Being an almost obsessed purveyor
of all things fitness, I ‘sign-up’ to an infinite number of websites so
that I can stay abreast of all the latest goings-on within the industry.
Granted, most of the info is downright rubbish and about as useful as Joey
Essex on your quiz team but in amongst the heaps of crap there are the few
odd gems of scientifically-backed info out there (anyway, I digress).
THE GROUP EXERCISE BRIGADE…
Recently, I received an email
from a company who exclusively specialise in group fitness training. As you
might expect, and quite rightly, they highlighted the numerous well documented
benefits of group training, which, of course there are many. However, they then
went on to decry the benefits of highly individualised assessment and training
programmes, not personal training in general but just those
trainers and training programmes which perhaps have an over-idealistic view of
human movement. To paraphrase, they felt that spending inordinate amounts of
precious time on achieving 100% perfect biomechanics, and addressing tiny
muscle imbalances was daft when most time-poor people would be better served
doing more strenuous exercise to stave off the threat of serious cardiovascular
disease.
THE MOVEMENT SPECIALISTS…
A day or so later I received an
email from one of these aforementioned movement specialists, which as you can probably imagine
stressed the importance of the testing and retesting of biomechanics and the
need for highly individualised training programmes, heck they were so persuasive
in their arguments that they almost got me believing that I’d been using the
wrong technique to pick my nose all these years!
These two approaches are almost
diametrically opposed to each other. They are on completely different sides of
the road, and neither dares walk in the middle of that road, not even for a
second. When, on-balance, a mixture of the two approaches is probably best.
Yes, there is certainly a need for assessment of biomechanics and the need for
‘proper’ technique but we certainly shouldn’t get too overly idealistic about
it. We are all different after all and the correct technique and biomechanics
for one does not necessarily look the same as for another!
UNFORTUNATELY…
Unfortunately, this example is
just the tip of a rather large iceberg. The fitness industry is littered with
people who are desperate to remain on one side of the road and dare not walk in
the middle. It’s as if the leaders or ‘gurus’ of certain training programmes or
dietary regimes actively seek to divide us and if truth be told, many of their
followers seem to enjoy this division because it somehow induces a siege mentality amongst
them, and a misguided moral superiority over other people who dare follow a
different diet or exercise plan. It allows the HIIT evangelists to
decry anyone who dares go for a long run. Functional movement specialists can
snigger at anyone for doing a bench press and the No-carb crew can treat with
utter contempt anyone munching on a sandwich.
IN CONCLUSION…
As with most things in life, when
there are two opposing arguments the answer generally lies somewhere in
the middle. Be very wary of anyone in the fitness who is a vehement supporter of
one particular exercise programme whilst remaining completely blind to the
benefits of others. And remember, the irony is that the only common ground that
many of these gurus have with each other is an overwhelming desire to flog you
their products!
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