Ten Hard Truths About Exercise You Need to Hear (and Actually Understand)

23 Apr

We live in a world that overcomplicates the simple and oversimplifies the complex—especially when it comes to training and exercise. One week it’s “this one trick to torch belly fat,” and the next it’s a 15-minute TikTok “shred” that promises six-pack abs by Saturday.

But real progress doesn’t care about trends. It comes from embracing uncomfortable truths. The kind of truths that won’t go viral, but will actually make you better—mentally and physically.

Here are ten of them. No fluff. Just reality.

1. No Exercise Is Inherently Dangerous

Let’s get this one straight: the barbell squat isn’t dangerous. Neither is the deadlift, the overhead press, or even the dreaded burpee. Movements don’t injure people—misapplied intensity, poor recovery, and too much volume do.

What’s “dangerous” is ignoring context. Doing too much, too soon. Or pushing hard without sleep, food, or mobility. The human body is absurdly adaptable, but it still needs progressive overload, not reckless overload.

So instead of fearing exercises, learn how to dose them properly and effectively. And if you’re not sure how—ask someone who knows.

2. There Are No ‘Best’ Exercises

Still chasing the mythical “optimal” workout? Let it go. There is no universal gold-standard movement for everyone, everywhere, at all times.

The best exercises are:

Ones you can do with good effort and good form.
Ones that fit your body, your goals, and your lifestyle.
Ones you’ll actually do, consistently.

A beautifully programmed Front and rear foot elevated split squat won’t do anything for you if you skip leg day. An elite deadlift setup won’t help if you’re only training once a month.

Focus less on "best"—focus more on done well, done often.

3. Exercise Is Not a Punishment

If you think of training as something you have to do to “fix” your body, burn off last night’s pizza, or earn your rest day, you're already off track.

Exercise is not punishment—it’s a privilege.
Not everyone gets the chance to move their body, sweat, and challenge themselves. If you're able to train—whether it’s a walk, a lift, or a full-blown conditioning session—you’re already ahead.

Change the mindset from "I have to exercise" to "I get to exercise." It makes all the difference.

4. You Don’t Need to Be Pain-Free to Train

Here’s an inconvenient truth: pain is complex, and often unavoidable. But it’s not always a red light to stop training.

Can you train with pain? Sometimes—yes, and often it helps. The key is smart modification, not avoidance. Avoiding all discomfort creates fragility. Leaning into the right amount of challenge builds resilience.

Don’t wait to be in perfect condition before you move. You’ll be waiting forever.

And if it hurts too much, then focus more on what you CAN do, instead of focusing on what you can’t do.

5. Consistency Beats Perfection. Always.

The most effective training plan is not the one with the most supersets, the newest equipment, or the fanciest periodization model. It’s the one you stick to.

Stop chasing the “perfect” workout. Instead:

Show up one to three times a week.
Move your body when you said you would.
Do something—even if it’s not much.

Consistency compounds. Perfect doesn’t.

6. Your Technique Probably Isn’t the Problem

Technique is important—but let’s stop pretending it’s the only reason you’re plateauing, hurting, or not seeing progress.

What matters more:

Load management: How much you lift, how often, how hard.
Recovery: Your sleep, food, hydration, stress.
Adherence: Are you doing the thing… regularly?

We love to blame technique because it feels fixable. But often, it’s just not the root issue. It's a detail—not the whole story.

7. You Can’t Out-Train a Shitty Lifestyle

Look, I don’t care how hard you crushed your HIIT class—you’re not undoing four hours of sleep, a weekend bender, and a desk job with zero movement.

Training is a pillar of health. But it’s just one of many. You need to address the full picture:

Nutrition
Recovery
Sleep
Stress
Habits

Training doesn’t save you from poor choices. It supports the good ones.

8. Strength Is Never a Weakness

I can’t stress this enouph! The benefits of strength go way beyond the gym. Being stronger makes everything easier:

Carrying your kid.
Lifting your groceries.
Aging with dignity and capability.

And let’s be honest: most people aren’t too strong. They’re too sedentary. They avoid effort. They might fear the barbell.

Now flip it around—imagine being weak.
Imagine how fragile that makes you.
How much harder life becomes when you can’t rely on your own body to do basic things. That’s not just inconvenient—it’s dangerous and irresponsible.

Strength training isn’t just for athletes—it’s for life.
Lift more. It’ll make you harder to break, physically and mentally.

9. Cardio Doesn’t Kill Your Gains

Let’s retire the myth once and for all: cardio does not shrink your muscles or steal your strength. That narrative has been pushed for years by people who confuse poor programming with poor outcomes.

What cardio can do—when smartly programmed—is:

Improve your heart health.
Expand your work capacity, so you can train harder and longer.
Increase your resilience to stress, both physically and mentally.

Sure—if you’re marathon training and under-eating, yes, you might lose some mass. But that’s not because of cardio. That’s because you're not balancing your inputs and outputs.

10. Discipline Beats Motivation Every Time

Motivation is great when it shows up—but let’s be honest, it’s flaky.
Discipline is the ability to show up regardless of how you feel. That’s what makes you unstoppable.

No one is motivated every day.
But the people who make real progress?
They train anyway.
They move on tired days, on busy days, on “I-don’t-feel-like-it” days.

And here’s the thing: consistency is hard—not necessarily because doing something regularly is hard, but because doing something hard, consistently, is too much for many people.
That’s the trap.

So let’s reframe it.

You don’t need to hit 100% effort every time.
Not every training session needs to be your best.
What matters is that you show up. Again and again. That’s where progress comes from.

Progress isn’t about perfection. It’s about presence.
And that mindset changes everything.

Final Thoughts

The world doesn't need more gimmicks or quick fixes.
It needs more people embracing these truths:

That effort matters more than optimization.
That strength and movement are privileges.
That showing up, even imperfectly, beats staying still.

So show up. Lift heavy. Breathe hard. Do the work.

And if you’re not sure where to start—or how to move forward—I’m here to help.

Julius Hindø