One Thing to NEVER EVER DO...
Unless you want to do it, then it's fine.
Don’t put your knees in front of your toes.
Or do, and make sure to go as far as you can.
Ah crap, I can’t remember which one is the correct answer this year. 🤦🏻♂️
Or maybe there’s a third answer.
A really un-cool, un-sexy one:
It depends.
Super helpful, I know. 😂
Maybe do the thing, maybe don’t.
It depends. 🤷🏻♂️
You see, the fitness industry is trapped between marketing, practical advice, and research.
That means you, as a consumer of products and information, might get 3 vastly different and potentially conflicting pieces of information about the same subject.
No wonder people are overwhelmed trying to navigate health and fitness.
No wonder people struggle to trust trainers, physical therapists, and other body workers.
So how can you navigate the fitness labyrinth if you don’t have your own personal Ludo to accompany you?
1. Fear is the mind killer (S/O to the movie Dune)
If someone gives sweeping generalizations about things that EVERYONE should or should not do, especially if it generates fear or anxiety, beware. Some things are fine for one person, but not for another.
IT DEPENDS!
Encouraging fear-based mindsets around bodies and movements may actually INCREASE people’s risk of injury.
2. Not one truth (s/o to the band Hatebreed)
One of the most effective marketing strategies for people working in the fitness/wellness field is looking or moving in a certain way that is impressive or attractive to people.
AKA being “hot” or being able to do an impressive feat or trick.
Consumers see it, and think (consciously or un) “I want to do that/be like that person.”
Sure, it works as a method to attract people, but that doesn’t mean that the trick or the physical body is the right choice for the buyer.
Case in point: in this photo the person is doing what I call a limbo squat (what some people call a sisyphus or sissy squat). Do I think all people should do these? Not really, but if they want to do it, they absolutely can - without significantly increasing their risk of injury. It’s not dangerous. I would recommend gradually introducing the body to this range of motion (ROM) through progressions to develop skill and strength capacity, but that procedure is no different than for any other lift/movement.
But do you have to do limbo squats to get strong or buff? Absolutely not.
3. The more things change...
I’ve been in the fitness industry for a long time (over 17 years), and there’s a pendular nature to the field - what’s considered “right” changes every 5 years or so.
There’s new science coming in all the time, so we all gotta stay flexible in our beliefs: what may have been an integral part of our training modalities in the past might be utterly disproven in just a few years.
That’s okay. Be adaptable and open to change.
Now that I think of it, that’s probably good life advice, anyways.