Physical Fitness

General Discussion
1

It’s clear that there is a stint of physical fitness going on around the US. But with that comes quite a few charlatans who dupe people into programs or workouts that either injure you are accomplish nothing after months on end. It seems as though just working out isn’t nearly enough, it’s how you do it.
How do you separate the ones that generate results from the thousands of books and tapes that exploit people?

2

Titan, you don’t need anybody or any equipment. One can use some simple, basic, traditional exercises for starters.
If someone is just getting started they should learn some basic stretching and loosening up movements.
If that person has any serious medical issues they should consult with doctor before starting.
Then it’s simple, find something that elevates your heart rate for at least 5 mins. 3 times a week.(for starters…)
Work from there.
Slowly increase these periods as you get more and more in shape.(working towards increased heart rate and sweating, 20-40 mins a day, 4-6 days a week)
(that means increased heart rate continuously for 20-30 mins…not a workout period that lasts 20-30 mins in total.)
Warming up before exercise and good breathing throughout the whole exercise and warm-up are very essential.
Running is good.
Burpees are very good.
Mountain climbers, flutter kicks, jumping jacks(3 count) air squats and sit-ups.
None of these require a gym, money, equipment or anything.
Just the few I mentioned above alone, would be enough to get in fine physical condition.
Take it slowly, remember to breath, when you get discouraged just keep going.
Getting in shape and exercising is 80% mental. You’ll start reaping the rewards in a few days if you have earnest.
Also, about diet…don’t get caught up in counting and math and certain foods etc…diets.
Just eat, just eat less if you already eat too much. Try to eat better foods instead of junk food. Fruits, vegs, meats, cereals, nuts, dairy.
You can eat anything you want, just eat a normal amount per day.( the normal daily caloric amount)

3
How do you separate the ones that generate results from the thousands of books and tapes that exploit people?
You have to re-arrange your thinking Titan.(you're letting yourself exploit yourself) ONLY YOU are going to generate results. Nobody or no program is going to generate results for you. There is no magic technique. This cannot be bought. Not even for a billion dollars. You can get it for free though. You have to pay with a little time each day, sweat and some initial frustration. If it isn't sucking the first day you start...you're doing it wrong. Until you slowly change into someone who appreciates exercise and it's HUGE benefits, it's going to suck hard. But that's ok. It's supposed to. Embrace the suck. That's all there is. It's basic physics, There is noooo way around it. You have to generate power using your muscles and burning calories. Doing this properly elevates the heart rate and creates sweat and frustration. In the process it can create very good feelings, endorphin rushes, huge confidence buildings etc etc.. better well-being. The results are worth billions of dollars....but you can get 'em for free. Remember it's all mental. You mustn't psyche yourself out. You have to press on and embrace the misery until you slowly change.
4
It's clear that there is a stint of physical fitness going on around the US.
That makes me think of a road trip I took through Colorado and Kansas via state and country roads a bunch of years back. Coming from the Durango area, which has a healthy lively economy, it was shocking and depressing seeing small town after small town with main street deserted and most businesses shuttered. Hardly an open down-home restaurant to be found any more. Weirdest was that after a few sad old towns like that, I realized that I kept seeing open Fitness Centers, no place for a morning coffee eggs and donut, but you could go to the gym, for a fee. Once I was watching for it, dang it if those things hadn't sprouted in pretty near every down-an-out town I drove through. Haven't put my finger on it, but seems a mightly bizarre statement about what we've done to ourselves.
5
ONLY YOU are going to generate results. Nobody or no program is going to generate results for you. There is no magic technique. This cannot be bought. Not even for a billion dollars.
Some good old labor intensive jobs do the trick too. If I depended on my regular exercise habit, I'd be putty. Not shoving too much food and sweets and drink into your belly also helps. :cheese:
6
ONLY YOU are going to generate results. Nobody or no program is going to generate results for you. There is no magic technique. This cannot be bought. Not even for a billion dollars.
Some good old labor intensive jobs do the trick too. If I depended on my regular exercise habit, I'd be putty. Not shoving too much food and sweets and drink into your belly also helps. :cheese: It's strange how people make it seem so easy, yet everywhere else I look it seems like some Herculean effort must be put into it
7

The answer is to view all claims skeptically and try understand the psychology behind sales pitches and how it works to draw people in and to overcome their resistance. This, of course, applies to all claims, not just those aboutexercise regimens. Demand evidence that they work and are not harmful, or closely investigate it yourself.
Lois

