Still Behind the Times

The fields of strength and conditioning and health and fitness have come a long way in the last 10-15 years. With more research made available and more trainers and coaches bettering themselves through continuing education these fields have been as strong as they have ever been. It has been great thing. When I pick up a copy of Men's Health or Men's Fitness, they're no longer aimed at just bodybuilders or guys looking to put on freakish amounts of muscle. They're now aimed at the average guy who wants to drop a couple pounds, get stronger and be able to move around without worrying about when his back is going to blow out.

So I feel good about how far these fields have come and then I walk into a commercial gym and it feels like I've been transported by a time machine to a gym in 1980 minus the abundance of leg warmers and bad mustaches. Not as many people as I thought are taking this new information and research and actually using it. Or worse, may be they're just ignoring it.

The idea that interval training is superior to slow steady, state cardio for fat loss has been pounded into the ground for the last 5-1o years. But what's the majority of people doing? Slow steady state cardio work. So the fat loss battle continues with these people.

The biggest buzz word thrown around in the last decade or so is "core" when it comes to training. Everyone wants to do core training. Well, the role of the core is stabilization, yet how much of that do you see being done in gyms? Crunches will trash your spine and are a waste of time. So why the hell are the majority of people still doing them? Their core area still looks bad and probably functions worse.

Or even something as simple as using the foam roller. The benefits of self myofacial release have been proven and thrown at us for years also. I could count on two fingers how many people are actually using the foam roller to address trigger points or adhesions that have built up. Others are using the rollers to do some circus style training. Or worse, the gym doesn't even have one. So they're still walking around trying to figure out why they're still hurting and why their stretching program isn't working.

And let's not even discuss the thigh machines. You know the ones that belong in a gynecologist's office?

It's time to get with the times people. I'll bet you you're still not watching your 14 inch, black and white TV with rabbit years since better TVs have become available, right? Well, better training ideas and concepts have become available. Start using them.