Saturday, May 2, 2009
People Actually Blog About Working Out?
It was a Friday afternoon. I had just gotten done teaching my morning literature class and was taking a short break before settling in for the rest of the afternoon to grade papers. I did the things I would normally do: I turned on my computer, checked my gmail account, responded to a message my sister had sent me on Facebook, checked both of my school email accounts, and then went to the CrossFit Fire's website to see if it had been updated from yesterday. Sure enough it had, and I settled in to read my trainer's comments on yesterday's workout of the day [WOD].
Sure enough, the post went over the WOD, the movements and then made some comments about the people who were there for the workout. Smiling I read the post, soaking up each word and forgetting that my quads were still stiff and sore. That's when one of my co-workers walked past saw me and asked me what I was reading.
"I'm reading the blog from the gym I go to?" I responded.
His eyes suddenly widened and his eyebrows would have disappeared if not for his receding hairline.
I quickly backpeddled, noting his interest and trying to find the right words: "Well, it's not a typical gym. It's CrossFit, and - "
"Wait," he said, his eyes and his eyebrows returning to normal and interrupting me before I could even begin my spiel on functional movements, intensity and so on and so forth. "People actually blog about working out?"
I shrugged and nodded: "Yeah. But - "
"I'm sorry," he said, interrupting me again and then began laughing. "That is just too much."
He walked away after that and left me sitting there feeling a bit confused and, to be honest, kind of angry. I honestly didn't understand what was so funny. It didn't make sense to me: Why wouldn't people blog about working out? I mean, people blog about everything on the Internet: Cake decorating, photography, nutrition, travel, aliens, body snatchers, kittens - you name it. So why wouldn't people blog about working out? Both fitness and nutrition are essential to healthy living, and in a society that is largely overweight, why wouldn't a forum on a topic or topics that are actually good for you be worth reading about?
Perhaps it is because I work in academia, or even just because I teach English, where interest in exercise and nutrition seems to be few and far between, but there sometimes (key word here: sometimes) seems to be some kind of prejudice against people who enjoy fitness and exercise and are concerned with their nutrition in general. The whole "meathead/airhead" label attached to personal trainers, aerobic instructors, athletes, and exercise enthusiasts for some reason continues to persist, even as people all around the country are trying to find a way to fit proper exercise and nutrition into their lives and attain the meathead/airhead body. However, the label, like all stereotypes, is misleading and insulting. Yes, of course, there are those men who stand in front of the mirror working on their curls just so they can see what their biceps look like when flexed, and yes, there are women who wear their tight little yoga outfits, bounce around just to flaunt their flat stomach; however, this vacuity is not necessarily the norm, and there are some individuals and communities that are fully committed to understanding the science behind proper fitness and nutrition and finding the best methods to reach optimal health.
CrossFit, like I was trying to tell my colleague, is one such community. It's philosophies are centered around functional movements, movements you use in your every day life (squats, push ups, pull ups, etc.), and performing these movements at a high intensity; it's program "delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive, [and their] speciality is not specializing" (CrossFit.com). The workouts and their movements are varied but their design and implementation is far from being random. Instead, they are aimed, scaled and performed to help elite athletes, military members, bikers, gymnasts, housewives and whomever to reach their fitness goals.
I don't know, maybe it's just me, but if you don't have your health, then you don't have much. Also, I don't see how something that has the potential to improve your overall quality of life wouldn't be worthy of talking about. But to make a long story short and to answer your question Mr. Anonymous Co-Worker: "Yes." People actually blog about working out. And, unfortunately, it's only too much for you because you don't understand the potential it has to change your well-being or your life.
Isn't it amazing, Britt? The reactions that those who clearly don't make health and fitness a priority in their life? You'll see a pattern form very quickly if you were going to reach out to those that do and do not make H&F a priority.
ReplyDeleteIf you posed the question "Do you think keeping a daily blog of a workout is a good idea?" to both types of people - those that do and do not make it a priority - the responses would form a consistent pattern for each type of person. Those that do would take a stance from "absolutely!" to "It's a good idea, but I wouldn't do it." Those that don't would give the same response your collegue did.
However, it just comes down to a person's interest. You hit the nail on the head when you said that people blog all about types of things.
So, let's be fair. If you asked me if it was a good idea to keep a daily blog on, say, the development of someone's pet cat I'd give you an outward tactful answer of "not really" in a nice tone all the while mostly be thinking "what the? are you serious? uhh NO!" But, that's because I'm not a huge cat fan, let alone would I blog about how great the cat was that it finally crapped in the litter box instead of in the middle of the kitchen floor.
That's me, and like everyone else I have my interests that I share with others and we can talk for hours if not days about and then there are those that think I am nuts for blogging my workouts.
End of the day, this is what *I* like to do and I have a reason as to why I do it. I don't care what all the naysayers have to say.