I have to file this under “don’t be this guy”…
http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_health_news_details.asp?channel_id=1039&relation_id=1883&news_channel_id=1039&news_id=33918&rid=
While it’s great that we can exercise an average of an hour a day, telling people that it’s not enough - is a load of BS. And judging from the news story photo… yup, another better than everyone else triathlete.
His seat is too high.
He seems to be a biker…
Generally, he’s right. I’m not so sure tough love is the way to go though. People need lots of positive encouragement and support. And being overweight is not the worst problem one might have…
-Robert
I stand corrected, he is indeed a “cyclist”. In fact he’s “professional cyclist”.
I agree with the arrogant cyclist. I’ve found that working out less than 45 minutes doesn’t do it for me. However, I usually take one day off a week.
I’m sure most people on this forum agree with him, the point is that you can’t and shouldn’t expect the general population to exercise like triathletes. Plenty of studies have shown that 20-30 minutes of aerobic activity 3-4 times a week significantly improves health.
If some ‘guru’ preaches to people how unless you’re running 4 min km’s, riding at 300W or swimming 1:20 100s for at least 20 hours a week then it’s useless, most people are going to say ‘fuck it’ and not do anything.
Can’t say I disagree. The level of inactivity among Americans is pretty shocking. 1 hour a day isn’t even that much. But it’s a mind blowing amount to most people.
I do think that just getting folks to us a little more self control when dining, and gettign in at least 10-15 minute sof ectivity is a great start. I think you’ll find that urban dwellers are probably leaner than suburban counterparts for thsi reason. In a downtown city setting, you end up walling at least 1 miles every day just getting around. I walk almost 2 miles most days in an average day just going ot a from my office a couple times and walking aroung my workplace. Heck, I even picked up a cheap bicycle as well.
I actually agree with him.
He’s not being nice about it but he’s not being too harsh either.
I stand corrected, he is indeed a “cyclist”. In fact he’s “professional cyclist”.
He might want to work on that 1:13 40k then.
If some ‘guru’ preaches to people how unless you’re running 4 min km’s, riding at 300W or swimming 1:20 100s for at least 20 hours a week then it’s useless, most people are going to say ‘fuck it’ and not do anything.
But he’s not saying that. He said that people need to make exercise a priority in their life. He also said that people should shoot for seven days a week of 1 hour of exercise. Oh, and don’t eat tons of crap everyday.
The only thing slightly upsetting about the article is the constant references to him as a superior fitness being. His words though are right.
I wonder how many hours a week he practices his drums?
Mark
I see him on USAC as having done a 59:36 at 55+
That isn’t amazing but for average talent joes does reflect 1+ hour of training per day to achieve.
However, professional cyclist? NOPE
I stand corrected, he is indeed a “cyclist”. In fact he’s “professional cyclist”.
He might want to work on that 1:13 40k then.
I see him on USAC as having done a 59:36 at 55+
That isn’t amazing but for average talent joes does reflect 1+ hour of training per day to achieve.
However, professional cyclist? NOPE
I stand corrected, he is indeed a “cyclist”. In fact he’s “professional cyclist”.
He might want to work on that 1:13 40k then.
I didnt dig deep - just went with the first result I found.
I’m never the guy who goes “look at his time! he’s too slow!” but when a guy is calling himself the pinnacle of athleticism and refers to himself as a professional cyclist (which I found both references in 10 seconds looking at his websites) - then I have an issue with him having a time on a (relatively) short race standalone that wouldn’t be competitive in most Olympic triathlons.
yeah I hear ya, lots of delusional guys out there.
It would be like if I put professional aerodynamics engineer in my sig.
Nope, I just like charts.
Reading the article, I don’t see him saying that people “must exercise” an hour (or more) every day. The article says that he does so himself, and that he thinks it’s a good goal to “shoot for”–the implication being that people are likely to fall short of that target, but at least the target encourages them to do more than they may have been doing in the past.
Personally, I find it necessary to take one rest day most weeks, but my job doesn’t revolve around fitness like his does. Besides, at 55 he’s just a youngster. 
I agree that the words are mostly right. Exercise needs to be a priority, and you shouldn’t eat crap every day. I think an hour each day may be a bit much if your goal is just to decrease the risk of heart disease, but that’s not very relevant.
What I was getting at is that if his goal is to help people avoid heart attacks, he’s doing a shit job. You don’t motivate people by scoffing at them and saying ‘Give ma a break!’. His attitude, and arrogance, will drive more people away than it will bring in.
He’s of course right that it takes time and consistency to become fit, and an hour a day is by no means an outrageous suggestion. Everyone has different goals, though, and some people may be content with the results they get with their 30 minutes three times a week. They may not become elite athletes, but if it keeps them from becoming obese and gives them more energy for other activities then more power to them.
I don’t think his approach is too far out of bounds. Different people respond differently to different types of motivation. For instance, Jillian Michaels’ drill sergeant approach to training isn’t exactly rainbows and butterflies either, but for some people it’s effective. For reasons unclear to me her message really resonated with my sister and she did the diet + 3X30min thing and was able to lose weight and keep it off since season 1 of TBL. Somebody out there will respond to this guy’s blunt approach when softer messages will have failed, so I think it has its place.
I also don’t see this driving anyone away from fitness. Would anyone seriously say “I want to start getting in shape, but John Platero is a douche and said mean things, so therefore I’m going to sit on the couch and eat cheetos instead”?
Fair enough, guess I can see that.
People who try and cram a workout into ten minutes are usually the type of people
who wish they could cram a workout into 3 minutes if only they could. They probably
hate every second of it.
Maybe I’m just exceedingly boring (in fact I’m sure I am) but my “workout” is amost always the
best part of my day.
I stand corrected, he is indeed a “cyclist”. In fact he’s “professional cyclist”.
Not that professional.