Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie

[Shaolin]

Good read

http://archive.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie/6

[bawang]

so the answer is to do skwaats. lots and lots of skwaats. i already knew that.

[JamesC]

*waits for the arrival of Wenshu*

[wenshu]

*waits for the arrival of Wenshu*

http://gifsoup.com/imager.php?id=2113852&t=o
What?

I skimmed that article last week when I saw it on a link aggregator; for a trend piece in a lifestyle magazine it's actually pretty **** good. Anything that talks **** on Xfit and fad dieting is good in my book. He's a little late to the Starting Strength party but the mountain sports, joint stability, GAS and Soviet sports science citations please me greatly.

I actually joined a crossfit gym last month, it's in walking distance from the office and has bumper plates so I can squat on my lunch break. But it freaks me the eff out cause the chicks there are all more diesel and have smaller boobs than the dudes. (and they think a 135 clean and jerk is eleet)

[JamesC]

I didn't actually read it. I saw the Starting Strength and Practical Programming recommendations and immediately assumed it was another "sacrifice everything in pursuit of squat numbers" article.

Maybe I should read it lol

[Frost]

nice article always good to see people talking about getting stronger in the gym, seems a strange notion these days to some gym goers i know

[Scott R. Brown]

Good read

http://archive.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie/6

Shouldn't the title be: For Those Who Follow the Fads, Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie?

Cuz there was not much new in that article I wasn't doing in 1976!

[sanjuro_ronin]

I think the question should be asked:
Why would someone that exercises NOT won't to get as strong as possible?
Note I did not say as bog or as muscular as possible, but as strong as possible.
Strength is the one attribute that we use everyday.
We use it to lift our sorry carcases out of bed and get moving, we use it when we do groceries, do yard work, shovel snow, play with the kids, pretty much anything.
The fact is that if there was one physical attribute that every person needs more of, it is strength.
IMO, in list of "priorities" for the "every day person":
Strength
speed
flexibility
endurance.
(although depending on what a person does, flexibility and endurance can switch places).

[Shaolin]

Shouldn't the title be: For Those Who Follow the Fads, Everything You Know About Fitness is a Lie?

Cuz there was not much new in that article I wasn't doing in 1976!

You're probably right, but most people don't have your extensive knowledge and experience on the subject and the average gym goer does follow a fad training methods.

[YouKnowWho]

Strength
speed
flexibility
endurance.


When you get older, balance - not easy to fall will become important. Falling down is the biggest risk among old people. I have always believed that if you have good single leg balance, you can save yourself a lot of problem in your old age.

[Scott R. Brown]

You're probably right, but most people don't have your extensive knowledge and experience on the subject and the average gym goer does follow a fad training methods.

This is very true!;)

[Syn7]

more importantly, standing on one leg with eyes closed - this trains proprioception of the ankle, which is the single most important defense against falling when there is a rapid displacement of the center of mass: when the muscles around ur ankles (gastrocs, peroneals, tibialis) feel a force that has sufficient acceleration and velocity to move the center of mass outside of the base of support, they should contract to counteract that immediately (called an ankle strategy) - if they fail to do so in time, then u have to either stick ur hips out or take a step (hip strategy and stepping strategy respectively), which creates more chances of falling; most people start progressively losing this ability in adulthood, and so start to over-rely on vision, which is the second system that keeps u in balance (the thrid being vestibular, but that's relatively much slower than the first two in terms of reaction time, so really isn't a factor with accommodating quick perturbations); this works fine for as long as your vision is unimpaired; the problems begin when people loose visual capacity, and now their proprioception is gone as well; because of this, they fell unsteady, resulting in a fear of falling - and statistically it's been shown that fear of falling actually increases the likelihood of a fall!
so by training single leg standing with eyes closed, u r eliminating visual input and relying solely on proprioception; doing this for at least 10 seconds per foot once a day should be enough to keep it trained (even if u did it less frequently, I think it wud b fine); also, doing it on an unstable surface would be even better, as this really engages the ankle muscles in a very robust manner;

I have most patients do this, and since I have to show people how to do it, it gives me a chance to do it fairly regularly as well



Very useful. Thankyou!

[ryanh]

Good article, thank you for sharing.

[SevenStar]

more importantly, standing on one leg with eyes closed - this trains proprioception of the ankle, which is the single most important defense against falling when there is a rapid displacement of the center of mass: when the muscles around ur ankles (gastrocs, peroneals, tibialis) feel a force that has sufficient acceleration and velocity to move the center of mass outside of the base of support, they should contract to counteract that immediately (called an ankle strategy) - if they fail to do so in time, then u have to either stick ur hips out or take a step (hip strategy and stepping strategy respectively), which creates more chances of falling; most people start progressively losing this ability in adulthood, and so start to over-rely on vision, which is the second system that keeps u in balance (the thrid being vestibular, but that's relatively much slower than the first two in terms of reaction time, so really isn't a factor with accommodating quick perturbations); this works fine for as long as your vision is unimpaired; the problems begin when people loose visual capacity, and now their proprioception is gone as well; because of this, they fell unsteady, resulting in a fear of falling - and statistically it's been shown that fear of falling actually increases the likelihood of a fall!
so by training single leg standing with eyes closed, u r eliminating visual input and relying solely on proprioception; doing this for at least 10 seconds per foot once a day should be enough to keep it trained (even if u did it less frequently, I think it wud b fine); also, doing it on an unstable surface would be even better, as this really engages the ankle muscles in a very robust manner;

I have most patients do this, and since I have to show people how to do it, it gives me a chance to do it fairly regularly as well

absolutely. whenever I train older people who are new to working out, I begin them with progressive balance training. most people take balance for granted because they walk without falling and have their vision.

[David Jamieson]

Everybody is different, but there is truth to having a diet that is correct and optimum for you.

What is optimum for you may not necessarily be true of someone else.
Avoid taking dietary advice from a fitness coach. For the most part, they don't know what they are talking about in that regard.

Don't go by diets that other people create etc. If you really want to know what exact diet is optimum fr you, see a clinical dietician. they can design a diet for you that is about your body, your blood, your cycles etc etc.

Fitness is practically a no brainer and this is not complex either to gather and implement a routine that will help you gain strength, stability, flexibilty etc and the by-product is well being.

Cardio is good for stamina and endurance, resistances is good for strength and stability, and the side work that aids in the fine points will vary in value from user to user.

People that over complicate it are generally trying to sell you something.