Veronica and I are trying this new fad called…uh…’jogging’, I believe it’s ‘jogging’, or ‘yogging’, it might be a soft ‘j’ – I’m not sure, but apparently you just run…for an extended period of time…”
- Ron Burgundy, Anchorman.
We have running on the brain around here lately. Three Training Rim alumni are running in the NYC marathon this Sunday November 1st (one of them is running to raise awareness for the Multiple Myeloma Foundation.) And a friend of mine just wrote a book called “Core Training for Distance Runners”, which is fantastic – more on that later.
So of course, I’ve been asked often recently to expand on my disdain for running, so I’m writing to expand and hopefully clarify a few things.
I have two problems with running:
1st, like most things I dislike, is simple personal taste, or lack thereof. To paraphrase another trainer, I can’t think of anything that could suck more than just running indefinitely for an extended period of time. It’s one of the reasons the Ron Burgundy quote above cracks me up.
Secondly, and more importantly as a fitness professional, is the misinterpretation that running is somehow healthy for you.
It’s not. If you believe it is, you’ve been misinformed.
It is not good for your heart and it will not help you lose body fat.
Now I know about half of you are about to stop reading, so I’ll cut to the chase: I’m not saying don’t run. I’m only saying that I don’t like it, and it’s not good for you – that’s all. Don’t get your New Balances and Asics all in a twist. I’m sure there are things I do that aren’t good for me that you don’t like.
I used to take Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. After a typical session, every muscle in my body would be completely spent and I’d be covered in sweat. Must’ve been good for me, right?
Wrong. My body was always covered in bruises. I had cuts that seemingly bled for days. I had fingers and toes dislocated. I had my elbow hyper-extended to the point of audible snapping a least 4 times. I was choked unconscious once (that I’m able to remember…)
Only a mental patient would suggest that doing that was a good, healthy habit. I did it because I found it to be fun and rewarding. But I would never suggest to someone that it would be healthy for them.
Enter distance running: Many people run for similar reasons. They enjoy the feeling of overcoming challenges, they get a “runner’s high”, they use it as an escape from the real world, etc. There’s nothing wrong with these things. If you get these things from running, by all means, run Forrest run.
But running will greatly increase your chance of having an orthopedic health problem. It really isn’t a matter if, but when your shoulder, back, knee or foot is injured.
Without turning this into an unnecessary discussion on bio-mechanics, there’s one major problem with distance running from that stand point:
With distance running, your body gets its initial movement going, then relies on momentum to a large degree to keep moving. Unlike sprinting where your body must propel itself forward at full force continually, distance running quickly deteriorates into simply picking your feet up and putting them down – never driving forward. This greatly overuses the flexors of the body designed to pick the front leg up (hip flexors, hamstrings, anterior tibials, etc) making them hyper-active and tight, causing muscle restrictions at their associated joints (hip, knee, ankle). Because, unlike sprinting, the extenders of the body (glutes, quads, calf muscles) never have to propel you forward, this creates a joint imbalance where one side of the joint is tighter than the other at all three joints. This overuse and resultant restriction of the joints typically leads to altered joint mechanics, and eventually trauma, either acute or chronic.
Additionally, because you’re relying on momentum to a certain degree, the natural tendency is to lean forward. This invariably leads to the shoulders rolling forward, causing imbalances there as well.
And no, distance running is not a good idea if fat loss is your goal. It will not raise your resting metabolism (which is the key to a fat loss program) and it’s extremely time consuming which will cut into other aspects of exercise that are more efficient for fat loss.
Think I’m wrong? Olympic sprinters have lower body fat levels than Olympic marathon runners.
And if it does benefit your heart it’s only in a marginal sense. Again, not as much as other types of training such as interval training, that you won’t have time for because you’re running for X hours at a time. Basically your heart is designed to beat at a slow steady rate for an extended period of time – forever in fact. Training it to beat at a steady rate but only slightly higher than what’s considered normal, as in distance running will have little to no positive effect.
