8 Hot Takes About Fitness

Some of these might be a little controversial, but science has my back

Jun 11, 2026

Hi! If you’re new here, I’m Naomi. I’ve been teaching movement for 21 years and writing about all things movement, fitness, wellness, and health for nearly as long.

It is getting harder and harder to make a living as a fitness professional. I actually make less now than I did in my very first year of teaching, in 2005. The same thing is true of writing — I have 30% fewer paid subscribers today than I did 1 year ago. This piece required research and time writing, which I try to squeeze in around teaching my classes, working with clients, writing additional freelance articles, and raising my kids. In this case, while sitting on the couch watching movies with a sick kid.

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I’ve been working in the fitness and movement world for a long time. In that time, I’ve learned a lot about what is important when it comes to movement and what is not. These 8 ideas about health and fitness, particularly in regard to aging, are fundamental to how I teach, but also how I view movement generally.

Some of them are controversial, particularly if you are still operating from more traditional ideas in fitness and health.

However, all of them are backed by the most recent science. And all, in my opinion, make movement more accessible and more welcoming to more people, which is essential.

1. Consistency is more powerful than motivation.

People are always looking for the magical thing that will motivate them to workout. The problem is that motivation is fickle. You can’t count on motivation because there are going to be days or times you just don’t want to work out.

And while there are plenty of reasons why you maybe shouldn’t exercise that are legit (physical illness, exhaustion, recovering from surgery, unavoidable life stuff), most of the time it’s what you’d call a lack of motivation.

That’s why consistency is a more realistic option than counting on motivation.

Consistency is more reliable.

Are other things important when it comes to movement? Sure. Maintaining healthy bones and increasing muscle mass is critical to aging well, so I’m always going to encourage folks to add strength training to their movement practice.

But as a fitness professional, I’d rather someone walk everyday for 3 or 4 miles than go to a 60 minute yoga class once a week or occasionally lift weights.

When you are consistent with movement you are less likely to skip days because motivation fails and if you do have to skip a day or 2 or 5 (for the reasons listed above), you’re more likely to restart.

Here’s the critical thing: when you stop moving regularly and intentionally in service of health, that’s when you start to experience those unpleasant side effects of aging (loss of muscle mass, stiff joints, low back pain, loss of mobility).

When you are consistent with movement, you are more likely to avoid those things.

I could write an entire essay about the benefits of daily movement especially given that there are lots of people who think daily is excessive. This is probably my most controversial take on this list, among fitness pros and non-fitness pros alike. But I stand by it.

2. Longer workouts are not better (daily workouts are better)

It’s almost like 1 & 2 are the same thing, different flavor – because they are.

It is better to workout for 10 minutes every day than 30 minutes twice a week. There are so many reasons why. Here are a few:

First, shorter workouts are simply more accessible. This is especially true if you already struggle with that pesky, unreliable thing known as motivation. It’s also true if you are someone who chooses to workout or move your body at home vs a gym or studio. This is true if you have to squeeze in movement around various obstacles in your life like caring for children or elderly parents.

Second, shorter workouts are simply easier to commit to while also laying the foundation for more, if and when you have more capacity. If you build consistency into your life in small chunks, you build the habit of daily movement in addition to the physicality of movement.

For years, I did very short workouts because it was all I truly had time for when my kids were small – and I am a fitness professional. Now that they’re bigger and can feed themselves in the morning, I’m able to do longer workouts (30-40 minutes) in part because I built those shorter workouts into my schedule first. My kids know I exercise in the morning. Sometimes they even join me. But I also kept building the skill of exercising – lifting weights, running, yoga. I just did it in smaller increments. Now I can do a lot more, in part because I have more time and more capacity, but also because I laid the foundation for years with workouts that challenged my body in a shorter timeframe.

Lastly, research indicates that shorter workouts are just as effective as longer workouts – if not more effective, in some cases. It’s not about the length, but how you’re moving your body and what your goals are. You can get a lot done in a short amount of time.

The takeaway is that the best workout is the one that you will actually do. For many people, that is shorter workouts.

3. Fragility is not a given as you age

I am so so so tired of people saying things like, “No matter what you do, you lose muscle mass. It’s not like doing all the things is going to stop that, because it doesn’t. So that’s a fact. That’s an opportunity for acceptance that your body softens.”

I am referencing a quote by a well known dietitian on a popular podcast. While she is not saying explicitly that we become fragile as we age, she is saying that there is nothing we can do to stop the inevitable weakness that comes with age, which is factually inaccurate. In fact we do know of something that will support muscle growth and build strength, as well as increase bone density, even as we age. It’s called strength training. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

Personally, I don’t want my body to soften as I get older, because that means my bones will also soften. I don’t want my bones to soften. That would be pretty terrible. I want to stay strong and capable for as long as possible.

