Last week, I saw a really inspiring ad from Reebok with the tagline “Be more human.”
If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a very dumbed-down version: It’s a series of video clips containing shots showing...a fit man lifting one end of a large tractor tire, flipping it. A woman stares at her palms, bloody and apparently ripped open from the workout’s she’s been doing with an Olympic bar. A group of men and women do pull-ups (kipping). Then there’s a woman running, carrying a man. A man swims, and they jump to a shot of him in a wheelchair. A man runs at night with a group, and they jump to a shot of him stopping, then a shot of him as fireman. A woman teaches a kickboxing class, and they jump to a short of her playing patty-cake with her daughter. There’s a shot of a man on the ground, on his back, from fatigue of a hard workout. A group of folks climbs ropes, jumps into water, and a woman jumps over fire.
There’s a little more (I didn’t want to recap EVERY shot), and it’s pretty intense stuff. And it struck me, resonated with me because it stirred my hard-working athletic spirit. It motivated me. I went to the YouTube page to check out the ad again and underneath the video, Reebok writes: “To all the athletes out there who spend their days bloody, muddy, and sore, not for bright lights or money, but to simply be the best version of themselves: This is for you.”
There is a wonderful message about transcending what we believe is possible, about pushing ourselves to be more, more human. And they say that fitness can change and enhance your life. There is so much truth to that, and almost everyone I know would agree. They connect fitness and health with being more human, which is a principle I apply in my daily work and personal health choices.
But that’s the extent to which I agree with the ad. In fact I strongly disagree with the ad on the whole, and I believe that what they show is just not a good model for fitness (or for being MORE human for everyone. I don’t think that being more fit equals being “more human” for a lot of people…)
I realize this when I think about their target market. Their target market is Cross Fit-tars and folks who love fitness. Their market may also be the general population. In either case, their message isn’t appropriate.
The commitment to work hard and get fit for the sake of getting fit is at its core ludicrous. Fitness in its healthiest state is meant to be a supporting activity for something more, for life, for a sport. It has a place in life and helps us find balance and betterment. With this approach, you train to get better FOR SOMETHING MEANINGFUL, to feel better, to move better, to make life easier. Fitness serves a purpose. But in their ad and their quote on their YouTube page, Reebok is clearly subscribing to and promoting to the rising ideology that fitness is a good end goal and that working hard is absolutely good.
It’s not confined to Crossfit, which Reebok strongly presents in the ad (Reebok is a sponsor of Crossfit). I see it all the time with friends who talk about sweating hard and working out at Barry’s Bootcamp and SoulCycle, in person and Facebook. Are most of those people having fun with the exercise activity of choice? Yep. Is that so bad? Nope. But the obsession with sweat and fitness with little consideration for focus on performance or how it adds and contributes to the rest of life is killer. Working out to be sore, sweating for the sake of sweating or because it feels good, isn’t entirely right. If there’s a balance in how much you sweat - if you are bettering yourself and not worsening yourself, not putting yourself at risk for injury or stressing your mind or body out than activities you could otherwise be doing - then it’s great! But I can tell you from experience, working out hard a lot - which makes me feel good - has led me and plenty of friends to injury and pain and away from enjoyment of other things in life. And I see so many others on the same track, and that’s why I’m writing this article. Because I know plenty of people who workout with blood, mud and soreness as goals.
This may be news to some folks, but soreness isn’t a true indicator of a good workout. A good workout has a place in a progression and group of workouts that serves to better you. Sore muscles do not equal strength gains. The 5-3-1 strength gaining philosophy proves that. Training below max effort more often leads to better performance improvement; giving max effort isn’t always that productive.
There’s a good reason the mentality expressed in Reebok’s YouTube quote has made itself so prominent lately. The focus on fitness has risen as a response to a very high, elevated level of preventable disease and health issues related to poor diet and poor fitness. But the reaction to these widespread health issues - an obsession with sweat and activity and working for blood and soreness - isn’t necessarily healthy either.