Again: If you are a distance runner because you enjoy it, then by golly go run your arse off! But if you’re distance running (or any other type of steady state “cardio” training) because you think it’s going to make you lean and healthy, you might want to give effective strength training and high intensity interval training a shot 1st!
I’ll be awaiting your hate mail at thetrainingrim@gmail.com
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
The Hot Woman Next Door
If you’ve never read my stuff before, be warned: I have the proclivity to deliver my point in a rather circuitous manner sometimes. This is one of those times – but my point is a good one – stick with me.
And also, if you’ve never read my stuff before, be aware that I can be somewhat blunt – too much so for some. If that bothers you, now’s a good time to stop reading this and grab an issue of Shape Magazine to hear all about the inner thigh trouble spot instead.
I just recently read a great book called “The Millionaire Next Door”. It’s actually been around for awhile, apparently, – I’m behind on my reading. Long story short, is that it gets its title from the fact that most millionaires in the U.S. don’t necessarily “look” like millionaires, with lavish cars, houses, lifestyles, etc. In fact, the overwhelming majority of millionaires look just like your normal looking neighbor because they live under their means and live frugally – this is precisely how they became millionaires, and how the book got its title.
One of the points made in the book, is that these frugal millionaires are almost maniacal about budgeting, and possess an extremely high level of self discipline that keeps them within the parameters of their pre-set budgets.
The authors of the book (Thomas Stanley and William Danko) write that one of the most common questions they are asked when lecturing is “Why would a millionaire need to spend so much time budgeting?” Of course, the authors’ response is invariably, “They are millionaires BECAUSE they spend so much time budgeting and have the discipline to stick to it.”
Now to my point:
I’ve trained many people who are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They are the millionaires of glutes and waistlines. Many muscled arms, defined legs, flat hard abdomens, very low levels of body fat – and those are just the women.
And many a time I’ve overheard a random passerby say almost condescendingly, “Why does SHE need to work out and have a trainer? She looks great…” I know they think this is a compliment, but the jealousy, condescension, and irritation levels come through clear as a bell.
And here I am to paraphrase the authors of the aforementioned tome of financial knowledge, but within the context of fitness…
My clients of whom they speak look great and have kick ass bodies BECAUSE they work with a trainer and exercise consistently.
Almost all of us have at least a minimal sense of what it takes to be healthy, lose weight, be fit, etc. – very few of us have the self discipline to follow through on it.
Just like there are a very small percentage of millionaires who were born into wealth, or won the lottery, etc., there are some very good looking people who were simply born winning the lottery of DNA and will look great no matter what.
However, just like the overwhelming majority of millionaires who busted their respective asses and sacrificed a great deal in order to be financially independent and secure, my clients who look great, busted their asses and sacrificed a great deal to do so as well. And as sure as I’m writing this, they are somewhere right now having their next workout scheduled and planned. And when it’s time, they will show up a train hard, no matter what.
Therein lies the lesson for all of us, my friends, myself included:
If you want to look great and feel great, you’re going to have to make some serious choices. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a moron or a gym sales person – and we all know how full of shit they are. My clients know this and plan, sacrifice, and do it.
Finding a sitter for the kids is a pain in the ass – but these vixens find a way and get it done.
Working a bazillion hour work week then getting up on a Saturday morning to throw kettle bells around with me is not anyone’s idea of fun – but these spandex sisters get their hard buns out of bed and do it.
Doing laundry and other house hold chores late at night, or missing an occasional episode of your favorite show because you were at the gym at 7 or 8pm sucks – but these eye catching, medicine ball throwing hotties do it anyway.
It takes a lot of sacrifice and self discipline to look and feel great – the only person who’ll tell you differently is trying to sell you something.
So the next time you see someone working out who looks great, don’t be resentful – instead realize that in most cases, the only difference between you and them is planning and self discipline. I know that’s easier said than done, but it is that simple.
But I know my clients – and I know they feel it’s 100% worth it.
