I’m pretty open-minded. Sexually, I think people should fuck more and have more fun with it. I think bad people have good sides that should be acknowledged, even rapists, pedophiles and mass murderers. I think pineapple on pizza and spinach in smoothies should be celebrated. I’m definitely open-minded. But there’s one thing I am an absolute extremist about, and that is exercise. In particular, resistance training.
What is resistance training? Essentially, human existence is resistance training. Every day we pull our body through gravity and resist its heaviness. But gravity alone is not enough, just look at any morbidly obese gravity-resister wedged into their sofa.
Humans were made to move, just like all animals, and I find it appalling that many Western people spend their years in complete sedentariness. I, like everyone, get caught up in my own little bubble and forget that many people live a life where they: get up - eat (sitting) - drive to work - work (sitting) - drive home - eat while watching TV - sleep. This is repeated for decades and is only interrupted by a sporadic Saturday morning walk (if that).
When asked, these people will usually say that they don’t have time to exercise. Of course, this is a lie they tell to numb the guilt. We all have the same amount of minutes in the day, but I do concede that if you’re a parent, or a full-time carer, for example, you have less control over how those minutes are spent. Regardless, as I’ve said, I am an exercise zealot, and I know that if put in that situation, I would find time for exercising.
If my job was overseeing the safety of a nuclear power plant, you best believe I would be doing air squats while monitoring the control panel. Big-shot lawyer who spends all day in the office reading? You can read in plank position. Cardiac surgeon? Burpees between bypasses.
In all seriousness, this practice of using intermittent exercise throughout the day, even for a few seconds, all adds up. People who don’t exercise want to believe that they need to be in the gym for hours a day, which is clearly impossible to maintain for many people. What they either don’t know or don’t want to admit, is that doing 10 push-ups while the kettle boils, or choosing to watch TV on the floor and do some stretching instead of sitting on the lounge, is very achievable, you just need to willpower.
Willpower is the crux of the issue. Deep down, sedentary people know their lifestyle is unnatural and unhealthy, but they lack the mental or emotional energy to make a difference. Here I’m struck by Sam Harris’ argument in his book Free Will. In it, he uses the example of people who lose a fucktonne of weight. Many of these people are obese for years, and try diet after diet, constantly “falling off the wagon”. Then one time, boom. They stick to it. They change their habits and lose weight. Why did it work that time and not others? Why did they choose to stick to it now, but not before?
Just as I don’t know exactly what I’m going to think next, and just as my brain has already clocked what button to press before I’m cognisant of it, you can’t just create change that easily. Change is tricky, and people have their own personal demons, but all I know is that this is a societal ill that has been normalised.
Using your muscles is a non-negotiable, like eating, drinking and sleeping. Most people in other parts of the world know that out of necessity. In the West, we’ve normalised a comfy, spongy, sedentary life. But it’s not normal, and we’d all be far better off if we acknowledged that.
More writing on exercise is coming- watch out!
As a trainer who works predominantly with women, this writer has piqued my interest. I hope she continues, and I recommend her to other readers. With luck, perhaps in future we will see her viciously deride those who choose to be weak.
"Ladies who take no regular physical exercise, or who are not engaged in any occupation entailing such, are invariably startled and frightened by the least unexpected noise, such as the sudden opening of a door. They become “nervous” and often hysterically affected by unlooked-for occurrences of even the most paltry nature. Now all these ills and disorders are unknown to those who take regular physical exercise, for by it their nervous system obtains strength and firmness and that endurance which is the essence of a good constitution." - George Hackenschmidt, The Way to Live (1908)
His message's taking a long time to get through.