Martha’s Routine?
Seems we’re always seeking order in our life. We crave solutions and we marvel or get inspired by those that do apparently great things that they can tell us about. The fitness industry is filled with plenty of ‘inspiring people’. It’s as if there are new discoveries daily to new ways to workout. ‘Here’s a solution’, you’re told, so listen up. Someone recently wanted to share an article from Martha Stewart’s magazine featuring Martha herself and her personal trainer. I like to see how information is relayed in the fitness world and what may make a particular piece interesting to some readers. This one was called ‘From My Home to Yours…a fitness routine that works’. Martha tells us, as she is the one writing the text, that we all should have such a program no matter what that gives us a proper diet, good skin care, and to include regular checkups to round out a personal care regimen. That sounds like such a nice cookie cutter response. Nothing new, nonetheless, fair information, I suppose. Still unsure what the value of the exercises that followed with Martha smiling stupidly in each one of them befuddles me. Standing on a balance beam vs. the floor helps out with balance and engages the core. O-kay. Then she showcases the quintessential treadmill , or also known in other circles as the dreadmill. Oh, yes throw in the Pilates ring to do something that is totally out of context but a good advertisement for a major Pilates manufacturer. Martha does hammer curls and one legged hammer curls, too. She holds the weights and then stands on one leg to help balance and help her build core strength. This give her biceps a good workout too because she didn’t get enough biceps work in the previous exercise . All-righty. Insert a side bend says her trainer, because here is where you are getting the core and it doubles as a toning exercise for the obliques. Grab the medicine ball, sit on a stability ball and get those core muscles working again! This variety is great for muscle confusion because that will for sure keep the body alert if you confuse it. Just twist to the right for 16 times and then to the left, that should do it for ya. The big windup is where Martha’s trainer stretches Martha because it help clear her mind and gets her ready for her busy schedule. But only do light stretching as Martha says to help your muscles lengthen.
Are you kidding me? This is a ‘fitness routine that works’? And many people, including the person that gave this article to me look at this as great information. Why? Maybe it gives the appearance of being useful because the author has chosen to include all buzz words to get your attention and fool you into believing that these great things will WORK…balancing on beam, rather than the boring floor; the reliable dreadmill; the Pilates ring; medicine balls and stability balls; she trained her biceps with hammer curls twice; works her obliques and does lots of core work. Oh, and let’s not forget about that intellectual, scientific term that spreading like wildfire in the gyms ‘muscle confusion’….it’s so….physiological, isn’t it?
It seems that the buzz is the hook that grabs desperate people. Perhaps there is nothing bad about what Martha does, and it may even serve some folks that need some inspiration, even from Martha. The phrase that gets me is how it is called ‘A fitness routine that works’. For who? How does this work I question? January is gaa-gaa month in the fitness industry. Typically, every year there is nothing new yet, those out of a desperate plea for help we fall into the trap of inspiration by those who apparently do great things and tell us about it. There really is nothing great here from Martha. Sorry, trainer, Mary.
Sometimes the only confusion is understanding why information like this is one that supposedly works. Buzz creates the confusion in your head and all that your muscles do is what they are supposed to do. It’s you that gets confused with a proposition like the one above. You are smarter than that…
No comments yet
Leave a Reply