And also, if you’ve never read my stuff before, be aware that I can be somewhat blunt – too much so for some. If that bothers you, now’s a good time to stop reading this and grab an issue of Shape Magazine to hear all about the inner thigh trouble spot instead.
I just recently read a great book called “The Millionaire Next Door”. It’s actually been around for awhile, apparently, – I’m behind on my reading. Long story short, is that it gets its title from the fact that most millionaires in the U.S. don’t necessarily “look” like millionaires, with lavish cars, houses, lifestyles, etc. In fact, the overwhelming majority of millionaires look just like your normal looking neighbor because they live under their means and live frugally – this is precisely how they became millionaires, and how the book got its title.
One of the points made in the book, is that these frugal millionaires are almost maniacal about budgeting, and possess an extremely high level of self discipline that keeps them within the parameters of their pre-set budgets.
The authors of the book (Thomas Stanley and William Danko) write that one of the most common questions they are asked when lecturing is “Why would a millionaire need to spend so much time budgeting?” Of course, the authors’ response is invariably, “They are millionaires BECAUSE they spend so much time budgeting and have the discipline to stick to it.”
Now to my point:
I’ve trained many people who are aesthetically pleasing to the eye. They are the millionaires of glutes and waistlines. Many muscled arms, defined legs, flat hard abdomens, very low levels of body fat – and those are just the women.
And many a time I’ve overheard a random passerby say almost condescendingly, “Why does SHE need to work out and have a trainer? She looks great…” I know they think this is a compliment, but the jealousy, condescension, and irritation levels come through clear as a bell.
And here I am to paraphrase the authors of the aforementioned tome of financial knowledge, but within the context of fitness…
My clients of whom they speak look great and have kick ass bodies BECAUSE they work with a trainer and exercise consistently.
Almost all of us have at least a minimal sense of what it takes to be healthy, lose weight, be fit, etc. – very few of us have the self discipline to follow through on it.
Just like there are a very small percentage of millionaires who were born into wealth, or won the lottery, etc., there are some very good looking people who were simply born winning the lottery of DNA and will look great no matter what.
However, just like the overwhelming majority of millionaires who busted their respective asses and sacrificed a great deal in order to be financially independent and secure, my clients who look great, busted their asses and sacrificed a great deal to do so as well. And as sure as I’m writing this, they are somewhere right now having their next workout scheduled and planned. And when it’s time, they will show up a train hard, no matter what.
Therein lies the lesson for all of us, my friends, myself included:
If you want to look great and feel great, you’re going to have to make some serious choices. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either a moron or a gym sales person – and we all know how full of shit they are. My clients know this and plan, sacrifice, and do it.
Finding a sitter for the kids is a pain in the ass – but these vixens find a way and get it done.
Working a bazillion hour work week then getting up on a Saturday morning to throw kettle bells around with me is not anyone’s idea of fun – but these spandex sisters get their hard buns out of bed and do it.
Doing laundry and other house hold chores late at night, or missing an occasional episode of your favorite show because you were at the gym at 7 or 8pm sucks – but these eye catching, medicine ball throwing hotties do it anyway.
It takes a lot of sacrifice and self discipline to look and feel great – the only person who’ll tell you differently is trying to sell you something.
So the next time you see someone working out who looks great, don’t be resentful – instead realize that in most cases, the only difference between you and them is planning and self discipline. I know that’s easier said than done, but it is that simple.
But I know my clients – and I know they feel it’s 100% worth it.
More Fitness "Synonyms"
Exercise and hard work are not synonyms.
Exercise and sweat are not synonyms.
There’s something about the fitness industry where so many terms are used interchangeably as if they were synonyms, when they truly aren’t anywhere near the same thing. For example, the words “stretching” and “flexibility” are always used interchangeably when they aren’t even close to being the same thing. “Balance” and “stability” are used interchangeably as well and they don’t mean the same thing either.
For today’s purposes, our focus is on the terms “hard work” and “exercise”. Not only are they NOT synonymous, but their interchangeable use often leads to dangerous exercise situations.
