Average person does not exercise hard enough

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Azdak
Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/judging-badly-how-hard-we-exercise/?smid=tw-nytimes

I have often suspected this, based on personal observation, but this provides some empirical support.

Subjects reported that they understood national exercise guidelines for exercise intensity, but when asked to use perceived exertion to set workload, worked at a significantly lower level.

I see this all the time at our fitness center. The average person, esp beginners and older adults, does not get results they expect because they simply don't work hard enough.

I think it's often more perception than lack of desire. When I work with people and push them to an appropriate level, they are often surprised at the effort required, but they don't necessarily find it unpleasant.
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Replies

  • rosehips60
    rosehips60 Posts: 1,030 Member
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    I find most exercise unpleasant but I'll keep this in mind and try to work a little harder, thanks
  • moautry
    moautry Posts: 12 Member
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    I noticed that too. Once I looked around the gym to see what the fit people were doing versus every one else, and they were sweating like pigs on the stair-masters while the rest of us were taking it easy on the ellipticals.
  • joanthemom8
    joanthemom8 Posts: 375 Member
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    Yes, I have notice this as well. However, I have to say that, by the time I leave the gym (or come back from a run/walk) I am sweating profusely and my face is the color of a very ripe tomato. I think that means I'm hitting the mark most of the time. LOL
  • PinkyFett
    PinkyFett Posts: 842 Member
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    Yes, I have notice this as well. However, I have to say that, by the time I leave the gym (or come back from a run/walk) I am sweating profusely and my face is the color of a very ripe tomato. I think that means I'm hitting the mark most of the time. LOL

    This is how I am too. For now.

    I'm still only a month in to this. I know in time I'll have to challenge myself more.
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
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    They don't see results because you can't exercise a bad diet. Go to the gym to be healthy, eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. I walk for cardio and lift weight, I rarely sweat like a pig and I am healthy and lean.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Again, I think it is more a question of ignorance, rather than people being lazy, and I want to make sure that no one gets the idea, either from the article or my original comment, that I am criticizing anyone. It just speaks to the fact that, despite the best of intentions, many people still do not know how to exercise effectively. And this despite 50 years of exhortation from national health authorities and constant bombardment in the media about fitness and exercise.

    The message is further muddied because, in order to reach a broader audience, for the past 25 years, the message from the major health and fitness organizations has been to deemphasize traditional exercise programs in favor of increasing casual activity.
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
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    I'm definitely lazy when it comes to exercise. I end up going for time on task rather than focused effort. So I'll go for a bike ride for a few hours but in general not be pushing it nearly as hard as I could. It's still exercise, still good for me, but no where near peak performance.

    Part of it is simply the fact that once I lose weight the bike in particular is much easier to move around. Right now I'm taking an extra 80 lbs (used to be 100 lbs) with me everywhere I go so I don't mind being a little patient as that falls off at which point I will be a bit more inspired and enabled to move a bit faster.
  • Chevy_Quest
    Chevy_Quest Posts: 2,012 Member
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    Great Post - The thing that I like about MFP that there are all sorts of different ways to exercise.

    It is about getting outside of your "comfort zone"

    {{{ heads to make a total fool of himself doing burpees }} :smile:
  • yungibear
    yungibear Posts: 138 Member
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    My exercising isn't exactly strenuous, but it's not like a stroll in the park, either. I've figured out, at least for myself, that it is all in the adjustment of both my diet and activity level. I can eat at a reasonable deficit, and on top of that, burn a little bit of calories, ~200-300. It doesn't feel like I'm torturing myself with extreme eating or exercise when I do this.

    I once had a roommate who would juice really nasty tasting concoctions in the morning, go to the gym for an hour to sweat it out on the elliptical, and then come back to eat a whole pan of spaghetti. Then she'd eat all the snacks she wanted and then on top of all that, eat a double portion dinner. Then she'd complain to me about her body not being able to lose weight, even thought she worked hard on juicing and exercising. o _o
  • CRody44
    CRody44 Posts: 776 Member
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    I think a lot of you are being too judgmental and may not know under what circumstances a person is working out the way they are. I’m one of those fat, lazy old, bastrds that is not sweating like a pig, and I use the elliptical. Because of a heart condition, my doctor says to keep my heart rate under 120, because of a knee replacement already done, and a hip replacement coming up and four surgeries on my foot to remove cancer tumors, I use the elliptical. Because I’m fat and old and wish to last a few more years to enjoy my grandchildren, I follow my doctor’s orders. I’m sorry I don’t meet the standards of all of you perky little pets, but I have lost 70 pounds, with 80 pounds to go.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
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    I don't sweat very much, just go bright red and swollen :ohwell:

    But, I did see a woman on the treadmill earlier this week. Well, I saw several, but this particular one was playing with her mobile phone, whilst watching Game of Thrones on an Ipad propped up on the front of the machine. The machine also had a telly screen on it and she had that switched on with a different programme going. And she was walking really slowly. I was just a bit baffled.

    ETA: when I started I went really slowly too and thought I'd bust my spleen. She was just meandering along, not at all out of puff or anything and was thin (not that that's an accurate barometer of fitness though).
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    Great Post - The thing that I like about MFP that there are all sorts of different ways to exercise.

