In defense of mediocre fitness...
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Anonymous
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I have come in and out of fitness/wellness culture the last few years as I've had babies and wanted to get healthy. And because of particularly miserable pregnancies I have started at the ground up four times now (never again!). I had my last baby in November so quarantine was, for me, a back in the saddle kind of thing. It actually gave me the time and focus I needed to get going but again I have been struck by how, if I didn't have a level of familiarity with it all, I would be so discouraged reading articles and boards that I might just give up entirely or never start at all.
I started jogging again and while googling jogging on the treadmill all I found were articles saying, 'outside running is the only effective running' or '4.5 isn't fast enough' or 'you will see no results if you're not also strength training.' 'None of this matters if you're still drinking wine.' I see people talking about losing pounds to get to 170 and other people askance that that would be enough for someone. Its all so discouraging and I feel like it makes the horse so much harder to get on. When I laced my sneakers back up a few months ago I could barely run 5 minutes! Now I can jog 2.5 miles. I've lost 10 pounds! But if I tried to take in all this stuff I'm not sure I would have even started. I'm not perfect and super not claiming to be but I just want to advocate for the mediocre middle ground of fitness. If you're 200 pounds and you start jogging conservatively twice a week for a half hour, do a yoga class and stop eating after 7, you will probably become a lot healthier! Even if you never achieve like 10% body fat and 130 pounds and able to bench press your weight, being 170 and able to run a mile is still awesome! I know I'm not breaking new ground here, but if this speaks to you, you're doing great! Whatever it is, if you're working on you, its great! |
Anonymous
| This may sound hopelessly misguided but I am approaching my cut-off at 75 years of age and have recently stopped resistance-training and more than doubled down on walking - after three months of progressive consistency I am comfortable doing a hilly four-and-a half mile routine daily (well, I missed three days recently because ...). I feel great. My range is 1:25 through 1:30, rain or shine. I am on a 'runner's high' right now because I felt 20-years-old yesterday doing a 1:22.06. |
Anonymous
| Thanks guys! I appreciate this perspective. I'm drowning in pandemic-ness and just need to even add back in a walking routine so I'm doing something. |
Anonymous
| I'm very into fitness at this moment because I have the time and I really enjoy it, but if I could get one message across about this stuff it'd definitely be that most of the benefits are from going from 0 to mediocre. That 20 minutes/day 3 days/week of moderate exercise is huge. I think a lot of people think they have to do more and don't do anything, but even if you are eventually trying to do more, starting slow, developing habits, and seeing successes is a good way to go, and then if you enjoy yourself and want more you always can. |
Anonymous
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What's that saying, "if something is worth doing it's worth doing badly?" If it is worth running a 5 K, then managing a 1K is ALSO good.
If it is worth going to a yoga class, doing 20 minutes of stretching with a video is worth doing!!! If it is worth doing a 100 ab exercises, 15 is also worth doing! |
Anonymous
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I have had to start at ground zero a few times too (pregnancies with bed rest, injuries, etc.), and even though I played sports in college, was a gym rat in my 20s, it was really hard to get back into it.
I think walking is such a huge first step and should be encouraged. I often don't even feel like going for a walk, but my dog insists on it! And once I actually get outside, it feels great. |
Anonymous
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Absolutely, OP! Every little bit counts, truly. I've been an athlete for 30 years and am completely rigid about it, but the all or nothing message drives me nuts. It's simply not true.
The message should be to do what you can, and even a little movement is better than none. These times are stressful in so many different ways--do what you can, and don't beat yourself up if it doesn't look a certain way. |
Anonymous
| I'm a trainer and I totally agree. The people I see who are able to maintain exercise are the ones who are mediocre. The elite ones who obsess over doing everything "right" burn out quickly and can't maintain long term. I'd way rather see someone just do a daily walk and some body weight exercises (which is what I do). |
Anonymous
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I completely agree. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good!
I think a lot of "wellness" culture is actually quite disordered. Lots of black-and-white thinking, very Manichean good/evil dichotomies, being very critical of yourself and never being satisfied or even really enjoying your body at all. For me, the point of exercise is so that I feel good and my body can do the things I want it to do. I don't have to be skinny and also fit and defined, or cut out all the carbs or exercise for an hour a day, to have fun dancing with my kid or hiking in the woods, or to sleep well, or whatever. |
Anonymous
PP, I love this saying. It's simlar to the "Perfecte is the enemy of the good" but this one takes it even further: it doesn't even have to be done to the level of "good"-just do it. |
Anonymous
Why are you cutting off resistance training at 75? |
Anonymous
Cause they want to? Because it isn’t fun anymore? Because they have other ways they’d rather be spending their time? This is about mediocre fitness pp not perfection! |
Anonymous
RBG never stopped her fitness routine because she got to 75 https://images.app.goo.gl/2Gp7Jz6Zi1i26bdY9 |
Anonymous
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" Why are you cutting off resistance training at 75? "
I should have written "I am I cutting off at age 75." I prefer my life span end with a glorious orgy of indulgences rather than have it painfully peter out in wasteful medical expenses. I started resistance training in the 1970s using the full array of Nautilus equipment at Mike Ortega's All-Sport Fitness in Poughkeepsie. Four marathons later life happened and when I got back into semi-serious training the equipment had changed and not for the better. I want to exit life my way ... not on a ventilator. |
Anonymous
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I appreciate this take on “mediocre fitness” especially since I am just getting back into fitness. I’m new to strength training and still need to modify, go slowly, and learn. I am just not strong, flexible, balanced, or coordinated enough to always follow along with the instructor. But I am trying my best, learning, working hard, being consistent, and being patient. I am seeing and feeling gains. I suppose I am mediocre—in high school, a coach actually told me I was mediocre.
I do have a problem with people who make excuses not to start at all, or start and quit, or are too inconsistent to make any gains. They don’t take care of their health because it’s too much work. Is this the type of “mediocre fitness” you’re talking about? I know someone who is proud of her mediocrity in that she refuses to diet or exercise and thinks of those who do as “compulsive” or type A. |