on the table, but worse than that, it can lead to muscle imbalances, movement compensations, and eventually injury. These are the 6 major movement patterns your workout program should include. 1. The Squat (Back squat, front squat, air squat, goblet squat etc.) 2. The Hinge (Deadlift, RDL, single leg deadlift, good mornings, etc.) 3. The Lunge (Body weight Lunge, reverse lunge, knees over toes lunge, weighted lunges, etc.) 4. The Upper Body Press (horizontal and vertical) (Bench, strict press, push-ups, etc.) 5. The Upper Body Pull (horizontal and vertical) (Row, pull-up, lat-pull down, etc.) 6. The loaded carry. (Sandbag carry, farmer's carry, suitcase carry, etc.) If your workout plan doesn't include these movements on a regular or semiregular basis, you are leaving performance, and even aesthetic gains on the table.

What are your alls current fitness goals? Doesn’t have to be anything crazy or specific. I’m just curious what results you’re looking to get from going to the gym and working out.

“On Exercise" by St. Nektarios of Aegina "The aim of exercise is not to produce athletes for the games, but, rather, perfectly formed men capable of any undertaking, for it is well-known that exercise by means of habit renders one more ready for struggles, and more industrious through a familiarity with hard work. Hence, moderation in exercise is required in order to maintain prudence— that is to say, a harmonic balance in the development of the powers of soul and body, so that the former may rule over the body and the latter may readily fulfill the commands it is given."

I didn't have a lot of time for a full on lifting session so I decided to go for some conditioning intervals. 20 minute EMOM (Every minute on the minute) Minute 1: 15 goblet squats Minute 2: 8 strict pull-ups Minute 3: 16 single arm Dumbbell snatches Minute 4: 20 push-ups Repeat x 5 Minute 20: 🥵 I like the EMOM style because it allows you get a lot of volume in a short period of time without driving the intensity to high. I love to use them to practice movements. Today I really wanted to work on good squat form and good pull-up form. Lots of quality reps in a short period of time!