Intelligenti pauca.
Few words suffice for he who understands. If there is one thing about the
fitness industry that I cannot stand it is the overwhelming presence of those
whom espouse pseudo-fitness. What is pseudo-fitness? It is the usage and
proliferation of terms and concepts that sound true but are not. Some terminology
at some point may have had a foundation in sound exercise science, but research
has since proven it to be incorrect or an incomplete picture of what is truly
taking place within the body or during a training session. The problem with this it that such concepts
and terminology have become so commonplace among fitness enthusiasts and
“professionals” that it is commonly accepted as true. This is despite the fact
those in the know (college-educated professionals that are continually pursuing
a continuation of said education) have either stopped using these terms or are
allowing the most recent and validated research to influence personal views
instead of personal views dictating their view of scientific research. Beware
the fitness enthusiast or “professional” whom uses these terms. At best they
are out of touch with recent research leaving them with an incomplete
understanding of the topic they are attempting to explain. At worst they have no clue what they are
talking about and throw around words and concepts in a poor attempt to sound
educated and professional. Here are
eight concepts about fitness that most people misunderstand, misuse, and
misapply.
1. Diet: In its simplest form to diet
simply means to eat. Obviously it has taken on the predominant meaning of
eating less to lose weight (rarely the best way to do it, another topic for
another day). The concept of the diet has two major flaws; the first being that
by having a predetermined end date it is viewed as temporary. Success is not a
temporary pursuit. The second flaw is that it is often considered restrictive
to the point of elimination of all but a few types of food. While this approach
may yield some quick results in the short term, more often than not it leads to
long-term failure. A better approach would be to develop a nutritional program that allows for greater flexibility in food
choices while eliminating the predetermined deadline. When does a nutritional program end? Whenever
the goal is accomplished and one can enter into a permanent state of
maintenance. It does not matter whether the goal is to improve body
composition, weight loss, weight gain, or a performance-based objective. The
program ends when you win and create a lifestyle that keeps you winning.
2. Bulking: Going hand-in-hand with
dieting is the idea that to gain muscle one must “bulk up.” If you ever tried
this it was probably because you heard some muscle-bound-steroid infused
Neanderthal tell you to eat a lot to get bigger, stronger, and faster. You took
this as permission to eat whatever, whenever, and without thought to calorie
consumption or nutritional quality. Mr. Neanderthal got away with committing
genocide at the pizza buffet because of steroids. You got fat. Admit it, you got fat. I did
before I knew better. Building muscle requires consuming more calories than are
necessary for maintaining the status quo.
However, this requires far fewer extra calories than most people
realize. For most people that is only an extra 200-300 calories per day.
Consuming more than that will typically produce as much, or more, body fat gain
as muscle. Eating an extra 1000 calories a day may sound enjoyable but is worth
it to put 30 lbs. and then have to diet off the 20 that came on as fat? Get
your calorie intake right and build
muscle not bulk. It is entirely possible to add muscle to the human body
without adding any extra fat. Successfully doing so has the following symptoms:
heavier weight on the scale; heavier weights lifted in the gym; shirts that fit
tighter through the chest, shoulders, and arms while staying loose around the
stomach; the same or sometimes, a smaller waist. That last one is a key point;
if the waist on your favorite jeans is getting tighter than you are building
bulk not muscle.
3. Cutting: The unnecessary and inevitable
attempt at losing the needlessly gained body fat resulting from Bulking.
What exactly are you cutting? Not body fat, unless you are
undergoing liposuction. Perhaps you are cutting calorie intake? Reducing
caloric intake will help. Increasing the amount and intensity of exercise performed
will help. But who likes feeling
over-worked and deprived of enjoyable foods?
This is the cycle of dieting. Get out of it. Build a nutrition program
that incorporates small steady changes over time. A quality nutrition program
will account for a small amount of “cheating.” The bulking and cutting mindset
takes nutrition to unhealthy extremes at both ends of the spectrum. Instead,
move into the middle ground. Change may come a little slower but it will be a
manageable and permanent transition.
