Cause vs Coincidence
Azdak
Posts: 8,281 Member
If you happen to put your T Shirt on backwards and run a new personal best time for 3 miles, does that mean wearing a shirt backwards makes you run faster?
If you are out on a walk and an upbeat song comes up on your iPod, and you snap your fingers and it starts to rain, does that mean that snapping your fingers causes rain to fall?
Most people would say "no" to both examples. Yet, many ideas about fitness and weight loss are derived from just that type of thinking.
There is a difference between "cause" and "coincidence", but often that is not readily apparent. Someone might make a small change in a workout routine or eating habit, experience a "difference", and assume that the "result" was caused by the change. Because our bodies are complex machines, it is often difficult to determine what exactly is going on. This can lead to misguided efforts, wasting money on useless equipment, supplements, etc, or becoming an annoyance to your friends and family as you go on and on about the new "magic" pill, diet, exercise, whatever.
There are many examples of this in the fitness world, but past and present. Here are some examples:
1. For decades, lactic acid was considered not only a "waste product", but a major factor in causing muscle fatigue. It was considered axiomatic that one of the effects of training was that trained individuals produced less lactic acid than untrained individuals. In the early 1980s, however, radioisotope studies showed that lactic acid was not a "waste" product, but a dynamic metabolite, and that trained and untrained individuals produced the SAME amount of lactic acid at all comparable submax workloads--the difference was that trained individuals could CLEAR lactic acid faster than untrained. More recent reseach is suggesting that lactic acid may not play a role in muscle fatigue at all--it's just a coincidence that levels increase when fatigue occurs.
2. HCG. HCG is a supplement that is touted for its weight loss benefits. Part of the protocol for taking HCG involves following a very low calorie diet. All of the valid research done on HCG has shown that all of the weight loss effects that occur are due to following the very low calorie diet. There is no independent effect from HCG.
3. P90x touts the idea of "muscle confusion" as the reason why people achieve success with the program. However, any research that has been done (very little, since, in the research world, programs like P90x are relatively insignificant), has shown that "muscle confusion" is pretty much an empty phrase--people achieve success from P90x because, at it's core, it's an old-school, high-intensity, "boot camp" style workout.
4. Super Slow Strength Training, TRX and other strength routines: often people will try a new routine, see some benefits, and immediately begin singing the praises of that routine as a "superior" workout. In fact, the primary reason for the improvement was not that they did that particular routine, but because they did something DIFFERENT. Maybe they got such great results because they were doing really crappy workouts and finally got some instruction.
I was thinking about this on Monday, because I had a really great strength workout-the best I had had in several weeks. I was surprised because not only had I been in a rut for a few weeks, but I did this workout at 5:30 am after working 12 hours the day before. I had expected it to be more of an "obligation" workout rather than something transcendent. .
As I thought about the possible reasons, it struck me how many factors may have been involved--here is just a partial list of some possible interactions:
1. Because my strength workouts seemed to be in the doldrums lately, I had really been focusing on pushing the intensity and making sure I was consistently lifting every 3rd day. So this workout had come at the end of a consistent 2-3 weeks of training.
2. I had been making a conscious effort to go to sleep an hour earlier, because I had been drifting back into a 5 hr/night sleeping schedule.
3. I have started using a protein powder for the past few weeks--not really upping my intake, but replacing some more expensive protein sources (e.g. greek yogurt) with the (much) cheaper powder from Costco.
4. I did this workout where I work, rather than at the park district near my house, so there was an extra 30-40 min between when I ate and when I started the workout.
5. I might have had a low-grade infection for a few days.
6. I was feeling postive about getting up and to the gym at 5:30am on Monday instead of blowing it off until later or for another day.
Any or all of these might have played a role. There might be other factors that I am not even aware of. The point is that it would be a mistake to fixate on any one factor (esp the protein supplement) as a "cause" of my improved performance.
So, as you start or continue on your programs into the new year: trying new things is great; introducing variety into your routine can be very beneficial. Just maintain a healthy skepticism whenever you hear about the new "greatest" product, workout, diet, or supplement. Usually the "cause" is just a "coincidence". Like the guy who says he wins at blackjack because he wears a chicken suit. Doesn't work.
If you are out on a walk and an upbeat song comes up on your iPod, and you snap your fingers and it starts to rain, does that mean that snapping your fingers causes rain to fall?
Most people would say "no" to both examples. Yet, many ideas about fitness and weight loss are derived from just that type of thinking.
There is a difference between "cause" and "coincidence", but often that is not readily apparent. Someone might make a small change in a workout routine or eating habit, experience a "difference", and assume that the "result" was caused by the change. Because our bodies are complex machines, it is often difficult to determine what exactly is going on. This can lead to misguided efforts, wasting money on useless equipment, supplements, etc, or becoming an annoyance to your friends and family as you go on and on about the new "magic" pill, diet, exercise, whatever.
There are many examples of this in the fitness world, but past and present. Here are some examples:
1. For decades, lactic acid was considered not only a "waste product", but a major factor in causing muscle fatigue. It was considered axiomatic that one of the effects of training was that trained individuals produced less lactic acid than untrained individuals. In the early 1980s, however, radioisotope studies showed that lactic acid was not a "waste" product, but a dynamic metabolite, and that trained and untrained individuals produced the SAME amount of lactic acid at all comparable submax workloads--the difference was that trained individuals could CLEAR lactic acid faster than untrained. More recent reseach is suggesting that lactic acid may not play a role in muscle fatigue at all--it's just a coincidence that levels increase when fatigue occurs.
