There is a popular proverb I have always remembered ever since I was a young child. One day at school, we were shown a spectacular photo of an iceberg in its entirety. Its tiny peak poked out of the surface of the sea, while the huge majority of its icy mass floated in the dark ocean waters below.

There is usually so much more to any story than meets the eye, and what better natural object than the iceberg to illustrate this intriguing concept. “Only the tip of the iceberg”, they say. Indeed, but where do the icebergs float in the exercise and fitness realm?

Nowadays, during any discussion on exercise and lifestyle, I cannot help but cast a thought back to that memorable day sitting in a primary school classroom staring in awe at that chilling, natural phenomenon.

Chilling indeed, because it seems we fitness professionals have far less influence over the lifestyles of our clients than we sometimes like to think. The programmes we write and the sessions we supervise or assist are only the tip of the proverbial lifestyle iceberg. The basic fact of the matter is: clients spend a lot more time without us than they do with us.

There are 168 hours in the week. Personally, these days I’m lucky if I spend even just three of those wearing my weightlifting shoes. An avid fitness enthusiast might spend five or more hours of the week in the gym, while competitive athletes will typically spend 10 or more.

Even for a national calibre athlete, 10 or more hours spent training are still a tiny percentage of the total amount of time that makes up a whole week. So what of the remaining 150+ hours?

The choices we make during our time outside the gym can have a crucial impact on the results of the time we spend in it. They can enhance those results or completely cripple them. Even the most complex and carefully crafted programmes can draw the short straw if built upon an unhealthy lifestyle.

The critical lifestyle factors we must consider here include eating habits, activity levels, stress levels and sleeping habits. You might compare them to pillars. Strengthen your pillars and your house will stand firm, neglect them and your house will crumble.

Whatever your goal, eating habits, first and foremost, will have a significant impact upon the effectiveness of your exercise regimen. If you want to lose fat, then sugary foods will chip away at this pillar. High-fibre and high-protein alternatives on the other hand, spread over an overall low-calorie plan, are your steel reinforcements.

Conversely, if you’re trying to gain muscle, then you will need to ensure your calorie intake is high. However much iron you haul in the gym, your muscles simply won’t respond if the calories required to produce additional muscle mass are not there. Some say muscles are built in the kitchen, and this isn’t at all far from the truth.

Our next factor is daily activity. If you’re trying to lose weight, activity levels throughout your daily routine will influence how many calories you burn on a continuous basis. The more active you are outside your sessions, the more fat you will lose.

Little things, like walking more and taking the stairs whenever you can, will go a long way towards helping achieve your goals. The opposite is true if you are a competitive athlete or attempting to gain weight. The more rest you get, the more you will recover between sessions and the harder you can train. Any decision you make that reduces your physical workload will benefit you.

Next is stress. You can be sure excess stress levels will harm your results, whatever you are aiming for. Stress disturbs your focus inside the gym during your workouts themselves, and triggers the release of catabolic stress hormones the rest of the time that wreak havoc on your body systems.

The choices we make during our time outside the gym can have a crucial impact on the results of the time we spend in it

This increased vulnerability puts you at higher risk of overtraining, which could lead to sickness or injury over the long term. Even over the short term, attempting to train while distracted by significant worries could result in silly, bad decisions and stupid mistakes.

You might say that a significant portion of your 168 weekly hours are actually spent asleep, so how could these possibly affect your results? Believe it or not, the quality and quantity of your sleep is also critical.

If you’re getting less than eight hours of sleep per night, you are losing out on precious recuperation, particularly if you are a competitive athlete. The body repairs and rebuilds at night, but only during deep sleep. So even if you are getting your minimum of eight hours, if it’s light or interrupted sleep, you’re still selling yourself short.

And finally, smoking and alcohol will sabotage your efforts, however hard you train. Drinking alcohol after a session is a sure way to dehydrate and delay recovery. Alcohol is high in calorific value and also tends to affect sleep, so the problemis compounded in more waysthan one.

So, however much time you spend in the gym and however hard you work while you’re there, remember it’s just the tip of the iceberg if you don’t reinforce those pillars of healthy living with good habits outside the gym.

matthew.muscat.inglott@mcast.edu.mt