Let me be clear up front: Most of us do need to work harder in our workouts. A good deal of sweat MAY be a good thing for some of us. But often these parameters are used as measuring sticks as to the efficacy of a workout – sometimes by marginally educated trainers who have been the target of my ire recently. Hard work and sweat ARE NOT synonymous with exercise – period. Especially if it’s exercise that is supervised by a fitness professional.
If hard work and sweat are the residual side effects of good exercise, so be it. BUT IT’S NOT THE GOAL.
Exercise is movement for the purpose of eliciting improvements in health.
Hard work is a task that’s physically difficult to do.
Moving furniture is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do it when I’m training them. There’s just no biomechanically safe way to move a love seat.
Flipping giant truck tires over in a parking lot is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do that either. It looks cool though, so some trainers will have you try…
Donkeys work hard. I wouldn’t do what they do for a workout. There’s a reason the terms donkey, jackass and mule have a negative connotation when used to describe humans.
Ditto for sweating. Sweating means you have an elevated body temperature.
I can stand on my patio in August and sweat, but it’s not going to make me healthier.
Any jackass trainer can make you swing a 32kg kettle bell a million times and make you feel beat up and sweaty. But why you would pay him or her X dollars an hour to do it is beyond me.
It’s difficult in today’s society to get this message across because I have to compete with “The Biggest Loser” and “CrossFit” who exemplify the “let’s just beat people up and have it look cool” mentality. Exerisers who don’t know any better are lead to believe that simply getting the shit beaten out of you is somehow helpful. It’s not. (Unless you’re married to an orthopedist…)
Your workout should be eliciting improvement toward your goals, not setting you up for an injury. Make sure you use a fitness professional who knows the difference.
Exercise and sweat are not synonyms.
There’s something about the fitness industry where so many terms are used interchangeably as if they were synonyms, when they truly aren’t anywhere near the same thing. For example, the words “stretching” and “flexibility” are always used interchangeably when they aren’t even close to being the same thing. “Balance” and “stability” are used interchangeably as well and they don’t mean the same thing either.
For today’s purposes, our focus is on the terms “hard work” and “exercise”. Not only are they NOT synonymous, but their interchangeable use often leads to dangerous exercise situations.
Let me be clear up front: Most of us do need to work harder in our workouts. A good deal of sweat MAY be a good thing for some of us. But often these parameters are used as measuring sticks as to the efficacy of a workout – sometimes by marginally educated trainers who have been the target of my ire recently. Hard work and sweat ARE NOT synonymous with exercise – period. Especially if it’s exercise that is supervised by a fitness professional.
If hard work and sweat are the residual side effects of good exercise, so be it. BUT IT’S NOT THE GOAL.
Exercise is movement for the purpose of eliciting improvements in health.
Hard work is a task that’s physically difficult to do.
Moving furniture is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do it when I’m training them. There’s just no biomechanically safe way to move a love seat.
Flipping giant truck tires over in a parking lot is hard work. But I wouldn’t have my clients do that either. It looks cool though, so some trainers will have you try…
Donkeys work hard. I wouldn’t do what they do for a workout. There’s a reason the terms donkey, jackass and mule have a negative connotation when used to describe humans.
Ditto for sweating. Sweating means you have an elevated body temperature.
I can stand on my patio in August and sweat, but it’s not going to make me healthier.
Any jackass trainer can make you swing a 32kg kettle bell a million times and make you feel beat up and sweaty. But why you would pay him or her X dollars an hour to do it is beyond me.
It’s difficult in today’s society to get this message across because I have to compete with “The Biggest Loser” and “CrossFit” who exemplify the “let’s just beat people up and have it look cool” mentality. Exerisers who don’t know any better are lead to believe that simply getting the shit beaten out of you is somehow helpful. It’s not. (Unless you’re married to an orthopedist…)
Your workout should be eliciting improvement toward your goals, not setting you up for an injury. Make sure you use a fitness professional who knows the difference.
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