Missing the Point – Planning Your Program

Sometimes, a little bit of knowledge can be a bad thing.

This is especially true in the fitness sphere because there is so much unsubstantiated conjecture and dogma floating around.  For example,
-Eating fat makes you fat.
-All heavy weights will do is bulk you up, light weights are for toning.
-Steady-state cardio (treadmill, elliptical, bike) will burn more fat than weights will.
(Anyone guilty of parroting any of the above?)

Basing a fitness plan off of conclusions like this, ones that don’t tell the whole story, without investigating the rationale behind them is just asking for trouble.  Here are a few real-life examples that I believe illustrate this very clearly:

1.  W knows that marathon runners carbo-load before races and long runs sometimes, so he starts carbo-loading before he comes in for sessions. Marathon runners will log upwards of 80 miles a week, and he trains for 3 hours a week. He doesn’t understand why he is gaining fat.

2.  X knows that we utilize glucose stores when we workout. He proceeds to eat three protein bars during each 1.5 session of training in order to keep his “glycogen repositories” high. It takes at least 30 mins for the stomach to start digesting food and I don’t even know how much longer until it is able to make use of the nutrients. He doesn’t understand why he still gets tired at the end of his workouts.

3.  Y knows that the spine is relatively fragile, so she avoids all movements that involve bending over. This causes muscle imbalances, posture and flexibility problems from a weak lower back that doesn’t gain strength. She doesn’t understand why she still has back pain, even though she goes to great lengths to keep it fresh.

4.  Z knows that spandex breathes well, so he wears it every day. The knowledge that he’s missing is that he really should not be wearing things so form-fitting.

Just kidding (sort of) about 4, but you get the point.  Make sure you are knowledgeable about the tenets you build your program around.