One of my
favorite things about the Internet fitness world is how much I learn every day.
Last week I learned from an evidence-based infographic that I don’t have a
six-pack because I’m not willing to sacrifice and rise and grind, which means I’m probably an
impotent husk of a man incapable of satisfying my non-existent girlfriend (who
is probably non-existent because of said lack of six pack).
Or earlier
today, in a power lifting group, I learned that power lifters never get injured
because of Health and Fitness
“We aren’t pussies.” Scientific!
Then I
learned that just lifting weights won’t let me survive a zombie apocalypse (a
major concern in my day-to-day life), and if I don’t bow down before the altar
of all-holy movement by “exploring and playing,” I will stunt my journey to
physical enlightenment due to lack of neurophysiological evolutionary
superiority.
Unfortunately,
I can’t even take the time to focus on my movement-evolution-revolution because
I’m too busy trying to change my blood pH (since apparently your kidneys and
lungs aren’t a thing) and finesse my paleo diet so I can justify some
bastardized version of fried chicken made with artisanal farm2table almond dust
and sustainable, free-range, high-school educated chickens.
Most of the
industry vets can see this stuff for what it is. This article isn’t really for
them. The people I want to talk to are the young coaches propagating this
nonsense and the people it affects most: i.e., the people.
Everybody's
Got a Story
Storytelling
is a fundamental human trait. From humans gathered around campfires and cave
drawings to modern day Netflix binges and Snapchat, stories are part of who we
are. Even in fields like history and science where the story is supposedly
objective and “real,” the truth is that narrative biases exist.
Much of what
we think constitutes “reality” is an aspect of our personal narrative or the
product of someone else’s.
Some of you
are probably wondering why the hell someone is talking about the function of a
narrative on a fitness website. The answer is because, simply put, narratives
are everything. The idea of a personal narrative is a powerful psychological
concept that drives and informs every aspect of development.
Frequently
when I broach this subject, the reactions are some variation of, “So you’re
saying it’s all in my head?” Kind of. It’s not so much that reality doesn’t
exist or matter. The more important takeaway it is that you control your
perception of reality. It’s not meant to be an insult. It’s empowering. Yes,
your reality is just a story. But guess who’s holding the author’s pen?
So what’s
the narrative when it comes to the fitness industry? It's popular to say that
the industry story is that we’re broken, and failing the public we claim to
serve. That argument implies that the health of the entire country is the
responsibility of the fitness industry. The idea that we are supposed to be the
ambassadors of healthy living to a fat, sick, and dying society is just silly.
Most of us are not doctors. Plenty of excellent coaches don’t even have a
college degree. So how can we heal the unhealthy when our first instinct on
encountering pain is to refer to another more qualified professional?
Stop Telling
People What To Do
Then there’s
the narrative that says embracing a fit lifestyle has an evolutionary or
real-world imperative. I bought into that story for a long time. My sister has
been a smoker since high school, and when I was younger I gave her hell about
it. I leaned on a lot of the stock tropes the fitness industry doles out
because I was basically on a Kool-Aid IV. Trouble is, all it ever did was make
her upset and think I was judging her. And she was right.
In
hindsight, I can see that while her smoking habit is probably foolish and
detrimental to her health, to extrapolate that to her quality as a human being
is preposterous. She’s a speech-language pathologist who spends the majority of
her time helping people with traumatic brain injuries re-learn how to
communicate with their loved ones. Do I wish she had a healthier outlet for
stress? Sure. Do I automatically get the higher moral ground because I work out
every day and meal prep? Not a fucking chance.
There Isn't
One Perfect Tool
One of the funniest
realizations you come to as an adult is that we never really escape the social
dynamics of high school. No matter how old we get or how mature we become,
society will always be overly concerned with groupthink and what the “cool
kids” are doing. Now that we’re all grown up, the cool kids are “celebrities,”
and instead of arguing about which artist really understands us, we battle
about politics and economic policy.
In the
fitness world, we argue about cardio versus weights, with the same juvenility.
Imagine a
conversation in which a carpenter extols the virtues of the hammer. “Sure,” he
says, “screwdrivers and nail guns are cool, but they’re only fancy
re-inventions of the hammer. Just get yourself a good hammer and you’ll be
set.” Implausible, you say? Of course it is, because any carpenter can tell you
that the job determines the tool, not the other way around.
There’s
always a humorous glut of people trying to tell us the one type of exercise we
should do. But as far as the research is concerned, if your goal is to be
healthy and live a long life, your exercise of choice would probably look like
a combination of several things: a moderate amount of long, low-intensity
cardio, some higher intensity stuff (but not too much), and some basic, whole-body
strength training utilizing compound exercises through full ranges of motion.
This could all be accomplished in 3-5 workouts a week, none of them more than
an hour. Go for a few long walks at a
brisk pace and do some squats, deadlifts, and presses 2-3 times a week.
You Don’t
Need to Fit In
I’m a
weirdo. Always have been. When I was a kid, fitting in didn’t come naturally to
me for a number of reasons (small, weak, interested in books, overly large
ears). I dealt with my fair share of bullies, but I decided at a young age that
if I couldn’t fit in, I wasn’t even going to try.
This article
is not for those who want to wail about how the industry is “broken,” or for
the vets who already know shenanigans when they see them. This article is for
the new professionals. Even more, it's for the people out there who are just
looking to get into fitness and don’t know where to start.
My message
is this: Why should you take the advice of any group of people that wants to
alienate and ostracize you? What is there to gain? Why would you want the
approval of a bunch of small-minded jerks? Far as I can tell, their answer is,
“Because we said so.” But their narrow definitions of health and fitness don't
have to be yours, and neither do their methods.
Being
different can be difficult, or it can be liberating. Just remember, it's your
narrative. You get to write the story.
{Source: http://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/dont-let-the-fitness-industry-tell-you-what-to-do}
