Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#51

Post by Imerso » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:12 PM UTC

dewarrn1 wrote: post #10

Earlier comments are already critiquing the author for suggesting that exercise is a bad thing or that particular exercises don't work, but that perspective misses the point. The author isn't criticizing exercise itself, but she is instead observing the almost religious focus on suffering that happens to be embodied by approaches such as Crossfit. I admit to being puzzled as well. I am perplexed by the degree of what…

Also pain and pleasure have been human experiences correlated since forever[1]. Just because the author has had a certain upbringing doesn't mean that she is the voice of the reason.

Even leaving neurochemical pathways aside, our culture is like that in many aspects. I mean even selflessness is the way many people understand being a good person, doing something good that feels bad is supposed to be better than doing something good that also feels good. I don't agree with that view, but it's pretty much ingrained with out western culture.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_and_pleasure

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#52

Post by omegaham » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:12 PM UTC

shasta wrote: post #43

omegaham wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I have no problem with people who do reps to failure, but I do have a problem with reps for time. As you get tired, your form gets worse and worse. This is fine for calisthenics, (hard to tear something while doing push-ups) but it's bad for heavier weight, and it's ridiculously dangerous for technical lifts like clean and snatch. I do enjoy joking about WODs, though. "Okay - I'm gonna do AMRAP snatch on a bosu…

Why is it that 'this' has appeared as a one word response in 3 of the 6 sibling responses to this question? Is it related to the subject matter? Should I start reading 'This.' in a meat-head voice?

I guess it's another way of saying "I agree." I haven't even thought about its connotations, but I do notice that a lot of people say it on /r/fitness. Maybe it is a meathead thing.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#53

Post by godzilla82 » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:14 PM UTC

spodek wrote: post #20

To answer why people would push to get so fit, you have to explain the emotion and motivation behind it. Simply saying it's healthy or makes you strong only extends the question. Partly they do it because of the emotional reward from exhaustion, progressing overcoming challenges, feeling stronger or more capable, approaching an ideal appearance, comparing themselves to others, and maybe a couple others. I believe all…

I feel what is really wrong with the article is why do people feel the need to get an explanation for the things others do. Do people really stop to ask themselves why they like the things they themselves like. Every time you like something, do you stop to wonder about the evolutionary or genetic reasons behind your feeling good.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#54

Post by Swizec » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:18 PM UTC

Anderkent wrote: post #42

JanezStupar wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do we build foundations for the structures that we build?

We do that when it's necessary for stability of the structure, not as a goal to itself. What is strength useful for? (and yes, this is a rephrase of the previous question because of your non-answer)

What is strength useful for, what is strength useful for!?

Every man (and woman) should be able to save their own life and possibly the lives of their loved ones -> http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/09/15/every-man-should-be...

Strength also correlates with muscle mass (you need them to be strong) and muscle burns a lot of energy, which means you will both be less cold in winter AND be able to eat more food healthily. Food is tasty.

Bottom line, strength is good for you.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#55

Post by Swizec » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:22 PM UTC

I posted this as an answer to a comment, but I think it merits existing as an answer to the OP question.

Why do americans push for extreme fitness? I don't know, I don't even know that they push for extreme fitness, most of them look very fat to me (a lot of us Europeans are following suit extremely quickly) so it's hard to say that a significant amount of the population is pushing towards anything in particular in regards to fitness.

BUT I think fitness is important. I work out multiple times a day and generally spend terrible amounts of time and mental energy towards fitness.

The best explanation, other than "it feels good", I've found about this is an old post by The Art of Manliness - every man (and woman) should be able to save their own life, possibly the lives of their loved ones: http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/09/15/every-man-should-be...

Why? Because one day you might have to and how are you going to feel if you aren't able to?

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#56

Post by Anderkent » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:22 PM UTC

Swizec wrote: post #54

Anderkent wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We do that when it's necessary for stability of the structure, not as a goal to itself. What is strength useful for? (and yes, this is a rephrase of the previous question because of your non-answer)

What is strength useful for, what is strength useful for!? Every man (and woman) should be able to save their own life and possibly the lives of their loved ones -> http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/09/15/every-man-should-be... Strength also correlates with muscle mass (you need them to be strong) and muscle burns a lot of energy, which means you will both be less cold in winter AND be able to eat more food healthil…

Haha that link is hilarious.

You can do 15 pull-ups? Well, then you don't have to worry about any emergencies. It'll save you if you get into a car accident, surely.