2. HCG. HCG is a supplement that is touted for its weight loss benefits. Part of the protocol for taking HCG involves following a very low calorie diet. All of the valid research done on HCG has shown that all of the weight loss effects that occur are due to following the very low calorie diet. There is no independent effect from HCG.
3. P90x touts the idea of "muscle confusion" as the reason why people achieve success with the program. However, any research that has been done (very little, since, in the research world, programs like P90x are relatively insignificant), has shown that "muscle confusion" is pretty much an empty phrase--people achieve success from P90x because, at it's core, it's an old-school, high-intensity, "boot camp" style workout.
4. Super Slow Strength Training, TRX and other strength routines: often people will try a new routine, see some benefits, and immediately begin singing the praises of that routine as a "superior" workout. In fact, the primary reason for the improvement was not that they did that particular routine, but because they did something DIFFERENT. Maybe they got such great results because they were doing really crappy workouts and finally got some instruction.
I was thinking about this on Monday, because I had a really great strength workout-the best I had had in several weeks. I was surprised because not only had I been in a rut for a few weeks, but I did this workout at 5:30 am after working 12 hours the day before. I had expected it to be more of an "obligation" workout rather than something transcendent. .
As I thought about the possible reasons, it struck me how many factors may have been involved--here is just a partial list of some possible interactions:
1. Because my strength workouts seemed to be in the doldrums lately, I had really been focusing on pushing the intensity and making sure I was consistently lifting every 3rd day. So this workout had come at the end of a consistent 2-3 weeks of training.
2. I had been making a conscious effort to go to sleep an hour earlier, because I had been drifting back into a 5 hr/night sleeping schedule.
3. I have started using a protein powder for the past few weeks--not really upping my intake, but replacing some more expensive protein sources (e.g. greek yogurt) with the (much) cheaper powder from Costco.
4. I did this workout where I work, rather than at the park district near my house, so there was an extra 30-40 min between when I ate and when I started the workout.
5. I might have had a low-grade infection for a few days.
6. I was feeling postive about getting up and to the gym at 5:30am on Monday instead of blowing it off until later or for another day.
Any or all of these might have played a role. There might be other factors that I am not even aware of. The point is that it would be a mistake to fixate on any one factor (esp the protein supplement) as a "cause" of my improved performance.
So, as you start or continue on your programs into the new year: trying new things is great; introducing variety into your routine can be very beneficial. Just maintain a healthy skepticism whenever you hear about the new "greatest" product, workout, diet, or supplement. Usually the "cause" is just a "coincidence". Like the guy who says he wins at blackjack because he wears a chicken suit. Doesn't work.
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bump0
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Great food for thought, thanks!0
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Very insightful and well written - thank you!!0
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Just maintain a healthy skepticism whenever you hear about the new "greatest" product, workout, diet, or supplement. Usually the "cause" is just a "coincidence". Like the guy who says he wins at blackjack because he wears a chicken suit. Doesn't work.
Very insightful!! Good way to think about it too!0 -
I agree with everything you have stated. I've learned over the years to never jump on the bandwagon when I hear about the latest fad. I too have decided that when I hit a plateau or doldrums I mix it up and change things around. I hit a weight plateau a few weeks back and tried a 20-24 hour "FAST" and that kicked me into gear.0
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I too agree with most except the contradiction between 3 and 4. Muscle confusion works because you are constantly doing something different, which you said works in #4 after saying it doesn't in #3.
"...P90x touts the idea of "muscle confusion"..." ; "muscle confusion" comes from doing something different, they are one in the same.0 -
I too agree with most except the contradiction between 3 and 4. Muscle confusion works because you are constantly doing something different, which you said works in #4 after saying it doesn't in #3.
"...P90x touts the idea of "muscle confusion"..." ; "muscle confusion" comes from doing something different, they are one in the same.
Yeah, I thought that too when I read it.0 -
I too agree with most except the contradiction between 3 and 4. Muscle confusion works because you are constantly doing something different, which you said works in #4 after saying it doesn't in #3.
"...P90x touts the idea of "muscle confusion"..." ; "muscle confusion" comes from doing something different, they are one in the same.
Good point--I didn't explain it clearly enough--there is a difference between "muscle confusion" as I hear it espoused by Tony Horton in the P90x infomercials (e.g. constantly changing activities so that the muscles are "confused" and burn more calories) and the concept of seeing a change because you have been doing the same thing over and over and are introducing a new type of training or training stimulus into a one-dimensional program. The first is just gibberish, the second an important part of training.
There is a qualitative difference between the infomercial concept of "muscle confusion" and "varying training intensity".0 -
All very sound and well put.
I guess I won't be needing my chicken suit any more
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I too agree with most except the contradiction between 3 and 4. Muscle confusion works because you are constantly doing something different, which you said works in #4 after saying it doesn't in #3.
"...P90x touts the idea of "muscle confusion"..." ; "muscle confusion" comes from doing something different, they are one in the same.
Good point--I didn't explain it clearly enough--there is a difference between "muscle confusion" as I hear it espoused by Tony Horton in the P90x infomercials (e.g. constantly changing activities so that the muscles are "confused" and burn more calories) and the concept of seeing a change because you have been doing the same thing over and over and are introducing a new type of training or training stimulus into a one-dimensional program. The first is just gibberish, the second an important part of training.
There is a qualitative difference between the infomercial concept of "muscle confusion" and "varying training intensity".
I think Tony means every week/day/month you change up your routine when he says muscle confusion, I guess there are more than one way to take that statement. I took it as change what you do often and get better results.0
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