Instead of recent world events, it was a challenge not to be a little more introverted and not to get lost in a deeper train of thought.
Regardless of which side of the fence you’re on – relax, I’m not here to judge – it’s hard not to be aware of and frustrated by the cacophony of toxic rhetoric and word vomit being spewed in every possible direction.
The Fitness Zeitgeist
I couldn’t help but notice some of the same parallels in the health/fitness circles.
People like to argue.
A lot.
Granted, the atmosphere is not as dark and apocalyptic as the political/world scene, but people nevertheless have biases, like what they like, think what they think, and despite logic, science, or common sense, cannot be swayed to see the bigger picture.
Or better… look at the “middle ground”.
Alas, don’t be misled by the title of this post.
Zeitgeist.
It’s a word that looks and sounds scarier than it actually is. I mean, it sounds like something someone screams as part of a final move Mortal Kombat.
via GIPHY
I promise it’s not scary at all. The words that follow are not going to take themselves too seriously.
In his book The God DelusionRichard Dawkins devotes an entire chapter to the concept of ethics. At the expense of walking on thin ice as it is – mentioning both politics and religion are two things I generally avoid (along with Coldplay) – all I’ll say here is that Dawkins notes how almost all societies and cultures have always had a knack for evolving.
No coincidence given his background as a Darwinian biologist.
“In every society there is a somewhat mysterious consensus, which changes with the decades and for which it is not pretentious to use the German loan-word. Zeitgeist.”
Zeitgeist = spirit of the timesor the dominant set of ideals and beliefs that motivate the actions of members of a society at a particular time.
To drive the point home – and I promise to end the serious talk – Dawkins notes how slavery, which was taken for granted for most of history, was abolished in civilized countries in the 19th century. Furthermore, women’s suffrage did not exist for a long time.
Here in the United States, it was not a law until the 1920s.
Today, at most in societies, both events would – rightly – be considered grossly absurd.
The issue is: Societies change and evolve over time. Although I still wonder how skinny jeans managed to last so long. It boggles my mind.
The health/fitness world reflects this Zeitgeist phenomenon. Back in the early 20th century, when guys like Eugene Sandow were bench-pressing whatever they could—dumbbells, rocks, oxen (<— only a slight exaggeration)—they were considered weirdos and social misfits. Society as a whole viewed "lifting weights for pleasure or aesthetics" as something careless or something weirdos did.
Fast forward to the 1960s-80s, often considered the golden age of bodybuilding, almost every teenager had a poster of Arnold Schwartzenegger, Frank Zane or Serge Nubret on their walls.
Using another example, before the 1970s only reason to do each Running was if you were 1) clinically insane or 2) happened to be chased by a lion on Fifth Ave.
I suspect this was a common thread:
- Person 1 (1957): “Hey, do you want to go jogging?”
- Person 2 (1957): “What in his name Leave it to Beaver is it jogging?’
- Person 1 (1957): “It’s where we go out and run repeatedly in a straight line for hours, you know, for fun.”
- Person 2 (1957): “We can’t be friends anymore.”
“Going for a jog” didn’t exist.
Enter Jim Fixx’s best-selling book The Complete Book of Running (1977) espoused the many benefits of jogging for overall heart health, and the craze was born. Now millions of people use it as their primary form of exercise around the world, and entire events and social gatherings are organized around it.
via GIPHY
Which begs the question: what other elements of health/physics have followed the same path? What has changed in the industry over a few decades or years?
Here are some.
1) CrossFit
It started as a “fad” where people did stupid things in the name of hard workouts, spleen busting and/or internet bragging rights.
- A1. Trap Bar Farmer Carries (over a bed of hot coals) x 25 yds
- A2. Run over the right hander with a Prius x AMRAP
First of all: CrossFit can no longer be considered a fad.
It has also evolved into a fitness powerhouse and a fine spectacle of cultural achievement. It’s less popular today than it was in 2010, but it’s still relevant in today’s fitness culture. No event in the last decade has gotten more people excited about working out – especially for barbells – than CrossFit.
For that, I would be remiss not to give him a nod of gratitude. If anything, CrossFit has served as an unparalleled vehicle (or impetus) for people to train and train. hard.
Are there still things I don’t agree with? Naturally. Are there still idiots who open a box who have no business doing so and end up hurting people? Absolutely. But those are few and far between, and CF is nowhere near the ocular train wreck it was once synonymous with.
I mean, to give credit where credit is due, CrossFit is so ingrained in our culture now that there are people who believe it invented weight lifting.
Oh, are you squatting? CrossFit.
This is quite impressive.
The times or times of CrossFit bashing completely they are finished. Some of them are guaranteed. However, it is time to give him the respect he has rightfully earned.
(SIDE NOTE: We can now replace all of these with HYROX).
2) Training For Life
To that end: can we please stop assuming that if a woman lifts a barbell or lifts something heavier than a grocery bag, she’s automatically “training for something.”
My wife is often approached at the gym by both men and women who see her doing it, and while she certainly means no disrespect by asking, she will inevitably say something to tune in: “Wow, that’s impressive, what are you training for? A competition? A show? Are you a secret assassin?”
My wife’s universal response:life.”
Women go to the gym to go to the gym.
Weird, I know.
Yes, it’s a little offensive…but if we really wanted to respect the Zeitgeist mentality, we’d respect the idea that women, like men, view weightlifting the same way. As nothing more than something that is simply done after work at 5 p.m.
It doesn’t have to be an issue.
3) Post-Workout Window – Meh
I fell victim to the concept of the anabolic window in the early 2000s. The idea was that if you worked out and didn’t get some nutrients into your body within 30-60 minutes afterwards, NONE OF IT COUNTED.
NONE OF THIS!
Alas, the whole concept of an anabolic window, while a nice thought, is a bit over the top. We’ve come to understand that total calories over a 24-hour period matter more than some arbitrary caloric number consumed within a specific time frame.
4) Cardio Will Not Steal your profit
There has been a bit of a renaissance on this front in recent years. There was a time when any thought of doing “cardio” would instantly pump up your strength and make you look like Skeletor.
Although that doesn’t make sense because, Skeletor is jacked.
via GIPHY
Regardless, for many years, mostly from the 90s to the early 2000s, the idea was cardio – any cardi0 – would cheat your profit.
It was, of course, a foolish way of thinking.
The body is a pretty durable piece of machinery, and if all it took was 5k to lose all your muscle, we would have died out ages ago. Coaches like Alex Viada have played a huge role in the recent rise in popularity of “hybrid training,” or training for both strength and endurance at the same time. The key to this approach is to work hard but be lazy.
To quote Alex:
“In other words, do as little as possible to achieve the necessary result. Lift less often than a powerlifter, run less than a runner, cycle less than a cyclist, swim less than a swimmer … the body has limited recovery and will quickly tire.
Isolate what is really important in each type of training, focus on those areas and do them well. Cut the useless miles, cut out the pissing contests at the gym, be ruthless in your approach to routines – take these ‘ten exercises to do’ articles and throw them in the trash. The more you want to do, the less you have to do.”
And it’s hard to ignore the reams of research supporting the million and one cardiovascular health benefits, not to mention the (positive) physiological adaptations that occur in the body (improved substrate utilization, better ability to regulate acid build-up from lactate metabolism) and the heart itself (stretching the walls increases or makes the entire volume more or less eccentric). it’s worth it.
The point is: improved cardiovascular health (when programmed accordingly and not overdone) will not only improve work capacity, but also improve performance in the weight room.
That is, you will not fade after two sets.
The End
Finding the middle ground.
It evolves amid new information or experiences.
This is the mindset of a genuine event.
