Back into the Swing?

As life has been ridiculously busy, blogging has, of course, been pushed to the very furthest back of the burners. However, as always, I have thoughts rolling around in my head that I feel like getting down when I can. I've also been video blogging (vlogging I believe the kids are calling it these days), which I will get around to posting at some point. In any event, I was reading a bit of Lyle McDonald's treatise on Training the Obese beginner, which can be found on his website. As Lyle always is, he is quite thorough, but one point he makes (and makes often if you've read his stuff, visited his forums, etc.) is that obese beginners simply aren't capable or up to training with any great intensity very frequently. And yet, this is what you repeatedly see dipshit trainers doing ALL. THE. TIME.

 It's quite funny to me to see, because that was something that occurred to me long ago, really before I ever trained my first client. I'm not going to claim I had figured out all the variables at that point, nor that I have now, but meeting the trainee where they are seems like a pretty straightforward and obvious point to be made. And yet, it's a mistake that you routinely see people make. 

Yes, working harder makes you tired and feel like you did something. And yes, it also will make you not particularly want to do it again any time soon. The point I always make to people wanting to start an exercise regimen is, first and foremost, to find something they enjoy doing. Because if they enjoy doing it, they will do it more often. And doing it more often is what is most important, especially at first. Again, even a few moments spent thinking should alert the trainer to this fact.

I guess, getting down to it, the thing that pisses me off the most is that this is what is presented in the mainstream as the way to go. Look at shows like Biggest Loser, look at magazines, look at class offerings at any gym ("boot camps", etc.), and it all reinforces the idea that one must kill themselves to realize their weight and fat loss goals. And, in the short term, it may work. But for long-term adherence, it sure as shit won't for most.

And thus endeth my rant.