I just finished writing a response to Gina Kolata’s latest article Slimmer Doesn’t Always Mean Fitter and Tara Parker-Pope’s Column on the NY Times Well Blog The Best Weight for the Best Workout.

I am not a fan of Gina Kolata mostly because I don’t think she is daring enough nor does she believe in training. She also seems to craft articles that are fraught with issues of direction and lack of purpose. To me this entire article could be summed up in the following with the following line:

“… people vary so much that there is no formula to figure out the perfect weight. ” done.

On the most basic level, this article represents a missed opportunity to discuss issues about training – eating, resting and playing. About finding a balance and forgetting about the scale. I guess I like British Style journalism better. Opinionated. Purposeful. Filled with Facts. Searching.

- If it were me writing the article: I say something like this: Stop getting on the scale. Train, Eat, Rest and Play. Repeat and look for ways to improve this mix. That’s it. If you do that right you will enjoy yourself and ultimately if you are taking care of yourself properly (not over eating, smoking, using drugs/alcohol to excess), you will look and feel great too.
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For those of you who want to read more. Here’s my full response:

I’d actually like to know which sports are not “particularly” affected by the tug of gravity? Do we live on Mars? I knew it

I’m being a bit facetious in case you didn’t get that here.

On Earth: Any Purposeless excess weight will penalize you. period. Whether it is muscle or fat. it is by it’s very nature: dead weight. hence the saying.

Surfers see this when big beefy guys try to paddle out using their brawn. Climbers know this too.

Doesn’t all this discussion of ideal weight somehow miss the point entirely here?

This reductionism is confusing me and honestly perpetuates a lot of bad body image mythology. Examples abound:

Men’s Health talks about functionality yet fills their pages with articles and ads about how to get bigger “guns”, etc.. Women’s magazines do the opposite and needlessly worry women that their arms or legs might become too muscular if they use too much weight. The song there is all about toning and losing the fat.

Would not a better question be:

How can I get to my ideal weight based upon the things I love to do most?

Why? Because the Next Question is the One Question Worth Answering:

What do you LOVE to do?
or asked another way how do you like to play?
What are the demands of these activities that you love? Can you analyze the requirements:
- Skills
- Movements
Are there examples of individuals who practice these things at an exceptional level? What do they do?

Could you devise a systematic approach to training and improving your experience of those activities?

You get the point?

The further you pursue these questions the more detail you get.

Examples:

What to eat to fulfill the calorie requirements of your training and activities?

What kind of capacity you might have to build so you can move and function optimally?

But to review:

All of this is derived from the answer to the question:

- What activity/sport do you love? How do I train/play it?

Unfortunately, you will be sad to learn that none of this is easy nor will 9 mins. a day get you what you want nor should it. There are no blue or red pills and even with liposuction, tummy tying and all the performance enhancing drugs in the universe you will still have to find the answers to the original question and figure out how to train for it.

This is in essence what is missing from 99% of these fitness discussions online: – Where’s the biomechanics? the physics, the chemistry of it all?

You need to know this stuff on a basic level. It’s a part of you. It will improve your performance and reduce your risk of injuries. So, here’s a quick list stuff to look up and understand better

- Dynamic Warm Up
- Mobility
- Core/Pillar/Torso Strength
- Quickness
- Balance
- Strength
- Power
- Speed/Agility/Coordination

You should be familiar with these terms and understand how your body uses these systems so you can create a methodology for yourself that will systematically and progressively get your body to adapt and develop the ideal amount of muscle and fat for you to sustain your training and the activities/sport you love.

Am I making sense here?

You learn how to read, write, add, subtract, multiply, shouldn’t you learn how your body works and how to use it optimally to do the things you love most?

Isn’t this process the heart of fitness?

Call me a nut. But my search is to find the perfect balance of these four elements:

- Training
- Eating
- Resting
- Playing

While at the same time enjoying my life, my family and finding some meaning to why I’m here. For me this is basic. critical and important. it connects me the physical laws of the universe and every thing around me inthe most profound way. There are times when I can balance these four elements well and I feel a sense of “flow” like I’ve reach my fullest potential. Then it fades and this all starts up again.

so, my advice:

Answer the first question.

What bring you the most joy and positive experiences, physically?

Train, eat, rest and play. Repeat this. everyday

The rest will follow including the ideal body weight.

Tomas Anthony
founder
everyday athlete®

http://www.everydayathlete.com