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Push Your Limits
Scott Wachter
It's amazing how much marketing affects truth in fitness. Remember when machine training was all the rage because it was thought to be safer and more effective? Problem was this was promoted by the manufacturers of machines and often backed up by industry-funded research.
Then, the Cooper Clinic told us that aerobic exercise was going to change our lives. Suddenly everyone was a runner, but the real beneficiaries were the doctors and physical therapists who made millions caring for all those who were injured on the road. The aerobic training boom made us aware of things like plantar fasciitis, iliotibial band syndrome and patella-femoral dysfunction. It gave us RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation).
Next came the group exercise phenomenon—the aerobics shoe and aerobics classes. More marketing, more injuries. More money for the doctors and PT's. Of course some fitness ideas are well intentioned attempts at wellness promotion, but many more are flat out money-making lies
Here's the ugly truth: Exercise needs to be smart and safe, but it also needs to be hard. Very little in life was ever achieved without hard work, and fitness is clearly not the exception. Some doctors try to say gardening qualifies as exercise. Ask yourself this question: "How is kneeling in dirt exercise?" Others say walking is great exercise. The truth is that something is always better than nothing, but why aim so low?
In 2002, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study and editorial titled "Survival of the Fittest" that said, "...the peak estimated exercise capacity achieved during the test (graded exercise treadmill) was the strongest predictor of the risk of death among patients with cardiovascular disease and among patients without cardiovascular disease."
The study went on to say, "Greater fitness results in longer survival." The authors said nothing about duration or frequency, but only mentioned performance. The people that lived the longest were not the ones that exercised the most frequently. They were the ones who lasted the longest on the treadmill test. The key variable that related to life expectancy was fitness, not total time or number of days per week.
In other words, those that were able to exercise the hardest lived the longest. Think about that next time you take a walk or work in the garden. If that is all you can do, fine. But strong, healthy people need hard work.
About The Author
Michael Boyle – Michael Boyle is one of the world’s leading experts in the area of performance enhancement.
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