Exercise Intensity: Phoning It In vs. Amping It Up

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Over the years we've led thousands of women through large group exercise classes and private workouts. And we've noticed that there are three distinct types of participants: the Noodles, the Workers, and the Rock Stars. All three types can complete the same workout, but they achieve completely different results based on their effort and attitude.

The Noodles

The Noodles are people who do the bare minimum when they exercise. They "phone it in." While the rest of the class warms up by walking briskly around the track, the Noodles slouch along and complain that they're tired or their knee hurts. They kick and punch half-heartedly during kickboxing class and gossip with their neighbor during spin class. Noodles perform all their push-ups on their knees instead of attempting a few on their toes, and they never lift a dumbbell heavier than five pounds.

Noodles rarely break a sweat, often stop before the workout is over, and are always puzzled that they're not getting results. These are the people who will look you in the eye and exclaim with all sincerity, "I've tried everything and I just can't seem to lose weight!"

The Workers

Workers are the bread and butter of every gym and personal trainer. They show up on time, put in a solid workout, don't complain, and ask intelligent questions. They realize that you don't have to kill yourself to change your body, but understand that effective exercise requires an increased heart rate, a moderate amount of sweat, and pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone.

If Workers had a motto, it would be, "Slow and steady wins the race." And they're right. Excess weight doesn't appear on your body overnight, and it won't vanish that quickly either. Workers tend to lose one to two pounds each week until they reach a healthy weight. Then they make exercise part of their daily routine for the rest of their lives.