I grew up with the “harder = better” mentality. In high school, I wrestled and exercised at practice for two and half hours, losing up to five pounds, and then would go lift weights at home. One winter, after losing two matches I shouldn’t have lost, I felt exhausted. So what did I do? I worked to get better, and started doing pull-ups after a match. I worked harder to get more results. My coach, a former state champ and nationally ranked college wrestler, saw me and said “Andrew, in my years of coaching, I’ve never told anyone to take a break. But you need to rest. Take the weekend off.” I didn’t believe what I was hearing, but I trusted him. It was hard, but I took the weekend off. At the next tournament, I performed the best I ever had. The lesson I learned was about balance of effort. I’m still learning it because, I, like many Cross fit folks, feel awesome when I move a lot and exert a ton of effort. It’s like a drug. But it’s dangerous. I always say that if I wasn’t injured as much as I was - from sports or working out too much - that I’d be a Cross fit junkie. But it’s a good thing I’m not, because I’d be more broken than I already am.
That’s one of the reasons why we have our training philosophy of “Play and Perform”. Play and Perform is about having fun and enjoyment while getting better at something. And getting better at something requires focused, efficient time, not just effort. Reebok says be more mindful, work harder. But working HARDER isn’t necessary if you’re mindful: working EFFICIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY is. Doing more and putting more effort in doesn’t always yield more results, whether it’s fat loss or improving a skill. Sometimes it does, but often it doesn’t. The real genius behind mind full exercise, diet and lifestyle is finding the balance you need to accomplish your goals.
To those like me, who value strict self-discipline and to whom it comes easy, to those who will do anything asked of them once they give their commitment, who will put their all into making a goal happen, to those who consider themselves warriors...is the time you spend in the gym or on an activity taking away from you living and enjoying life? Is it possible that it is damaging you? Are you working out because you need it? What are your workouts doing for you?
About Author –
Best Personal Trainer San Francisco CA - ThriveSF Fitness offers personal training and weight loss programs to help clients maximize progress with the least amount of effort with their activity, diet, and lifestyle. We are a full-service personal training and health coaching that includes support for what you need to succeed both in our studio session and outside our meetings, paying special attention to the details that will make your relationship and experience with us a highlight of your day. For more information visit http://www.thrivesffitness.com/about-us.html
If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a very dumbed-down version: It’s a series of video clips containing shots showing...a fit man lifting one end of a large tractor tire, flipping it. A woman stares at her palms, bloody and apparently ripped open from the workout’s she’s been doing with an Olympic bar. A group of men and women do pull-ups (kipping). Then there’s a woman running, carrying a man. A man swims, and they jump to a shot of him in a wheelchair. A man runs at night with a group, and they jump to a shot of him stopping, then a shot of him as fireman. A woman teaches a kickboxing class, and they jump to a short of her playing patty-cake with her daughter. There’s a shot of a man on the ground, on his back, from fatigue of a hard workout. A group of folks climbs ropes, jumps into water, and a woman jumps over fire.
There’s a little more (I didn’t want to recap EVERY shot), and it’s pretty intense stuff. And it struck me, resonated with me because it stirred my hard-working athletic spirit. It motivated me. I went to the YouTube page to check out the ad again and underneath the video, Reebok writes: “To all the athletes out there who spend their days bloody, muddy, and sore, not for bright lights or money, but to simply be the best version of themselves: This is for you.”
There is a wonderful message about transcending what we believe is possible, about pushing ourselves to be more, more human. And they say that fitness can change and enhance your life. There is so much truth to that, and almost everyone I know would agree. They connect fitness and health with being more human, which is a principle I apply in my daily work and personal health choices.
But that’s the extent to which I agree with the ad. In fact I strongly disagree with the ad on the whole, and I believe that what they show is just not a good model for fitness (or for being MORE human for everyone. I don’t think that being more fit equals being “more human” for a lot of people…)
I realize this when I think about their target market. Their target market is Cross Fit-tars and folks who love fitness. Their market may also be the general population. In either case, their message isn’t appropriate.
The commitment to work hard and get fit for the sake of getting fit is at its core ludicrous. Fitness in its healthiest state is meant to be a supporting activity for something more, for life, for a sport. It has a place in life and helps us find balance and betterment. With this approach, you train to get better FOR SOMETHING MEANINGFUL, to feel better, to move better, to make life easier. Fitness serves a purpose. But in their ad and their quote on their YouTube page, Reebok is clearly subscribing to and promoting to the rising ideology that fitness is a good end goal and that working hard is absolutely good.
