There’s a story of the most foremost and stalwart sahabah, Amr Ibn Al-Aas, famously known for helping spread Islam in Egypt, meeting with the Prophet SAW.

Amr RA had an intense regimen of spiritual practices, but found himself unable to balance that with his duties as a newly wed husband. In order to appease both husband and wife, the Prophet SAW sat down with Amr RA and asked how often he would fast and complete the Quran. The response was almost unfathomable, as Amr RA revealed he would fast by day and complete the Quran by night. 

While applauding Amr RA for his steadfastness, the Prophet SAW advised him to scale this way back; fast only three days out of the month and complete the Quran just once within that same time frame.

Amr RA, befuddled, countered that this was way too little and he could do much more. So the Prophet SAW advised him to perform the fast of Prophet Dawood - alternating days of fasting and only making khatam once a week.

Many of you might be familiar with this part of the tale, but what gets left out is much later in life Amr RA would reflect and eventually admit to himself that maybe, he should have taken the Prophet SAW’s up on his initial proposition.

I’m reminded of my own amateur career in sports, where as Coach Tony Holler from FTC puts it, “burning the steak,” was common practice. Coaches, relying on conventional, and at times dated, information, resorted to a lot of volume and intensity hoping this would make us faster. But when I started studying and getting into the literature about speed and plyometric coaching, it was a complete paradigm shift from what I had been used to. The gains actually came from doing just enough to increase capacity, and then letting the body recover through sleep and proper hydration/nutrition.

I often see this type of pattern occur whenever I receive new members/clients to one of my classes who want to throw everything at the wall on the first day. And this is great, in terms of their willingness to train; Mashallah everyone shows such tremendous zeal and effort. But like myself back in the day, they too have certain preconceived notions on what programming should look like to achieve their goals.

Usually the prescription, as Amr RA received from the Prophet SAW, and in my own experiences, is giving out the proper dose while keeping things as simple as possible.

I Fear Not The Man Who Has Practiced 10,000 Kicks

Allah SWT stated that the most beloved actions a believer can do are consistent good deeds even if they are small. 

In the fitness world, the latest science also echoes this universal truth. Did you know that just four minutes of rigorous exercise spread throughout the day has shown to be an effective preventative measure against cancer? Or that running/jogging 75 minutes a week, which equals out to about 10 minutes a day, increases your lifespan?

While of course the goal is to get to at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week, most people can’t fathom it takes such little. If someone hears they only need four minutes a day, their subconscious mind will find a way to believe that’s not enough.

But you have to start where you are. Many of our readers are parents, caregivers, entrepreneurs, etc., and finding a full half hour/hour block or even getting to the gym can be difficult to do. And obviously when people are busy, outside of just fitness, seek the most optimal, time-saving method to achieve whatever goal they have.  But in the time spent looking for perfection, especially with the abundance of information on social media, this usually sends people down a number of rabbit holes, eventually landing them with nothing but inaction.

The author of the fantastic book ‘Atomic Habits’ James Clear refers to the above phenomena of excess preparation or research, as ‘motion.’ The opposite of motion, which Clear refers to as action, involves actually doing the thing. Motion, Clear says, can be important but it is often a way for us to feel like we’re making progress.

To make actions simple to do, Clear suggests the ‘Two-minute rule,’ which is “when you start a new habit it should take less than two-minutes to do.” Any action then can be scaled down, where according to Clear “‘Run three miles’ becomes just put your running shoes on or walk just ten minutes. He aptly points out people will often think getting excited about walking for ten minutes or reading a page, is strange. But, the point is to keep showing up.

If you keep your workouts simple, for example stepups, bridges, pushups, pullups, squatting (standing from sitting), and planks are all an amazing foundation to start with, where doing just a few of these exercises on a daily basis creates a ‘gateway habit’ as Clear says. Obviously the end goal is more than just a few minutes a day, but building the foundation is paramount in increasing your capacity .

