I noticed the similarities between working out and investing in stocks a long time ago.  I have been investing and learning about investing ALMOST as long as I have been lifting weights.  I had the benefit of a very intelligent grandfather who had the foresight to teach me some basics about investing and helped me get my feet wet by looking up the current daily closing share prices of the various stocks that he held, beginning when I was in high school.  The dividends he earned on his investments single-handedly paid my tuition through college.


Exercising and Investing share many common principles.  Financial Advisors generally like to begin with the whole “what type of investor are you?” method of helping you decide which investment vehicle to put your money in.  Similarly, the question “what type of athlete or fitness enthusiast are you?” will generally be asked by a Personal Trainer and will help determine which type of exercise you might want to invest your time and energy in.  You INVEST your time and energy in a particular type of exercise and activity and hope for a return on that investment of time and energy, just like you invest money in a stock and hope that you will see a return on that money.

Choose wisely.  Those of us who have even limited experience of investing in stocks have almost definitely had the experience of receiving a “hot tip”.  A “hot tip” in investing is the advice to buy a particular stock because the brother’s cousin’s mother’s sister of that person you are talking to supposedly has an inside track on a company or stock that is about to explode in value.  Nine times out of ten, you will LOSE money on a “hot tip”.  “Hot tips” are not a great way to build your investment portfolio.  Exercise is a lot like this too, you “hear” information from this person or that person who appears to have the inside track on the secret training tips and super diet methods that will make you fit and lean.  But this type of information does not work out so well either.  “Hearing” what you should do for exercises and activities at the gym is not a great way to develop your training program.




How you spend your time in the gym should be determined by what your needs are and by what types of returns you are expecting.  If you invest in a dividend bearing stock, you can reasonably expect to receive quarterly dividend payments.  Even better if the stock price goes up (appreciates) during the same period!  If you leave your money in cash on the sidelines, that’s pretty safe, but you are probably only going to earn a return of 5% of your principal or less during that time.  If you go to the gym and lift weights, you can reasonably expect to gain some strength.  Even better if that strength gaining activity stimulates new muscle growth and helps remove some body fat.  If you do not invest any of your time weight training, but instead play it safe by just, “getting started with cardio”, you will still get a health effect, but you will not significantly improve your body composition with this “safe” investment alone.  And remember- not all investments are guaranteed.  Just like you need to do your research and pick the best stocks, you need to do your research and pick the best format for your exercise.  In investments, we generally have 3 majors classes of investment: stocks, bonds, and commodities.  Although investors in stocks, bonds, or commodities are all looking for the same thing (profits), each one of these investment vehicles has a specific nature and serve a particular function.




Each investor will choose one, or a combination of, investment(s) that best suit his/her financial needs and goals.  Investing in bonds is quite different that investing in stocks.  Investing in stocks is quite different from investing in commodities.  Depending on the type of investment vehicle, or vehicles, you choose, you will have a particular experience specific to those investments.  Hopefully, you enjoy the ride and you arrive at the financial outcome you had envisioned.  In exercise and training, we have 3 primary concerns: anaerobic conditioning (weights), aerobic conditioning (cardio), and the nutrition program.  How you invest your time and energy in each of these compartments will specifically determine your fitness and health outcome.  For example, if you invest all your time and energy on only food preparation and meal construction, you will receive a specific type of return from that investment of time and energy.  Just as you would expect a different, specific type of return from investing all your time and energy in weight training, and none invested in cardio or food prep and meal construction.

In exercise, as in investing, spend your time and energy in a way that maximizes your return on investment in the long term and make it specific to your own unique needs.