And yeah, sorry, but 'get more strength so you can eat more' isn't really very convincing.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#57

Post by Jtsummers » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:31 PM UTC

adwf wrote: post #34

I think it's a lot simpler than the author is trying to make out: Traditional gym exercises are boring and hard. Cardio is boring. 60 minutes on a treadmill, 5 times a week is really boring after a while. All that racking up weights and unracking is tedious. Bicep curls? Tedious. Situps? Tedious. The reason why people are constantly thinking up new ways to exercise is simply to add a bit of variety and encourage peop…

> Cardio is boring. 60 minutes on a treadmill, 5 times a week is really boring after a while.

This is why I don't run or cycle inside. The only reason I took to indoor cycling was because of a back injury that made riding a bike difficult/painful, it's healed up now. For running, the last few months have been fantastic on my usual trail. I've gotten to see flowers bloom and fade, grass go from brown (hot summer) to green again as the temperatures dropped and soon I'll get to see the leaves turn and fall.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#58

Post by Jtsummers » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:33 PM UTC

omegaham wrote: post #52

shasta wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it that 'this' has appeared as a one word response in 3 of the 6 sibling responses to this question? Is it related to the subject matter? Should I start reading 'This.' in a meat-head voice?

I guess it's another way of saying "I agree." I haven't even thought about its connotations, but I do notice that a lot of people say it on /r/fitness. Maybe it is a meathead thing.

I noticed it on reddit in general, not specific to /r/fitness. I don't know if it started there, but it's become pretty widespread as a form of agreement in other forums I frequent and in real life with friends and coworkers using it in their speech.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#59

Post by eyeJam » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 1:53 PM UTC

ovi256 wrote: post #18

Mithaldu wrote: post #3

> It looks exhausting. It's meant to be exhausting. What does the author think working out is about? > It also looks fruitless. Why not join a roofing > crew for a few hours instead? The author is fairly disconnected from reality, and has also failed to do the very basic research to answer her own title. People do high weight, low rep workouts because they take little time and provide high value. (Also for a segment…

People do high weight, low rep workouts indeed, but that's bodybuilding or olympic weightlifting. Crossfit is more a middle weight / middle rep style, looking to develop power more than force. Even endurance is emphasised more than force. This style of workout is aerobically exhausting (it leaves you breathless), like jogging, and I think this is what the author calls exhausting.

Low-weight high-rep exercises, like they do in Crossfit, will do very little to develop "power" (which I'm assuming you mean to refer to being able to apply a large amount of force across a distance in a very short amount of time, i.e: explosiveness).

Power comes from fast-twitch type 2b muscle fibers, and the amount you have varies based on your genetic makeup [2]. Its possible to recruit the other types of muscle fibers to become fast-twitch type 2b but that requires continuous retraining of fibers through plyometrics; as soon as you stop your body will regress to its natural ratio of muscle fiber types. Fast twitch type 2b muscle fiber tires extremely quickly (I remember reading ~10s but I can't find a source) and is not something that can be trained using high-rep exercises [1].

Doing hang-cleans (never do these [3]), sloppy squats, "chin-ups" and other Crossfit staples for time in rapid succession and in high volume will only really help you lose weight and slip a disc in your back, but it will do very little to develop "power". If you want real power and explosiveness train like an Olympic sprinter: high-weight low-rep complex exercises and low-rep plyometrics [1].

Sources:

[1] http://smscsqlx.sasktelwebhosting.com/services/exphys/wts%26...

[2] Arabatzi, F, and K Eleftherios. “Olympic weightlifting training causes different knee muscle-coactivation adaptations compared with traditional weight training.” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 26.8 (2012): 2192-2201.

[3] http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Art...

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#60

Post by Swizec » Tue, Oct 14, 2014, 2:04 PM UTC

Anderkent wrote: post #56

Swizec wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is strength useful for, what is strength useful for!? Every man (and woman) should be able to save their own life and possibly the lives of their loved ones -> http://www.artofmanliness.com/2009/09/15/every-man-should-be... Strength also correlates with muscle mass (you need them to be strong) and muscle burns a lot of energy, which means you will both be less cold in winter AND be able to eat more food healthil…

Haha that link is hilarious. You can do 15 pull-ups? Well, then you don't have to worry about any emergencies. It'll save you if you get into a car accident, surely. And yeah, sorry, but 'get more strength so you can eat more' isn't really very convincing.

It actually might save you in a car crash. Strength makes it less likely to dislocate joints and also makes it moderately likelier that you will be able to pull yourself out of a wreck. Being in good shape also makes adrenaline more useful because your body can actually do stuff.

And good cardio form helps with the old ticker not getting tired out too much after spikes in heart rate, spikes also tend to last less time.

Furthermore, scares won't give you a heart attack because high heart rate won't be a shock to your body (afaik heart attacks happen when the body gets shocked and things sticking to your artery walls get dislodged and travel to bad parts of your body to form clots).

And I guess you just don't like food all that much.