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Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

nytimes.com

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Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#61

Post by Jtsummers »

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)

A moderate level of strength and endurance is beneficial. Longterm, for your health. As you get older maintaining your physical strength becomes more difficult. Starting off with a decent level of fitness as your body begins to decline will put you in a better spot at 70 than someone who struggled up stairs when they were young.

Here's a practical one, not being winded at the top of the stairs. I work on the 3rd floor of a building. There's one elevator, it's painfully slow. Most people take the stairs. Every day people pass by my cubicle (near the entrance) winded from their walk across the parking lot and up the stairs. That's pathetic (having been there myself a couple years back, it's depressing too).

Have or want children? Wouldn't it be cool to be able to play with them for more than 10 minutes before feeling exhausted? Or to be able to carry them in from the car when they've passed out (or pretended to be asleep), even when they're older than 2 or 3?

Ever find your home office has filled with clutter and wanted to clean it out? Being able to carry out a box of trash or recyclables or giveaway stuffs without needing to stop every 10' or carry one item at a time is nice.

EDIT: I'm not in great shape, that's been my state for 10 years now. I am, however, in better shape now than most of that decade. Beyond the practical uses of this physical condition, it's helped me out in a number of other ways. I'm more alert. I sleep better (those two are, of course, related). I'm more attractive (hey, no more double chin!) which also helps with self-esteem. My mood is generally better (if you read my post history you'll find a history of depression, I won't say fitness has eliminated it, but it certainly is helping for me).

Back to (somewhat) practical uses of better strength. I'm able to help friends with tasks around their homes instead of trying to come up with excuses to avoid it (because I was, for a time, more of a drag in those cases than a help). I can go play laser tag without collapsing at the end (4 years ago, it was embarrassing). Bowling, not the most demanding of games, no longer exhausts my arms (I bowl both left and right handed).

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#62

Post by eyeJam »

omegaham wrote: post #29
pnt12 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing about cross fit is that it usually pushes for the "if it's hurting, it's good" mentality, which is not true at all. I find conventional weightlifting gets it much better - lift heavy, watch your form, don't break your back.

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…

Remember kids, you only have a finite amount of connective tissue and cartilage and once its gone its gone. Unless you can pay for a 25000$ exotic platelet rich plasma transfusion or have a secret cache of bio-engineered body parts.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#63

Post by Anderkent »

Swizec wrote: post #60
Anderkent wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 tim…

Sure, but the subset of situations where it will save you is so small and the level of effort required high enough that you can't really argue that you should become strong because it will help you survive.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with exercising in order to be healthy, or to look good, or for fun if that's ones fancy. But the fascination with physical strength that seems to be fairly common boggles me.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#64

Post by Anderkent »

Jtsummers wrote: post #61
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)

A moderate level of strength and endurance is beneficial. Longterm, for your health. As you get older maintaining your physical strength becomes more difficult. Starting off with a decent level of fitness as your body begins to decline will put you in a better spot at 70 than someone who struggled up stairs when they were young. Here's a practical one, not being winded at the top of the stairs. I work on the 3rd floo…

Cool, these are some good examples. I'd say though that they're more examples of moderate fitness (someone who regularly exercises should be able to do all that, I think? I mean, I do basically no exercise but can go up five floors being maybe a little out of breath, but not 'winded'. depends on the pace, I guess?), rather than what the article talks about.

From the article:

> By the ’90s, when the soft curves of Ursula Andress had been replaced by the hard bodies of Cindy Crawford and Elle Macpherson, you still worked out to prepare for the beach or the bedroom. These days, though, you aren’t preparing for fun or romance. You’re preparing for an unforeseen natural disaster, or a burning building, or Armageddon.

>“We have sought to build a program that will best prepare trainees for any physical contingency — not only for the unknown, but for the unknowable.” This dark talk passes for welcoming language on the website of CrossFit, the intense, ultracompetitive conditioning program whose motto, “Forging Elite Fitness,” reflects our current fascination with both elite athletes and elite military forces.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#65

Post by Anderkent »

raverbashing wrote: post #32
shin_lao wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also disappointed by this article. High intensity workouts are actually the golden way toward strength building. Of course like any sport you need a certain degree of supervision to prevent injuries. Where's the author getting at?

This Most exercise is an exercise (pun intended) in futility. Sure, running/swimming will burn calories and increase muscle mass (in the case of swimming) Do you know what else burns calories? Muscle mass But of course they buy the common mindset of this being dangerous, etc. I'd risk to say the risk of injuries in lifting weights is much less than in other sports (maybe except swimming).

Most people I know who swim do it either because they enjoy it or because it's supposed to help their back.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#66

Post by JanezStupar »

Anderkent wrote: post #63
Swizec wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 tim…

Sure, but the subset of situations where it will save you is so small and the level of effort required high enough that you can't really argue that you should become strong because it will help you survive. Don't get me wrong, I agree with exercising in order to be healthy, or to look good, or for fun if that's ones fancy. But the fascination with physical strength that seems to be fairly common boggles me.

In realm of physical activity, getting stronger means getting faster, more agile, better precision and increasing ones endurance. And as an added bonus mental state improves as well.

An athlete wants to have as good a ratio between mass and strength as possible.

Thus when I was pursuing strength I was doing it for the sake of increasing my athletic performance.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#67

Post by TeMPOraL »

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.

More like "I agree strongly, your comment captures my exact thoughts, and brings up a very important point". Something I actually learned on HN, but it seems to be imported from Reddit and generally is frowned upon here if sole content of a comment.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#69

Post by jaredsohn »

godzilla82 wrote: post #53
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.

> Every time you like something, do you stop to wonder about the evolutionary or genetic reasons behind your feeling good.

Yes. Deeper understanding of myself and others pays off in a lot of ways -- it helps me find other things I might like (and avoid things I probably won't), helps me predict the future, and helps me connect more deeply with others.

Re: Why Are Americans So Fascinated with Extreme Fitness?

#70

Post by shin_lao »

Anderkent wrote: post #65
raverbashing wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This Most exercise is an exercise (pun intended) in futility. Sure, running/swimming will burn calories and increase muscle mass (in the case of swimming) Do you know what else burns calories? Muscle mass But of course they buy the common mindset of this being dangerous, etc. I'd risk to say the risk of injuries in lifting weights is much less than in other sports (maybe except swimming).

Most people I know who swim do it either because they enjoy it or because it's supposed to help their back.

Nothing will help your back more than squats and deadlifts. But swimming is excellent as well.
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