If I can do things that not only slow the decline, but help me move with greater ease, confidence, and strength into my 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s (and older, if I’m lucky), why would I simply accept softness as my only option?

No one is saying you need to participate in triathlons in your 80’s or try to break deadlifting records in your 90’s unless you really really want to.

But I also don’t want to be in my 70’s and shuffling around instead of picking my feet up to avoid falling or struggling to go up and down stairs because it feels too hard.

Staying physically active through consistent (ideally daily) intentional movement, specifically strength training, will help me live a better life as I get older.

Why would I succumb to fragility if being strong is an option?

4. Yoga is not enough (to build strength or healthy bones)

This is a huge debate within the yoga world, but scientifically, there is no debate. Yoga is not sufficient for increasing bone density.

There are many yoga teachers who claim yoga is a complete practice. In the past week alone, I have seen 2 yoga teachers I know personally who have made this claim. There are some yoga teachers who have written books about Yoga for Osteoporosis and even done self-funded scientific studies attempting to prove that yoga does, in fact, build bone. Unfortunately, even their self-funded studies don’t prove what they want proven.

Multiple studies have shown that in order to increase bone density, you need to stress the bones by repeatedly applying enough load to “remodel” those bones. Shorthand: your bones need pressure to grow. And eventually the pressure you apply will no longer be enough, so they will require more.

Yoga cannot do that. Even if you do a ton of chatturangas, eventually your body will adapt to that load.

This isn’t to say that yoga is not a worthwhile movement practice. Yoga is fantastic! It’s just not a “complete practice” that will magically do all of the things your body needs, like building muscle or bone density.

5. Women do not need different workouts from men. Even in perimenopause.

This is Stacey Sims suggesting that women who are in perimenopause or are post menopause should avoid zone 2 cardio (aka steady state cardio) and just sprint instead.

This is also Sims telling women that they must lift heavy if they want to be have healthy bones.

In fact, Sims has built her entire business on the idea that women need different workouts from men and then selling her woman-specific workouts, increasing her own wealth while making many women feel entirely left out because they don’t want to sprint or lift heavy.

She’s also wrong about both zone 2 cardio and lifting heavy.

It’s not just Sims, though. It’s weighted vests marketed to women as an easy option for “weight lifting” while doing things like going to the grocery store or walking your dog. When weighted vests are marketed to men it’s called “rucking” and the goal is not increasing bone density but rather a feat of endurance and survival training.

It’s always a good test to ask, “would this (idea or product) be marketed to men in the same way as it is being marketed to women?”

I don’t think I’ve ever seen “resistance band” leggings sold to men as a way to be healthier or stronger. But they are marketed to me.

6. The shape or size of someone’s body is not an indicator of their health

Someone who is thin is not automatically healthy and someone who is fat is not automatically unhealthy. This type of binary thinking is incredibly problematic. It’s entirely influenced by diet culture and anti-fat bias.

I’ll add to this that weight loss doesn’t automatically make someone healthy, just as gaining weight isn’t necessarily unhealthy.

The size and shape of a body are superficial metrics that don’t indicate health or fitness.

7. Weight Loss isn’t the most important “benefit” of movement

There are many, many benefits to moving your body regularly. I’ve written them out many, many many times — most recently in my article about being a body neutral fitness professional. You can read about all of them there. However, I will quote this one part:

“A regular movement practice is linked with preventing many age-related physical issues. So having a daily or very consistent movement practice is essential for maintaining a higher quality of health as you age.

All of these benefits are pretty great and far superior to weight loss or trying to maintain a smaller body, which can actually have more negative side effects (heart palpitations, dangerously low blood pressure, decreased bone density, decreased muscle mass)..

Lastly, if we’re being scientific, movement isn’t actually the most reliable way to lose weight. So it would also be a fabrication to suggest that doing yoga everyday or pilates or weight lifting would impact how much you weigh, unless you are making other lifestyle changes that involve restricting calories (which I personally do not recommend).”

8. Movement is for every body, but every body can’t easily move

I genuinely believe that movement is for every body. And also there are lots of people who can’t move in certain ways or even at all. I have clients who don’t want to do yoga because they have hypermobility or EDS or other connective tissue conditions that make yoga feel unsafe. There are folks who have POTS who also can’t do yoga or anything that would have them moving quickly from a low position to standing – even things like squats or deadlifts could be destabilizing.

These are just 2 examples, but there are lots more.

The point is that while movement is super important, it isn’t a moral imperative.

In some cases, it’s about finding movement that works.

In other cases, it’s just not possible and that’s ok.

*****

I’m really curious what you think of these ideas. I’m also really curious if there are things you’d add to this list.

I welcome conversation in the comments, even if it is counter to the ideas that I’ve shared here. Friendly, respectful conversation is always welcome.

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