It’s not confined to Crossfit, which Reebok strongly presents in the ad (Reebok is a sponsor of Crossfit). I see it all the time with friends who talk about sweating hard and working out at Barry’s Bootcamp and SoulCycle, in person and Facebook. Are most of those people having fun with the exercise activity of choice? Yep. Is that so bad? Nope. But the obsession with sweat and fitness with little consideration for focus on performance or how it adds and contributes to the rest of life is killer. Working out to be sore, sweating for the sake of sweating or because it feels good, isn’t entirely right. If there’s a balance in how much you sweat - if you are bettering yourself and not worsening yourself, not putting yourself at risk for injury or stressing your mind or body out than activities you could otherwise be doing - then it’s great! But I can tell you from experience, working out hard a lot - which makes me feel good - has led me and plenty of friends to injury and pain and away from enjoyment of other things in life. And I see so many others on the same track, and that’s why I’m writing this article. Because I know plenty of people who workout with blood, mud and soreness as goals.
This may be news to some folks, but soreness isn’t a true indicator of a good workout. A good workout has a place in a progression and group of workouts that serves to better you. Sore muscles do not equal strength gains. The 5-3-1 strength gaining philosophy proves that. Training below max effort more often leads to better performance improvement; giving max effort isn’t always that productive.
There’s a good reason the mentality expressed in Reebok’s YouTube quote has made itself so prominent lately. The focus on fitness has risen as a response to a very high, elevated level of preventable disease and health issues related to poor diet and poor fitness. But the reaction to these widespread health issues - an obsession with sweat and activity and working for blood and soreness - isn’t necessarily healthy either.
I grew up with the “harder = better” mentality. In high school, I wrestled and exercised at practice for two and half hours, losing up to five pounds, and then would go lift weights at home. One winter, after losing two matches I shouldn’t have lost, I felt exhausted. So what did I do? I worked to get better, and started doing pull-ups after a match. I worked harder to get more results. My coach, a former state champ and nationally ranked college wrestler, saw me and said “Andrew, in my years of coaching, I’ve never told anyone to take a break. But you need to rest. Take the weekend off.” I didn’t believe what I was hearing, but I trusted him. It was hard, but I took the weekend off. At the next tournament, I performed the best I ever had. The lesson I learned was about balance of effort. I’m still learning it because, I, like many Cross fit folks, feel awesome when I move a lot and exert a ton of effort. It’s like a drug. But it’s dangerous. I always say that if I wasn’t injured as much as I was - from sports or working out too much - that I’d be a Cross fit junkie. But it’s a good thing I’m not, because I’d be more broken than I already am.
That’s one of the reasons why we have our training philosophy of “Play and Perform”. Play and Perform is about having fun and enjoyment while getting better at something. And getting better at something requires focused, efficient time, not just effort. Reebok says be more mindful, work harder. But working HARDER isn’t necessary if you’re mindful: working EFFICIENTLY and EFFECTIVELY is. Doing more and putting more effort in doesn’t always yield more results, whether it’s fat loss or improving a skill. Sometimes it does, but often it doesn’t. The real genius behind mind full exercise, diet and lifestyle is finding the balance you need to accomplish your goals.
To those like me, who value strict self-discipline and to whom it comes easy, to those who will do anything asked of them once they give their commitment, who will put their all into making a goal happen, to those who consider themselves warriors...is the time you spend in the gym or on an activity taking away from you living and enjoying life? Is it possible that it is damaging you? Are you working out because you need it? What are your workouts doing for you?
About Author –
Best Personal Trainer San Francisco CA - ThriveSF Fitness offers personal training and weight loss programs to help clients maximize progress with the least amount of effort with their activity, diet, and lifestyle. We are a full-service personal training and health coaching that includes support for what you need to succeed both in our studio session and outside our meetings, paying special attention to the details that will make your relationship and experience with us a highlight of your day. For more information visit http://www.thrivesffitness.com/about-us.html
