Thursday, January 10, 2008

Observation on walking and on "throwing up" from training...

As I sit and watch people walking on the treadmill I have a few observations to share:

Face the fact that walking is a daily activity that is not that intense.

Face the fact that you will reach a speed walking where you will no longer be walking - it will be some hybrid "fast walk" that has the shoulders rounded forward, weight shifted forward and a very altered gait - This does you no good!

Yes you can alter the treadmill walk by moving the elevation etc...but you will still run into the altered gait hybrid thing.

Walking CAN be a great activity but it quickly loses "exercise" benefit - so don't start yelling at me as an "anti-walker".

Walking MIGHT be a great place to begin an exercise program - IF you don't bring any asymmetries, restrictions and/or joint mobility issues to the activity.

Walking IS a great addition to and part of an overall healthy lifestyle - IF the above joint/asymmetries issues are taken care of.

Walking on a treadmill is NOT the same as walking outside - outside you have the actual proprioceptive, visual and vestibular input of moving your body through space - on the treadmill your body is expecting that input but not getting it - this is confusing to the body and that is why people will typically get "dizzy" for a moment when they stop the treadmill.

Accept that walking is walking and use it as the wonderful daily activity that it is but you will need something additional for continued Cardiovascular benefit.

Such as: 10-20 minutes of Kettlebell swing/snatches/complexes or 10 minutes of interval work on an Airdyne bike or Concept 2 rower - Then finish your training with a 20-30 minute walk and ENJOY the walk - don't try to make it something it is not.

Also there was some question today on the forum about whether throwing up as a result of a workout is or is not a desirable thing:
In my opinion it is not a desirable thing and is unnecessary.

Anyone can make someone throw up - it means very little and isn't that hard to accomplish.
Simply put together a circuit or exercises with very little rest and viola you will have your throwing up. So what?

Actually coaching someone to improve their movement skill, coordination, strength etc... takes talent and skill. Actually guiding someone to the successful attainment of their goals takes intelligence and skill. Making someone throw up takes none.

A very small percentage of the human population needs to visit the ragged edge of human performance and even then you can accomplish a lot without the puke.

What if you actually trained with your results in mind - not the workout?

10 comments:

Mike T Nelson said...

Interesting comments on the walking/treadmill. I've noticed the same thing and ironically wrote a blog post on it last week that will run later next week some time. Great minds think alike, hehehe

Just watch the people stagger off the treadmill in most gym!

Mike N

mark blakemore said...

What if you actually trained with your results in mind - not the workout? - brett jones

thats worth the price of admission.

thanks again for the info on z health. i'm r phasing like a banchee.

Unknown said...

Great post. I wonder if I can walk hard enough to make myself puke? Actually if I had to puke to have a good training session, I'd never train.

Brett Jones said...

Thanks
Mike - the post treadmill stagger is funny but the on treadmill hybrid is just sad. Look forward to your blog post.
Also - How is the DL coming along?

Mark,
Great to see you here and keep me posted on the R-phase work.

Tim,
Let me know how that works out for you! ;)

Franz Snideman said...

Walking.....so true Brett! Nice analysis on walking and the misconceptions people have regarding what is really beneficial!

Brett Jones said...

Thanks Franz - fun stuff

Mike T Nelson said...

Thanks! The DLs are coming along pretty good I think. I've been playing around more with my technique lately and doing DL night at the Press with Fawn Friday, Maura and friends--great times and nice to have their feedback too.

I am planning on doing the TSC in early April. I will get more DL video up soon on the Z site.

Thanks!
Mike N

Anonymous said...

You mean the goal of the training session isn't puking?!?!? ;)

Petr said...

Why are you talking about puking all the time in that article ? Is it something you don't like ? Or have you read something about CrossFit lately ?

Brett Jones said...

petr,
it was a question from the dragondoor forum that I wanted to comment on - simple as that.

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