Friday, July 17, 2009

Everybody's an Expert, revisited

I had no intention of coming back to this topic, but yesterday I came across two different things that I couldn't pass up on discussing.

The first matter was a guy on a forum asking for advice. His situation was he never exercised before, and he paid a trainer at his gym for a health assessment. So, he was performing the workout he was prescribed, until midway

"I started feeling fucking sick!! I had no strength at all and could feel my body going numb. I almost couldn't talk or move. I sat down and looked down on the floor (NEVER LOOK DOWN). As soon as I tilted my head up I started barfing like crazy basically puked all my breakfast in front of everyone on the fucking floor. How humiliating is that man. Anyway no pain no gain I guess."

No pain no gain? Absurd! Advice other guys gave him? "Suck it up, keep at it, it's normal." Hell no. You do not puke at the gym. I was the only person to say he shouldn't have vomited. The trainer who he paid was studying Kinesiology at a university, but look at the program he created

Day 1:7 min warmup on stationary bike
  • Seated Rows 2x15
  • Leg extension 2x12
  • Leg curl 2x12
  • DB biceps curl 2x12
  • 90° - 45° crunches 2x 4-4
  • Lat pulldown 90°- 60° 2x15
  • Big 21 2x 7-7-7
  • Leg raise 2x15
Cardio 20 minutes threadmill

Day 2: 7min warmup on the Elliptical machine
  • Chest Press 2x15
  • Rope Pushdown 2x15
  • Lat+Front raise 2x10
  • Chopper twist 2x12
  • Pec deck 2x15
  • Skull crusher 2x12
  • Military Press 2x12
  • Russian Twist 2x12
Cardio: 8-10 min on the rowing machine

Seems good if you haven't exercised before, but on the contrary, it's too much for a beginner and there's nothing in it that will help the poor guy become ready for intermediate-level exercises. This guy paid $50 for a so-so service.

I said there were two things. The other was a website I came across. It's not horrible by any means, but I would not recommend it to anyone if they were seeking fitness information. I'm not really with the ideas of telling ladies to suck it up and advising use of the Smith machine. The site is designed to target women, but in reality, women aren't that different from guys. Sure, a few things here and there, but gender doesn't matter when you get fitness information. Alwyn Cosgrove sums it up extremely well here. Bottom line, it's about what you know.

Now, I can't just end this post without offering alternatives, so here we go!
I've said before there's a wealth of information in this day & age, and that list should help anyone get started. Enjoy the weekend eveyone.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, that's ridiculous! People need to listen to their bodies! (Although I guess your body could be telling you "Sleep all day and give me some Cheetos!", in which case you prob shouldn't listen to your body! haha)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ha, I wouldn't mind the sleep all day part.

    Yeah, people definitely need to listen to their bodies. A bit careless to listen to any joe schmoe when it comes to your body & health, but when you're doing something like car shopping, you spend a great deal of time researching to get the best buy for your buck.

    Ah well, thanks for stopping by, appreciate the comment!

    ReplyDelete

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