What is 1 unpopular opinion on Exercise/Fitness you have?

[PollyannaMom]

I can't "just" exercise. I have to walk and talk to someone, or march on the mini-trampoline while I'm watching TV...

If I'm just concentrating on the exercise, I'm bored to tears.

 

[adelaster]

-There is no one thing that works for everyone, so people should stop being aggressively prescriptive and judgmental.

-A person's percieved perfect fitness routine, body fat percentage, how much exercise, how ideal the macros and micros, etc. are not a safeguard for perfect health or a defense against tragic medical incidents.

It breaks my heart how hard we are all on each other. Striving for health and wellness is not centered on any one thing, and it is rare to balance all the types perfectly. Mental, emotional, physical, nutritional, spiritual, etc.- we should just be kind to each other as best we can. I know that's unpopular because I have a bad habit of reading forums and comment sections.

 

[mnrose]

Running is bad for you.

Yes, the cardio is great. But, the damage to your joints will come back to haunt you eventually.

True. Unless you are anatomically built for running, which an orthopedist told me, about 25% of people are. The rest of us, not so much. However, the vast, vast majority of people CAN walk for exercise. That's what I do. Every day. I walk somewhere between 4 and 4.6 miles in an hour, depending on the pace I keep for a particular day (heat, mood, all those affect my pace). Every day. I'm a decade number bigger than 5 and less than 7, so no spring chicken. But, can outwalk a whole bunch of people younger than me.

I used to run, but developed some pretty bad knee and foot problems. I did inserts in my shoes, etc to try to get around the anatomical issues I have, but nothing worked. Eventually, I had to stop. The doctor told me I could either stop running or, in a few years, not be able to walk. Easy choice.

Walking and running the same distance=same benefit. Takes longer to walk, but I've got time.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

It's great that you live a healthy lifestyle. But please, wear street clothes on the street and save your yoga pants for yoga class. Wandering around in public wearing them almost seems like you're flaunting that you're making superior choices about your health than those of us lounging around in sweatpants with a donut in hand

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

My idea of exercise is a nice, brisk walk. I also enjoy having a dance party with my daughter and playing outside with my kids--that is exercise to me and I predict that I will immediately put on some pounds when my kids are both grown. My unpopular opinion about exercise is that running is terrible for you and the only way you will ever see me run is if something scary is chasing me!

 

[BLAZEY]

I walk 15 minutes miles on the treadmill, really started doing it for about an hour Daily since January, and dropped 20 pounds, without changing anything else.

I walk around the neighbourhood, for about an hour plus all my daily walking around. That hour in the evening is where the weight comes off as its faster pace and I hit about 10km. If I'm walking I'm not on the couch snacking.

 

[wvjules]

*I* know what No Pain No Gain means. I cringe when others use it improperly. Which is why hating the term is *my* unpopular opinion as it is applied incorrectly.

 

[chiamarie]

I rarely weigh myself. It's just the measure of your gravitational pull to earth.

It doesn't measure how kind, empathatic, or forgiving you are, not does it measure your fat or muscle mass.

You can loose a lot of muscle mass and gain fat and still "loose weight", but the inches around your waist will go up.

I want to look and feel good about myself. And a scale that measures weight will never give me an accurate reading about that.

 

[TheDisneyNurse]

I think people that do fasted workouts are completely out of their minds

 

[Klayfish]

I rarely weigh myself. It's just the measure of your gravitational pull to earth.

It doesn't measure how kind, empathatic, or forgiving you are,

Well, I beg to differ. If some people don't see the number they want on the scale, they're not very kind or empathetic to it...

 

[tvguy]

Sitting on the equipment, or standing in the pool for an hour do not qualify as exercise.

 

[DLgal]

That's fantastic! I hope I was clear in my original post saying that any exercise is good exercise, even cardio (to a point). But people get SO hung up on the number on the scale. If you're measuring fitness, the number on the scale isn't anywhere near as important as body composition. There's a widespread belief that just doing lots of cardio is going to get you "in shape". Again, exercise is good. However, people who do lots of cardio and no weight training, especially when combined with a restrictive diet, become what is known as "skinny fat". You may like the look in the mirror, fit into a certain size clothes, or like the number on the scale but you'll still have a very unhealthy body mass index. I'm not implying that everyone needs to hit the gym every day and bench press 300lbs while grunting as loud as they can (that drives me nuts by the way). Not in the least. The amount/type/frequency of the weight training would be defined by your goals.

