Time: Its Importance in Your Fitness Program  

by John Colman

I pulled into a filling station, one of those with 20 or so pumps and I was a little surprised to see everyone holding the nozzle about 3 feet from the tank. Now after a wile, some of the tanks got filled up, but do you know what? They kept trying to put more gas in the tank. Here we have 20 or so people spreading gas all over the place—which is expensive, very inefficient, and damned dangerous. Sure, some of the tanks reached full and not everybody got blown to bit-sized pieces or inhaled enough fumes to turn them into large carrots. I asked someone who was gleefully spraying gas into his tank, on his car, and on the ground what was going on, and he said a hot looking red Ferrari pulled in, and that’s the way the driver filled up his tank. So, they could turn their cars into hot items doing the same thing!

(Now, I know what you’re thinking—the ol’ Coach got into something that last trip to Nogales—Well, read on!)

Hey, when you go to the gas station, you make darn sure got that nozzle right where it should be, and not a drop of it goes on the ground. When the tank is full, it’s full, and you stop RIGHT NOW! And you sure as heck know how you put gas into your car won’t make a VW a BMW.

Take the same scenario into a gym. People use inefficient and dangerous exercise, waste time, and haven’ t got a clue as to when their exercise tank is full! What should take minutes drags into hours, and when aches and pains develop, they can’t figure out why. How come? Because somebody saw somebody with a great body doing such and such, and if they look good, it must be because they know what they are doing. Right?

STOP READING THIS COLUMN RIGHT NOW!

That’s right! Stop Reading! If your idea of fun is two to three hours in a gym, everyday, or if you get your kicks running from here to Camelback and 40th Street before breakfast, this article is not for you! But, if you want to learn how to best use your time and efforts, read on and read with an open mind. Don’t accept what I say—just try to see the logic, and apply what you can into your life!

UNDERSTAND WHAT EXERCISE CAN AND CANNOT DO!

Exercise can strengthen muscle. Exercise can increase cardiovascular efficiency. Exercise can burn calories. Exercise cannot make a thoroughbred out of a plow horse. Your potential shape, size, and strength are dictated by genetics—but what everyone can do is strengthen their muscles and get rid of excess fat. Why? Because muscles provide the only truly productive factor in human movement. Our muscles make every movement from very simple to very complex—getting up from a chair, a golf swing, driving a car, playing a musical instrument. The great thing is that we have the means to keep our muscles strong, and strong muscles means better posture, better shape and the avoidance of injury—especially those associated with aging.

WHAT IS REAL EXERCISE?

While so-called ”experts“ rant and rave that ”exercise should be fun“, and The American College of Sports Medicine has declared that virtually any activity short of simple breathing can be construed as ”exercise“. Ken Hutchins, who spent years with Nautilus Research, offers this as a definition of exercise:

Exercise is a process whereby the body performs work of a demanding nature, in accordance with muscle and joint function, in a clinically-controlled environment, within the constraints of safety, meaningfully loading the muscular structures to inroad their strength levels to stimulate a growth mechanism within minimum time.

Like Dorothy said, ”Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore!“ – and Mr. Hutchins’ definition sure isn’t the lighthearted play that most people consider ”exercise.“ Dr. Ellington Darden takes the same approach, saying exercise should be demanding, and coining the word I like, ”unfun.“ Darden also says that exercise should be a ”strategy“ to bring about physical improvement. Most people beyond hope think that ”exercise“ will be fun and magical things will happen while having a good time. Folks—it just doesn’t happen that way. The ”fun“ of exercise is getting into a smaller dress size, pulling the belt notch or two tighter, and feeling great after a hike around the park or the golf course.

The pied piper syndrome factors big among the fitness crowd. John’s article reminds me of my dad’s closest friend, a biologist named Billy Frank Pipern. Billy enjoyed standing and looking up towards the top of tall buildings in downtown Houston just as a gag. After 30-45 minutes, the street was filled with scores of people looking to see what he was looking at—which, of course, was nothing. —K.H.

Many readers are already familiar with the critically disabling injury sustained by Leslie Visser, CBS Sportscaster. She tripped and fell while jogging June 23, 1993 in Central Park. She abraded and tore her face, pierced her cheek and nose, shattered the base of an acetabulum, avulsed her hamstrings and groin muscles from the bones, and dislocated her hip. She lay in the hospital on her back for four weeks with ”no weight bearing“ to follow for 10 weeks. All this she sustained in the pursuit of health.