    It is about getting outside of your "comfort zone"

    {{{ heads to make a total fool of himself doing burpees }} :smile:

    Yes! I thought I could look like Jillian Michaels and the like by simply doing the Jane Fonda/RIchard Simmons/Jazzercise type "light aerobics" from the 1980's. Yeah, I never even broke a sweat, and HR barely broke 120bpm. Yeah, I blame only my own ignorance of what it takes to get to where I want to be.

    Burpees, push ups, pull ups, dips, mountain climbers, and planks till I collapse in a pool of sweat and tears--THAT'S where I need to be. (Disclaimer--I do this "moderately", meaning a healthy 30-50 minutes 3-4 days a week, mixed with 30-50 min jogging or 20 min HIIT cardio on opposite days).

    "Foolish" looking burpee do-ers, UNITE! Someday soon, we WILL look awesome doing them!
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
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    Maybe I'm nitpicking, but they took SEDENTARY individuals. Perhaps these individuals were not physically capable of reaching and holding moderate or vigorous exercise. Maybe it's just me, but when I walk my puppy, I'm going ~3 mph, and I come home out of breath, sweating, and red. To me that is moderate. I am incapable of doing vigorous exertion for more than about 30 seconds. *hangs head in shame*

    If someone told me I wasn't working out HARD enough, I'd be tempted to kick them in the groin. I'm happy that I'm getting off my *kitten* and doing what little exercise I do do. Now, with that in mind, if I suddenly STOPPED making progress, then obviously it's time to re-evaluate what I'm doing, whether that is the calories I'm eating, or the exercise I'm doing.
  • KameHameHaaa
    KameHameHaaa Posts: 244 Member
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    This is why I like my HRM. Makes sure I'm doin' the work :D
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
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    They don't see results because you can't exercise a bad diet. Go to the gym to be healthy, eat at a calorie deficit to lose weight. I walk for cardio and lift weight, I rarely sweat like a pig and I am healthy and lean.

    I have to agree with this. I lift heavy, and do a little mountain biking here and there, but I wouldn't say I work extremely hard. But I'm pretty lean and healthy too.
  • markiend
    markiend Posts: 461 Member
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    the average person doesn't exercise..

    fixed :)

    edit for spolling :)
  • njitaliana
    njitaliana Posts: 814 Member
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    I'm 60 and disabled. Any exercise I do is good. I can't exercise the way I did when I was able-bodied and in my 20s, or even disabled and in my 30s and 40s, but I still exercise, and it's still good.
  • wonderwoman234
    wonderwoman234 Posts: 551 Member
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    What "results" are we talking about? People work out for a myriad of reasons, not just to lose weight, not just to be able to reach a certain pinnacle of fitness necessarily.

    I think it is important to understand what one wants to achieve through exercise before making a blanket statement that people aren't working out hard enough.

    Considering how few American's do ANY sort of regular exercise, I think anyone doing anything active has a leg up on sedentary folks.

    I exercise a lot - one hour of heavy lifting 4 days a week and 30-60 minutes of vigorous cardio 5-6 days a week, plus 15-20 minutes of stretching. I do it because I love it and it makes me feel great. But who am I to judge anyone else for how they work out?
  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
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    New York Times is not a reliable source of scientific evidence.
    There are lots of good studies with peer reviewed journal papers showing even 5 minutes of walking 3-4 times a day is beneficial, especially for those with diabetes, heart disease or obesity.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    Maybe I'm nitpicking, but they took SEDENTARY individuals. Perhaps these individuals were not physically capable of reaching and holding moderate or vigorous exercise. Maybe it's just me, but when I walk my puppy, I'm going ~3 mph, and I come home out of breath, sweating, and red. To me that is moderate. I am incapable of doing vigorous exertion for more than about 30 seconds. *hangs head in shame*

    If someone told me I wasn't working out HARD enough, I'd be tempted to kick them in the groin. I'm happy that I'm getting off my *kitten* and doing what little exercise I do do. Now, with that in mind, if I suddenly STOPPED making progress, then obviously it's time to re-evaluate what I'm doing, whether that is the calories I'm eating, or the exercise I'm doing.

    Perhaps I chose the wrong headline, but I think you are misreading the study.

    The study was comparing peoples' self-selected exercise intensities when they were instructed to follow the national guidelines of "vigorous" exercise. According to the guidelines, "vigorous" exercise means working out at a certain defined level of intensity. When people--who claimed that they fully understood the guideline--self-selected their exercise workload to match that defined level of intensity, it turned out they were well below that.

    The guidelines do not dictate that everyone work out at one high intensity level. They outline two different levels of exercise volume--150 minutes a week at a"moderate" intensity OR 75 minutes per week at a "vigorous" intensity. The significance was that people who were consciously trying to work at the "vigorous" level did not choose the appropriate level of intensity and therefore might not get the results they expected. And if people tend to make that mistake on a regular basis, then maybe the guidelines need to be explained more clearly.

    At no point was there any hint of "shaming" people who choose one level of intensity over another or to single out anyone who, for whatever reason, could not or chose not to work out at a more vigorous level.

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