{"id":387,"date":"2008-11-16T07:36:46","date_gmt":"2008-11-16T05:36:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.ultimatefatburner.com\/?p=387"},"modified":"2015-02-12T21:11:21","modified_gmt":"2015-02-13T02:11:21","slug":"workout-wasting-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/workout-wasting-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Your Workout Wasting Your Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That’s the question being asked by\u00a0this article on msn.com<\/a>.\u00a0 But the answer, according to author Paul Scott, is a foregone conclusion if you belong to a gym:<\/p>\n

Is your workout wasting your time? If you belong to a gym, it’s likely that most of what you’re doing there is nearly useless\u2014and might be ruining your chances of getting fit.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to this guy, if you’re\u00a0having trouble getting\u00a0into shape, it’s…wait for it: your GYM’s fault.\u00a0 He even proposes that commercial gyms share the blame for the obesity epidemic.\u00a0 And no, I’m not kidding.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It seems fair to ask if health clubs are partially responsible for the obesity epidemic, a trend that has followed the rise of the industry. Perhaps the first development has not been caused by the second, but it certainly hasn’t been helped either. With all the fancy equipment and with all the desire out there to look good, why can’t we keep the weight off? Why can’t we stick to our gym workouts? Is it our fault? Or does the fault lie elsewhere?<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Words fail me.\u00a0 “It seems fair?”\u00a0 In what way?\u00a0 Even he admits that “perhaps”\u00a0it isn’t\u00a0in the very next sentence…so why even bring it up?\u00a0 Has it ever occurred to\u00a0him it could also\u00a0be the other way around…assuming there’s a connection at all?<\/p>\n

“The health-club culture tries to create a dependency on machines,” says Vern Gambetta, a trainer with 38 years of experience training professional and recreational athletes, and the author of Athletic Development: The Art & Science of Functional Sports Conditioning (Human Kinetics, 2006).<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, I’ll happily concede Vern Gambetta’s experience as a trainer.\u00a0 But personally, I’m mystified by this monolithic, all-powerful\u00a0“health-club culture” he speaks of.\u00a0 Every gym I’ve ever worked out in has machines, of course…but they’ve also had free weights, mats, benches, classes: in short, opportunities to do plenty of functional, non-machine-based exercises as well.\u00a0 Whenever I join a new gym, I just sign the papers and go do my “thing” – that’s it.\u00a0 None of the staff have ever\u00a0pointed me in the direction of the machines, nor\u00a0encouraged me\u00a0use them exclusively.\u00a0 So if this “health-club culture” has been trying to make me dependent on machines, it’s going to have to try a lot harder.<\/p>\n

It gets better…<\/p>\n

Many critics also say that health clubs perpetuate the false divide between strength and cardio. “This dichotomy is artificial,” says Gambetta. His argument is based on the perceived importance of VO2 max, the term for your maximum oxygen absorption potential and the holy grail of most sessions spent on a treadmill, stair climber, rower, stationary cycle or elliptical trainer. “VO2 max is a popular yardstick for health because it is measurable,” says Gambetta, “but it is just one of many factors related to endurance performance.” If it’s the steady elevation of heart rate you’re after, any strength program based on whole-body movements will have your heart rate elevated as readily as the most popular elliptical trainer.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Say what?\u00a0 I have yet to\u00a0see a gym offer me a VO2 max assessment\u00a0– only time\u00a0this was ever done, was when I volunteered to be a “guinea pig” for a trainer who needed to practice for her ACSM certification exam.\u00a0 So once again, I’m unclear about how VO2 max represents a “holy grail” promoted by gyms.\u00a0 On the flip side, the cardio machines I’ve used DO measure heart rate, and manage to get\u00a0mine up there just fine.\u00a0 Likewise, I’ve done cardio sessions using whole body movements too, like hopping up and down the stairs; or doing circuits using free weights and\/or bodyweight movements.\u00a0 None of the gym\u00a0staff has ever looked at me twice for doing so, or\u00a0threatened to toss me out for\u00a0dissing\u00a0“health-club culture.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seems to me that the “culture” doesn’t much care about\u00a0how I\u00a0get my heart rate up, one way or the other.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And about that dichotomy between strength and cardio…ok, I can agree that\u00a0most\u00a0commercial gyms are\u00a0set up with this divide in mind – it’s something that’s pretty firmly grounded in popular<\/strong> culture, after all.\u00a0 But\u00a0I’m puzzled\u00a0by\u00a0the implication\u00a0that\u00a0this is\u00a0harmful for your average person who simply wants to lose weight and get fit (i.e., 95% of all gym members).\u00a0 Sure, I can get my heart rate up doing a strength circuit, but maybe I’d rather run instead?\u00a0 And do my strength workout separately?\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, I have lots of choices in the gym, “health-club culture” notwithstanding.<\/p>\n

Now the author has a good point, that machine-only training isn’t the best way to go about getting fit.\u00a0 But honestly, stuff like this:<\/p>\n

Perhaps the best evidence against traditional health clubs is that these days most elite athletes rarely step foot in one. They work out in environments designed for functional training.\u00a0<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

is just silly.\u00a0 Elite athletes are typically based\u00a0at universities, or work out in facilities owned\/managed by their\u00a0teams or\u00a0elite trainers.\u00a0 They’re working at a level well beyond that of\u00a0the average person interested in basic health and fitness, so it stands to reason that a commercial gym wouldn’t be optimal for them.\u00a0 This is like saying “the best evidence against\u00a0community colleges is that these days most elite scholars rarely step foot in one.\u00a0 They study in environments designed for\u00a0post-graduate training and research.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

I think you can see the weakness in this argument.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, this is really what the article\u00a0is about: the value of movement-based, functional\u00a0training for health and fitness.\u00a0 Fine…but there was\u00a0no need to\u00a0“sell” this point by spinning an\u00a0elaborate\u00a0tale about how the\u00a0Health Club Politburo\u00a0is\u00a0Trying to Make\u00a0You Fat and Ruin Your Chances of Getting Fit.\u00a0\u00a0 That’s\u00a0totally goofy.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that a commercial gym is a business.\u00a0 And as a business, it\u00a0needs to provide equipment and options that\u00a0its customers want\u2026otherwise\u00a0it will\u00a0be out of business.\u00a0 Unfortunately, \u201chealth-club culture\u201d – such as it is – isn\u2019t\u00a0the \u201ctop-down\u201d phenomenon portrayed in this article.\u00a0\u00a0From what I’ve seen, it’s largely\u00a0driven by what\u00a0most of\u00a0its customers want.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And what do they want?\u00a0 You need look no farther than the\u00a0popular\u00a0health\/fitness\u00a0mags, with article after article about losing weight, and getting “toned” or “shredded.”\u00a0 I’ve seen\u00a0far too many\u00a0pointless workouts and “fitness” info in the mags…and far too many people who take them seriously.\u00a0 So rather than blaming \u201chealth-club culture\u201d for the fact that\u00a0many work out inefficiently, perhaps the author should look\u00a0a little closer to home…like the Rodale magazine<\/a> empire he wrote this article\u00a0for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That’s the question being asked by\u00a0this article on msn.com.\u00a0 But the answer, according to author Paul Scott, is a foregone conclusion if you belong to a gym: Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14,19,28],"tags":[404,728,810,817,826,1130,1414],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=387"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8211,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/387\/revisions\/8211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}