Dead on or Total Jerk?

devrinator

Sometimes small changes do make a big difference. I knew a girl who went from obese to a very healthy weight simply by no longer drinking colas and no longer eating anything fried. That was it. It worked for her, because those were what caused her to gain weight. She drank lots of sodas and everything she ate was fried.

Also,some of us gained weight simply due to a lifestyle change: working a job where you stand all day, then being the one at the desk for 8 hours. Standing those 8 hours can help you to burn an extra 300, more or less calories a day.

I think the itch that this guys article gives is that not everyone who says, "I'm going to tighten my stomach muscles for two minutes every hour" is really thinking that he'll lose 50 lbs from that. Not everyone that says "I'm going to start taking a walk each night" is really thinking of it as a "workout."

Who has EVER said "I'm going to start working out," but meant "I'm going to park my car at the furthest parking lot from the Wal-Mart entrance."?

I don't think anyone really considers these small changes to be "fitness routines" or "workouts," which is why the article kind of seems like bunk. It's not relevant to what people really think about fitness and working out. There really is no point to the article, because people really don't believe they're "working out" like Olympic athletes because they take the stairs to their second level office rather than taking the elevator.

The point that seems missed is that for people who really want and need to get into better shape, they need to make big changes. Perhaps the people squeezing their butt muscles when their digital watch beeps every hour do need to workout, but I doubt that the butt squeezers really believe they're "working out" by doing that.

He's saying, "That's NOT a WORKOUT," but nobody ever said it was.

Sarge516

DEAD ON - not how I would present it, but dead on just the same.

lucypeaks

ugh,so much negativity and mocking others on here whether i agree with the OP's or not. It's pretty disgusting to see so many overly opinionated people judging and saying 'it's my way or the highway'. Shame on everyone having a laugh at other peoples efforts.

ephemerata

Yawn. I'm so tired of the "edgy" faux-journalism on the Gawker network. We get it, Journalist -- you read a lot of Chuck Palahniuk growing up. Congrats.

ponchan

No pain, no gain ^^

raeleek

Yawn. I'm so tired of the "edgy" faux-journalism on the Gawker network. We get it, Journalist -- you read a lot of Chuck Palahniuk growing up. Congrats.

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

penrbrown

HAH! I love that someone called him a character from a Nicholas Sparks novel. :P

Gallowmere1984

ugh,so much negativity and mocking others on here whether i agree with the OP's or not. It's pretty disgusting to see so many overly opinionated people judging and saying 'it's my way or the highway'. Shame on everyone having a laugh at other peoples efforts.

Yeah, sorry, I feel bad now...oh, wait, no I don't. People either need to get the lead (fat?) out of their *kitten* and move, and stop stuffing their faces full of ****, or stop complaining about their lack of progress.

If what someone is doing isn't working, common sense and logic dictate: do something harder. Oops...there's that naughty word again that most soft *kitten* people hate: hard.

lizzynewm

i think the whole connotation of this article is terrible, because it's great to go on walks and do little things throughout the day to remain active. sure, it might not be a full-blown shredding pain-bowl workout followed up by a monster protein shake, but there's nothing wrong with going on walks that fit your schedule. i hate the way the author makes that seem like a bad thing.

maybe i'd agree with it more if it weren't written from such a ridiculously pretentious viewpoint, but i'm biased against *kitten*.

rob1976

Absolutely true.

wendybird5

Love this!!!

ItsCasey

It's actually kinda crap.

http://www.sph.sc.edu/usc_cparg/pdf/Sedentary2008.pdf

Read the article above, thanksso much for posting this for us:

"Light physical activity, which often is
grouped with sedentary behavior but is in fact a distinct
activity construct, involves energy expenditure at the level of
1.6Y2.9 METs. It includes activities such as slow walking,
sitting and writing, cooking food, and washing dishes."

*****so we can count light housework, intimate behaviors, etc but we just have to understand those activites won't lead to a high calorie burn or help people get to true "fitness". I like to do a moderate intensity level of exercise and get my heart rate up 3 or 4 times a week.

That depends on what system you are using to track calories consumed/burned. MFP talks specifically about your job activity when it asks you about activity level because they are trying to get a sense of how much you should plan on working out if you want to lose X lbs per week. When they ask you, in setting up your profile, how many workouts you plan to do each week, they aren't asking how many times you're going to wash the dishes.

"Sedentary," on this site, means you have a job that keeps you on your butt most of the day. It takes into account the fact that you probably do some light activity (like desk work, walking to and fro, chores, grocery shopping, etc.), but the majority of your day is spent sitting, as opposed to someone who works in construction or a flight attendant or waitress.