8
The answer is to view all claims skeptically and try understand the psychology behind sales pitches and how it works to draw people in and to overcome their resistance. This, of course, applies to all claims, not just those about e exercise regimes. Demand evidence that they work and are not harmful, or closely investigate it yourself. Lois
How can you tell if the evidence is fabricated or not? I know the claim is the body shaming that is done to sell products.
9
ONLY YOU are going to generate results. Nobody or no program is going to generate results for you. There is no magic technique. This cannot be bought. Not even for a billion dollars.
Some good old labor intensive jobs do the trick too. If I depended on my regular exercise habit, I'd be putty. Not shoving too much food and sweets and drink into your belly also helps. :cheese: It's strange how people make it seem so easy, yet everywhere else I look it seems like some Herculean effort must be put into it Sorry. You're right. I didn't mean to sound judgmental or superior. I am restricted to my own experience. I was fortunate enough as a young kid to see my dad with a big belly, though in his youth, from a few pictures, I knew he was slim and fit. From quite early in my life, I knew that I never wanted that to happen to me. In high school I did some sports (wrestling because I wanted to learn self defense and swimming because I was uncomfortable with my swimming abilities and I thought it was really important.) I participated in PE with vigor, and even spent time learning the basics about nutrition. Which informed my later attitude towards eating - which basically consisted of a philosophy of moderation, rather than restrictions or fads. My glib comments about minimizing consumption (what I shove down my belly) are the product of life long habit. (and an awareness of a fundamental Truth - your body must process everything you shove into it.) It's the key. Achieving mastery over it, is an altogether different story. That's the tragedy, our moulds are set early - If you aren't a fit kid and fit going into and coming out of your teens, you're sort of screwed - catch up isn't impossible but it's as difficult as it gets. That's why my other glib comment. If it weren't for putting myself into positions of having to do physical labor, jobs, I'd won't be half as fit as I am. Trust me I never forget how fortunate I am and at 60 I become ever more cognizant of, and thankful for, the blessings I've received.
10
The answer is to view all claims skeptically and try understand the psychology behind sales pitches and how it works to draw people in and to overcome their resistance. This, of course, applies to all claims, not just those about e exercise regimes. Demand evidence that they work and are not harmful, or closely investigate it yourself. Lois
How can you tell if the evidence is fabricated or not? I know the claim is the body shaming that is done to sell products. I agree that manipulation of insecurities and shaming are a part of modern consumerist media and advertising. Yet, you can't deny that the adulation of physical beauty is something that runs through all human societies? can you? Some more than others, but still, you can't avoid the adulation of certain sexual stereotypes even in ancient cultures. Seems there are plenty enough sexually explicit depictions from all corners of the world and ages of history. In modern advertising I think you should assume they are lying to you - and work forward from there. I mean, "If it's seems too good to be true, it probably is." remains as true as ever. Advertisers will use every con-artist trick from flattery to humiliation, whatever it takes to get your money. T, what specifically is the point you are trying to make?
11

I guess what I’m trying to say is that you want to do something in order to help improve yourself, but when embarking on said journey you find a bunch of vultures and scavengers that want to prey upon that desire and mislead you for a buck. That’s how I feel every time I want to exercise. I’m not sure what to do or where to go and I don’t want to be misled (and there are dozens out there who will do that).

12

T, just change your diet and start exercising. Consume fewer calories than you burn and you’ll lose weight. You don’t need fancy equipment. Do pushups. Do squats. Walk two or three miles a few times a week. If you want to add muscle buy a few dumbbells and google some exercises.

13
T, just change your diet and start exercising. Consume fewer calories than you burn and you'll lose weight. You don't need fancy equipment. Do pushups. Do squats. Walk two or three miles a few times a week. If you want to add muscle buy a few dumbbells and google some exercises.
Maybe it's just me falling victim to the thinking that fitness is some sort of arcana formula passed down by experts. I guess it isn't that complicated.
14
The answer is to view all claims skeptically and try understand the psychology behind sales pitches and how it works to draw people in and to overcome their resistance. This, of course, applies to all claims, not just those about e exercise regimes. Demand evidence that they work and are not harmful, or closely investigate it yourself. Lois
How can you tell if the evidence is fabricated or not? I know the claim is the body shaming that is done to sell products. It's sometimes hard to tell. The person pitching the regimen should be willing to cite his sources. If they look specious, walk away. If you think it's worthwhile to take the time to check them out to be sure the're valid, do so. Also look online to see if anyone has posted a complaint. And don't jump into one when it's new. Wait until some reviews appear on the Internet. Meanwhile, walk, run, swim, hike, work out on machines at a gym and count and cut your calories. There is no magic formula and there is no easy regime. Lois
15
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you want to do something in order to help improve yourself, but when embarking on said journey you find a bunch of vultures and scavengers that want to prey upon that desire and mislead you for a buck. {Seems a reasonable evaluation. Buyer Beware!} That's how I feel every time I want to exercise. I'm not sure what to do or where to go and I don't want to be misled (and there are dozens out there who will do that).
Don't rely on someone else doing it for you, they won't, they'll just take your money and leave it to you in the end anyways. Darron and Lois did a good job of outlining the golden rules of getting fit. Good luck.
16

Titanomachina, check out this story, you may find it interesting.

'Biggest Loser' Lessons: Why The Body Makes It Hard To Keep Pounds Off May 2, 2016 - Heard on All Things Considered - 4:18 min - Dr. Donna Ryan http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/05/02/476498729/biggest-loser-lessons-why-the-body-makes-it-hard-to-keep-pounds-off NBC's reality show The Biggest Loser turns dieting into … But once the lights, cameras, nutritionists and trainers go away, the contestants must find a way to keep the pounds off. New research into the lives of past contestants found many regain much of the weight they lost in the show — sometimes 100 pounds or more — because their biology works against them. The research appears in Monday's issue of the journal Obesity. For more on the significance of the findings, All Things Considered host Audie Cornish spoke with Dr. Donna Ryan, an obesity researcher and clinician at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La.
Hmmm, she appears to be editor of the journal Obesity http://www.obesity.org/obesity/publications
17
It's clear that there is a stint of physical fitness going on around the US. But with that comes quite a few charlatans who dupe people into programs or workouts that either injure you are accomplish nothing after months on end. It seems as though just working out isn't nearly enough, it's how you do it. How do you separate the ones that generate results from the thousands of books and tapes that exploit people?
All workouts are legit, not one will injure you if you do right. How quick you see results depends on your fitness level at the start. Like others mentioned, you don't need a program, any level of physical activity is better then 0.
18
It's clear that there is a stint of physical fitness going on around the US. But with that comes quite a few charlatans who dupe people into programs or workouts that either injure you are accomplish nothing after months on end. It seems as though just working out isn't nearly enough, it's how you do it. How do you separate the ones that generate results from the thousands of books and tapes that exploit people?
Check them out with intelligent people. Lois