Are you suffering from fitness-related mass psychosis? – Off topic – COMMUNITY

What examples of mass fitness psychosis are you falling prey to? Maybe it’s time for a reality check.

Many weightlifters fall victim to what I call “mass fitness psychosis.” It’s a type of hysteria that we sometimes see among people belonging to the same isolated group or community… like ours. Let’s get straight to it.

There are two long-standing statistics regarding lower back pain:

1. Around 75% of the population will experience lower back pain at some point.
2. Most lower back pain goes away within 30 days, no matter what you do (or don’t do) about it.

Both observations (especially the second) have long been home to many dubious methods of treatment, thanks to the widespread tendency to confuse correlation with causation.

A general understanding of anatomy and kinesiology supports the idea that all orthopedic structures likely respond to various treatment modalities, particularly the least preferred of these, which is rest. By rest, I mean being patient enough to refrain from constantly testing the injury site, hoping that you have resolved the injury without giving it enough time to heal.

And, if you’ll allow me to go off on a slight tangent, a good “rule of thumb” for decision making is that when the value of a method is unknown but its cost is low, it’s probably worth implementing. .

Dr. Eric Helms summarizes this idea by observing that “there are no bad foods, only bad diets.” Don’t miss the bottom line: Some foods are definitely healthier than others. But the sum total of what you eat has a far greater impact on your health than the quality of the specific foods in your diet. Two reasons for this:

1. If your total calorie intake is appropriate, that in itself limits the amount of “bad” foods you might eat. The devil is in the dose.
2. When your total calorie intake is appropriate, you will maintain optimal body weight, which greatly influences your overall health.

Consumption of “junk” foods that are low in nutrients and high in calories is especially problematic from a behavioral point of view. Eating such foods leads to unmanageable cravings, leading to excessive calorie consumption. If you are one of these people, exercise restraint.

This is a bad idea who has been on life support for twenty years now. Its longevity is rooted in the fact that most of us instinctively assume that anything difficult must be beneficial. The truth? Difficulty is a necessary, but not sufficient, prerequisite for effective training.

The main adaptations from resistance training (hypertrophy, strength, power, mobility, etc.) require high muscle tension. Every time you perform an exercise unsteadily, you sacrifice your ability to create such tension.

While this trade-off may have merit and some context (think physical therapy), most lifters are well-advised to use stable exercises.

Many lifters justify their poor progress by accusing those who are more successful of using drugs (while viewing less successful lifters as just plain stupid). In this version of reality, you always come out on top, blissfully unaware of the actual reality: even if the bar doesn’t worship at the altar of fairness and inclusion, it is more than happy to reward anyone ready to do hard, consistent work. .

But let’s take a closer look at the concept of cheating. Most people would define cheating as using methods that give you an unfair advantage over others. While this makes some sense, the problem is that when it comes to our gym lives, “fairness” simply doesn’t exist.

Look, I’m not saying cheating isn’t a thing. Of course, some people cheat. However, there’s nothing you can do about it, so from a practical standpoint, the best approach is to focus on your own behaviors and let the cards fall where they may.

Don’t agree with any of my points? Or do you have other examples of this phenomenon that I should have included? Let’s talk shop!