Some people seem to think "sedentary" means "I literally do not move all day long, so any movement counts and should be logged." Those are typically the people who sit around wondering why they aren't losing any weight. They see these huge calorie burns on their diary because they log everything from half an hour spent walking around the grocery store to 10 minutes of cleaning up the kitchen after dinner. And that affects how much actual exercise they get because they don't see the need to try to burn a few hundred calories working out when they've already burned so much from their daily activity.

m23gm25

I'd like to know how he got to decide what work out and fitness means. There are a ton of words (despite words not actually weighing anything) that are used by different people to mean different things. In fact if you 'corrected' every 'incorrect' use of terminology you would start a debate that would never end as even the term correct is subjective!! Correct for who???

If you walk your dog, is it a work out - apparently not
If you run with your dog, is it a work out - perhaps
If you power walk, is it a work out - Those guys who can competitively walk as fast as I can run would probably say yes

At 110lbs a damn good run will get your heart pumping, make you sweat and you will feel the burn.
At 310lbs a brisk walk would do the same thing

Oh well it's his pedestal and as long as he is happy there then who are we to complain.....and we can still lose weight, improve our health, lower our BMI and get 'fitter' without screaming or bleeding if we want to!!

I agree. Just live and let live. I'm 61 years old and have rheumatoid arthritis. To me walking workouts is the best I can do. and It is working for me. But then I don't want to look like the statue of Atlas.

sunnysulani

The article is written from the perspective that there are no people for whom a walk around the office every half hour could actually be physically demanding. But that's not true. There are lots of people who are so deconditioned that this kind of exercise is equivalent to a fitter person ripping their fingernails out (or whatever). No need to make those guys feel like *kitten* because what is really challenging to them isn't challenging to the author of this post.

^ Exactly. Fitness isn't a state, it's a continuum. Everybody has to start somewhere and a walk around the block with Diane or Rover might be just the step they need to get on the fitness journey. The HTFU approach works great for some people but not for everybody and we do a great disservice if we insist that if you're not in pain it's not doing you any good.

GiddyupTim

Stupid and arrogant. I believe that the research says you can have very important cardiovascular benefits with a fairly low level of activity (walking 20 minutes a day) and that getting up out of your chair every 20 minutes -- even if it is just to stand and take a few steps -- changes your metabolism in significant, healthful ways.
Will it make you skinny? No.
But will it be enough to keep you healthy? Maybe.
So, then, what's his point?

devrinator

Still, he's saying "That's not a workout," but nobody has ever said it was.

acm130

Hmmm very thought provoking. I sometimes find myself being really smug & judgey at the gym, i.e. Seriously you're wiping that machine down? ummmmm did you even break a sweat? Or, Wow, you're thumbs are getting an awesome workout texty-mctexter pants....... Then I remember my values: to be supportive and encouraging to everyone who's making an effort at incorporating fitness into their lifestyle. I would be lying if I said I don't roll my eyes sometimes when someone posts "light housekeeping" calories burned etc. But, being more aware/conscientious about your energy in and activity levels is the first step. Choosing to take the stairs instead of the elevator, choosing to park far away in the parking lot, getting up and going for a walk after dinner instead of collapsing in front the TV... These are all GOOD choices and should be encouraged. People sometimes tell me they're intimidated to try running or hot yoga or join a gym because they think people will judge them.There is a crisis in this country related to obesity, yet our culture has this dichotomy of apathy versus hardcore....We need to encourage, empower and motivate each other and acknowledge and validate goals at EVERY level.

altinker

I love the article: http://www.sph.sc.edu/usc_cparg/pdf/Sedentary2008.pdf

The author makes some great points. I think people's perceptions of activity level could greatly vary. Somebody could sit all day and then work out for an hour a day and burn less than somebody who has sex, does chores, runs errands, etc.

gmallan

Just read this article about a study that is the complete opposite of this. Granted they aren't looking at training for specific fitness goals but rather just fitting in more exercise.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129100118.htm

I particularly love the diagram that shows you can burn 10 extra calories by getting out of your car and going in to buy your fast food as opposed to going drive through. Like that 10 extra cals is going to make a dent in your 1000 calorie meal

Note: I don't count incidental exercise as exercise just bonuses (even my 30minute daily lunch break walk or walking up hill for 20 minutes to my car as exercise and would certainly never count cleaning)

tabbyavalon

total bollocks! i walk an hour a day and do 20-40mins exercise dvd every other day and im getting toned an slim i can see it!! if i start working out ill start getting muscular an thats not for me i think muscles on a woman is weird so every thing this douche has said is crap in my opinion