Is Your Workout Wasting Your Time?
That’s the question being asked by this article on msn.com. But the answer, according to author Paul Scott, is a foregone conclusion if you belong to a gym:
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—and might be ruining your chances of getting fit.
According to this guy, if you’re having trouble getting into shape, it’s…wait for it: your GYM’s fault. He even proposes that commercial gyms share the blame for the obesity epidemic. And no, I’m not kidding.
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?
Words fail me. “It seems fair?” In what way? Even he admits that “perhaps” it isn’t in the very next sentence…so why even bring it up? Has it ever occurred to him it could also be the other way around…assuming there’s a connection at all?
“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).
Now, I’ll happily concede Vern Gambetta’s experience as a trainer. But personally, I’m mystified by this monolithic, all-powerful “health-club culture” he speaks of. 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. Whenever I join a new gym, I just sign the papers and go do my “thing” – that’s it. None of the staff have ever pointed me in the direction of the machines, nor encouraged me use them exclusively. 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.
It gets better…
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.
Say what? I have yet to see a gym offer me a VO2 max assessment – only time this was ever done, was when I volunteered to be a “guinea pig” for a trainer who needed to practice for her ACSM certification exam. So once again, I’m unclear about how VO2 max represents a “holy grail” promoted by gyms. On the flip side, the cardio machines I’ve used DO measure heart rate, and manage to get mine up there just fine. 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. None of the gym staff has ever looked at me twice for doing so, or threatened to toss me out for dissing “health-club culture.”
Seems to me that the “culture” doesn’t much care about how I get my heart rate up, one way or the other.
And about that dichotomy between strength and cardio…ok, I can agree that most commercial gyms are set up with this divide in mind – it’s something that’s pretty firmly grounded in popular culture, after all. But I’m puzzled by the implication that this is harmful for your average person who simply wants to lose weight and get fit (i.e., 95% of all gym members). Sure, I can get my heart rate up doing a strength circuit, but maybe I’d rather run instead? And do my strength workout separately? Why not?
In other words, I have lots of choices in the gym, “health-club culture” notwithstanding.
Now the author has a good point, that machine-only training isn’t the best way to go about getting fit. But honestly, stuff like this:
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.
is just silly. Elite athletes are typically based at universities, or work out in facilities owned/managed by their teams or elite trainers. They’re working at a level well beyond that of the average person interested in basic health and fitness, so it stands to reason that a commercial gym wouldn’t be optimal for them. This is like saying “the best evidence against community colleges is that these days most elite scholars rarely step foot in one. They study in environments designed for post-graduate training and research.”
I think you can see the weakness in this argument.
Nonetheless, this is really what the article is about: the value of movement-based, functional training for health and fitness. Fine…but there was no need to “sell” this point by spinning an elaborate tale about how the Health Club Politburo is Trying to Make You Fat and Ruin Your Chances of Getting Fit. That’s totally goofy.
The bottom line is that a commercial gym is a business. And as a business, it needs to provide equipment and options that its customers want…otherwise it will be out of business. Unfortunately, “health-club culture” – such as it is – isn’t the “top-down” phenomenon portrayed in this article. From what I’ve seen, it’s largely driven by what most of its customers want.
And what do they want? You need look no farther than the popular health/fitness mags, with article after article about losing weight, and getting “toned” or “shredded.” I’ve seen far too many pointless workouts and “fitness” info in the mags…and far too many people who take them seriously. So rather than blaming “health-club culture” for the fact that many work out inefficiently, perhaps the author should look a little closer to home…like the Rodale magazine empire he wrote this article for.
November 17, 2008
There was a time when people did hard physical work all their lives and never had to worry about working out in a gym. Gyms and fitness equipment manufacturers would be out of business if those days would return.
November 17, 2008
When people lived off the land, or engaged in heavy labor, they generally didn’t have the sort of disposable income or time that would permit such a thing anyway.
But we will never return to those days, short of a total breakdown in our information/knowledge/technology-based economy…in which case more than just gyms and fitness equipment manufacturers would be OOB. Many people sit – or stand in one place – while they work (including me) now – not good. While it would still be possible to be fit without a gym (or gym equipment), a gym makes it one heck of a lot easier.
FWIW, though, I know of several people who do both hard physical work (construction) and still work out in gyms. Their work may keep them relatively lean and functionally strong, but they still see the gym as a necessity for achieving their physique goals.