Adam’s journal
So we have this spiffy new employee fitness facility at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and I couldn’t be more excited about it.
Well, except for one little thing. In the nearly two months since it’s opened, I’ve yet to use it. (But I have been exercising elsewhere. Scout’s honor.)
You, on the other hand, seem to have become one of the gym’s most devout rats. And I mean that in the most affectionate and endearing way a person can use the term “rat.”
Obviously, boss, your ever-muscled and svelte physique is in no need of transformation. But what of other gym users who might be looking for that fabled before-and-after effect? You know what I’m talking about — where the guy has spaghetti arms and a jellyroll paunch in the left-hand frame of the ad, then washboard abs and pythonlike biceps in the “after” photo.
When people take up exercise, how long before they can expect to see marked changes in their bodies?
Dr. Prescott prescribes
Well, I’m certainly glad you’re not suggesting that my body resembles either pasta or pastry. But regardless of the shape you’re in, overnight transformations are about as commonplace as wizards and unicorns. And if you fall prey to advertising that dangles these images like carrots, you’re setting yourself up for a big disappointment.
To make a change in how you look requires a significant commitment. That means six months — and often longer — of regular, intense workouts. These sessions should involve at least four days a week of cardiovascular and weight work and last for an hour or more. And depending on your genetic makeup, your body may not reflect the benefits of exercise as well as others do.
When it comes to working out, less is, well, less. At the University of Wisconsin, exercise physiologists looked at the effect of different short-terms training programs on people’s physiques. They found that whether subjects used a cardio or weight regimen, after six weeks of working out, their bodies had not changed appreciably, either by subjective measures (self-grading) or objective ones (thigh and waist size, percentage of body fat, weight).
None of this should come as any surprise. As much as we’re all looking for a magic bullet, experience teaches us that most things worth doing don’t come easy. So that six-minute ThighMaster workout? Not so much, unless it’s part of a much larger fitness regimen that involves many other muscle groups and a sustained commitment to exercise and eating right.
Speaking of muscle groups, have you given some thought to hitting the weight room? I don’t want to suggest that you look like that “before” guy who gets sand kicked in his face, but …