Again, I can't be more clear in saying I think it's great if you're being active, even walking. It's so much better than doing nothing. But IMO truly being fit can't happen by just doing a 4mph walk on a treadmill.

On that note, I always every time I see one of those ads on TV for the lastest cardio machine where the model using it is shredded with muscle. It's such false advertising, it's sad.

But being fit doesn't have anything at all to do with your body composition. At the end of the day, your heart health matters more, as does your immune system and mental health. To be "physically fit" means to be In a state of health and well being. Physical fitness is defined as the body's ability to function efficiently and effectively in work and leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist disease, and to react to emergency situations.

I have known of more than a few people who were at the ideal body composition physically, but who had massive heart attacks at young ages, sometimes being fatal. You hear those stories all the time too...The marathon runner who drops dead mid race, the athletic trainer who suffers a massive coronary, etc. In the past year alone, I have personally known 2 men this has happened to. One was a marathon runner. The other was in great shape and died from an aneurysm at the age of 39.

My body composition isn't gonna win any prizes, but I eat moderately healthy, exercise a couple times a week, and get enough sleep. I have NO health issues and great stamina at 40. I can swim a mile right now, jump on a bike and do 15 miles easy, or start running and go 5 miles without stopping. I'm about 30 pounds over my "ideal" weight for my height, though.

My mother is close to 300 pounds, practically sedentary, sleeps 12 hours a day at age 70, and she is the picture of perfect health. It makes no sense from the outside looking in. She has low cholesterol, normal blood pressure, and no active disease processes. She literally walks maybe 100 steps a day...maybe. She will probably live to be 100. I wouldn't call her fit at all, but she is literally in perfect health (which boggles my mind daily, but there it is).

 

[Magpie]

I'd never admit this to my doctor, but...

I don't exercise for my health. I exercise because I want to keep a nicely shaped figure. Otherwise, I wouldn't bother.

(And no - a healthy diet isn't enough to stay in trim. I feel lumpy and saggy and unattractive when I go too long without regular exercise, even though my weight stays the same.)

I suspect I'm secretly a very shallow, vain person.

 

[powellrj]

I like water exercise, but I hate getting wet.

 

[Jaspers]

Exercising with a group doesn't make it more comfortable to do, it's better to do it alone.

 

[CarolAnn856]

Along those lines of walking/cardio and it's benefits another one I'd bring up is that walking 2 miles a day around your block at home for three weeks before a WDW trip really doesn't do a lot for you in "preparing" for the walking you do.

If someone's normal level of exercise involves not much more than walking to the car and carrying laundry upstairs, then yes, walking 2 miles a day for 3 weeks will help prepare for Disney. Will it fully prepare them? No, but it will help.

My (probably not) unpopular opinion is that sending out misinformed messages and not taking into account people's starting point is discouraging to those trying to make a positive change in their lives and should be avoided.

 

[Wubar]

Along those lines of walking/cardio and it's benefits another one I'd bring up is that walking 2 miles a day around your block at home for three weeks before a WDW trip really doesn't do a lot for you in "preparing" for the walking you do.

Exactly what DOES prepare someone for all of the walking at WDW? Walking 10 miles a day every day?

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Exactly what DOES prepare someone for all of the walking at WDW? Walking 10 miles a day every day?

One could prepare by conditioning themselves to shuffle behind mass crowds of people in the dark, dodging strollers and ECVs etc...

Like football camp!

 

[Wubar]

One could prepare by conditioning themselves to shuffle behind mass crowds of people in the dark, dodging strollers and ECVs etc...

Like football camp!

Oooh. I see a business opportunity here. Disney boot camp - how to prepare for the mass of humanity.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Oooh. I see a business opportunity here. Disney boot camp - how to prepare for the mass of humanity.

Draw up a business model. I want to be a silent partner.