Latest Semi-Regular Gym Rant

I think when I'm tired, my brain occupies itself during my run by getting philosophical. And I wind up sharing my philosophical musing with you, Gentle Reader, even though I'm ignoring that all-important blogger question of "So what?"

Our Little Obsessions
I'm both amused and disturbed by the number of young women I see at the gym doing movements with and without weights that are obviously meant to tone their asses. Second to these ass-toning movement are abs movements. Forget building overall muscular strength and endurance, and for sure forget about building cardiovascular capacity and endurance. If the activity doesn't help them have a great-looking ass in a tight pair of ridiculously expensive jeans that'll reel in the hottie at the bar on Sixth, then screw it, for these women want no part of that.

Perhaps this is yet another reason why so many adults have chronic "lifestyle" conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension: They don't understand the concept of exercising for health's sake, for the whole body's sake. And why should they when they've only thought of exercising in terms of targeting specific body parts. They don't understand the concept of holistic health from exercise because they have no clue about holistic exercise.

Study after study has shown that targeted toning and exercise focused on one particular body part or "problem area" isn't terribly effective. You can't eliminate the rest of the body just to, for example, lessen those saddle bags. If you really, really want to get rid of that fat being stored on your outer hips, you've got to move your whole body; you've got to jack up your heart rate and require your whole body to expend more energy and thus need more energy to burn--energy that's stored on those outer hips, let's just say.

But that sort of holistic approach would require us to move beyond our little obsessions. Obsessions are comfortable; they're the neurosis we know, the neurosis we've cultivated and watched over. If we move beyond our little obsession, what will occupy the ego then?

Speaking of Those Problem Areas....
One of the favorite exercises of the ass-obsessed is the lunge. I'll be the first to admit that the lunge is a great means of strengthening multiple muscles in the leg--when performed correctly. When performed incorrectly, you can easily screw up your low back, your SI joint, the balance between inner and outer thigh musculature strength, your knee(s), your shoulders (if you've got the weight bar across the tops of your shoulders), your neck (see previous reason) and your head (from all the pain and anguish you've brought on your ass-obsessed self).

Now comes word that one of the "improper" ways to execute a lunge is much more effective at engaging the glutes than the "proper" way: in other words, if you tip your torso forward when you lunge, you'll engage your butt muscles better and work them more. Hey, that's great news for the ass-obsessed, right?

Hell no! Tipping the torso forward without properly engaging the core muscles (particularly good 'ol transversus abdominis) can strain the hell out of your lumbar spine. Mercifully, the authors of the study that uncovered this "finding" caution that no one should execute a torso-leaning lunge without first mastering the torso-upright lunge:

It is important to note that increased hip flexion during squatting or lunging does increase lumbar spine loading. Clients should be able to demonstrate adequate torso strength/stability and hip mobility prior to attempting the Glute Lunge.

Nice warning and advice, yes? Will it go completely ignored by the ass-obsessed? You bet 'cher so-tight-a-quarter-bounces-off-it ass!