4. Fat-Burning Zone: Sound familiar?
Nearly every piece of cardio equipment has this button on it. Technically this
exists but it is poorly named. About thirty years ago research indicated that
when exercising between 60-80% of your Heart Rate Max (220-your age) the body
will utilize body fat for energy to perform exercise at a higher rate than at
any other intensity. Exercising at lower than 60% is too light of intensity to
be of any use and exercising above 80% relied more on muscle glycogen than
stored body fat. Long story short, with
better science we have realized that this information is not that great. The Fat-Burning Zone does not elicit faster
fat loss. In fact, the fastest way to lose body fat is to get above the 80%
mark and stay there as much as possible.
In the end intensity destroys calories faster. More calories
burned equals faster fat loss. Get out of the Fat-Burning Zone and get intense to
get results.
5. Tone or Toned: I cringe every time I
hear someone say, “I want to look toned” or “I want to tone up.” The word has
nothing to do with human anatomy or physiology. It is a musical word referring
to the quality of sound of a musical note[i].
If you want to improve your “tone” find a singing coach not a personal trainer.
I get the concept; you want better muscle definition and a leaner look to your
body. Those are admirable desires. On some level, everyone who exercises has
those same desires. Two things have to happen to improve muscle definition:
body fat levels have to be low enough that only skin covers the muscles and the
muscles have to be large enough to make the skin be taut. Every body has a set
of six pack abs. It is a muscle called the Rectus Abdominus. Most people have
sent their abs into a state of hibernation by covering them with excess body
fat. Lose the fat, build the muscle and the muscular definition will come.
Strength-training will have to be a part of the program if a truly lean,
muscular body is desired.
6. Working Out: There is nothing wrong
with this term per say. Going to the gym
to do your thing, I get it. However,
after seven years of being in gyms and working as a trainer, I have an
observation about ‘working out.’ The people that ‘workout’ tend to not have a clear cut, specific
result-orientated goal with a deadline. Goals are powerful because they
provide a well-defined purpose. People who just work out tend to have a great
supply of unfocused energy. Channel that energy with purpose into accomplishing
a specific outcome. A person who does this is suddenly training not working out. Purposeful training increases the focus
and productivity of the effort, yielding faster and better results. Remember,
people workout but athletes train. Train for results.
7. Functional: this used to be a great
word in the fitness realm because is specified a particular training style. The
word has become so misapplied that is has lost its meaning and significance. Not
everything done during a training session is truly functional. In its origins
within fitness Functional referred to
a training program aimed at accomplishing one of two things. The first purpose
is to correct an existing strength imbalance that results in poor quality of
movement in a specific movement pattern. Essentially, the body cannot move
correctly because of weakness and/or tightness in one or more muscles. This
results a compensating movement pattern that is less efficient. The second
premise of functional training is train the nervous system to improve
coordination and efficient movement through a specific movement pattern
encountered during a specific sports performance. Enhancement of specific
athletic ability is the goal. In either case the objective is increase the
body’s ability to move in a specific way. Just because a person can hop up and
down on one leg while standing on a physioball and throwing a medicine ball
into the air to the beat of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck does not mean that person is
utilizing Functional Training.
8. Muscle Confusion: There is no such
thing as muscle confusion. The only confusion going here is between the ears.
Muscle confusion is a roundabout and misinformed attempt to explain the SAIDs principle; a well-established
principle of exercise science. Specific
Adaptations to Imposed Demands (SAIDs) simply means that, given time, the
body will adapt to handle the demands placed upon it by a specific form of
stimulation or training. Once the body has adapted that particular training
stimulus it is no longer adequate to induce further improvement. At this point,
a change is needed in order to create further improvement in performance or
fitness. This change can be manipulated in a variety of ways: change the
weight, number of repetitions, rest periods, exercises, shorten or lengthen the
workout time. One could also run further, or, run the same distance faster. The
key to successfully implementing the SAIDs principle and avoiding the dreaded
plateau is to be methodical and purposeful in changing the stimulus. Typically,
it is only necessary to change one or two forms of stimulation to correctly use
the SAIDS principle. Be deliberate and focused when implementing changes. Stick
with the change; it normally takes 12-16 weeks before it is time to make a
change. Randomly bouncing around and throwing together a hodgepodge of
exercises each time you train is not training with a purpose. Do this and you
will be confused by your lack of results, not in your muscles. If a training
program begins to feel like it is losing its effectiveness make a purposeful
and planned change. Randomly scrapping part or an entire program is not the
solution.
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