You might be thinking, “AbdAllah, I’m a total beginner and even with all this I’m not sure how to put it all together.”

The Jammat of Fitness

Well that’s where it’s good to abide by the old proverb ‘‘if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’ 

It can feel somewhat uncomfortable to ask for help when you’re a beginner. From our earliest days in school, even when people wanted to know something, just the thought of raising your hand in class brought feelings of anxiety and insecurity. I hold to the idea that so much of this is learned and programmed into us from early childhood, where seeking knowledge seems like a blow to one’s self confidence.

It’s good to remember however the story of Musa AS when he asked Allah SWT on who the most knowledgeable believer is. Allah SWT’s response to this inquiry was ‘He who learns knowledge from others, adding to his own knowledge. Perhaps he will receive a word that either guides or wards off from him destruction.’

For Musa AS that person would be Khidr AS. For the average person or an aspiring athlete, that might be linking up with an experienced trainer or someone with a wider knowledge base. Unlike Musa AS who had to carry around a fish waiting for Khidr AS to show up, we thankfully can find the appropriate person for this job much more easily.

It’s important to understand alongside the knowledge enlisting a trainer can bring, you also mitigate the potential harms when trying to do advanced exercises or even simple ones that add weight to the spine.

A study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania looked at weight-lifting related injuries over the course of 20 years in adolescents, and found a total of over 500,000 occurrences. Twenty thousand of them occurred in one year. Most of these injuries were due to improper supervision and poor lifting technique from a lack of education. 

Beyond safety risks however, there’s a lot of gains you leave on the table when you decide to go it alone. 

Did you know that when it comes to lifting with supervision and without, a study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning found that under the watchful eye of a trusted personal trainer, athletes selected heavier loads and pushed more weight for their one-rep maxes on a variety of lifts compared to those doing the same without a personal trainer?

A related study provided insight into why this type of supervised training proved superior to unsupervised. It “may be related to differential psychological factors due to constant supervision in the supervised group (SUP). Specifically, the presence of a personal trainer during supervised training may have enhanced the competitiveness (i.e., performing for an audience) and external motivation (i.e., verbal support) for the supervised group (SUP) subjects.”

Of course it can be daunting to start with a personal trainer straight away. A good first step might simply be getting together with a group of people who have the requisite fitness knowledge you’re seeking, or consulting with a personal trainer such as myself, both of which have great benefits both physically and mentally.

A 2017 study from the Department of Psychological Sciences at Northern Arizona University found that people engaging in group exercise found them “much more interested in supporting their fellow exercisers (e.g., camaraderie and support) during their group workouts than being concerned about self-image goals (e.g., sense of competition, physical appearance). Supporting others while working out was positively related to intrinsic motivation.” The study concluded that feelings such as intrinsic motivation, as they relate to exercise, are crucial for a person continuing to exercise in the long term. 

So once the basics are established, a few pointers suggested and you’ve gained comfortability with the way things work, then if you’re feeling up to it, absolutely go for a personal trainer who fits your desired goals.

Closing

Simplicity and support go hand-in-hand.  

For example, dhikr. One of the most accessible and beneficial practices you can do as a Muslim from wherever you are in the world to accrue hasanah. 

But even such a simple routine may go unfulfilled without a touch of guidance. There’s that famous story of a man who performed dhikr his entire life and found he wasn’t gaining what he wanted from it. Yet one day, when a lone passerby heard him making dhikr and suggested a correction, it was only then the miracle he sought finally happened.

 No sheikh, no teacher, just someone passing by offering a helping hand.

Remember, simple doesn’t mean easy. It will be difficult at times, but not always. Allah SWT created an Ummah, a collective to help support one another along the way.

As the saying goes, ‘Reach one, teach one.’

I hope this helps as you begin your journey.

P.S. If you’re looking to chat about your specific fitness goals or anything else, feel free to schedule a consultation here.

Salaam!