Quality Vs Quantity

 

Let's Look at Exercise

    I have had a few conversations with a friend of mine recently about the topic of exercise. He does a martial art, helps instruct the class on occasion, and keeps his own personal routine very consistent. I would say he has a "body builder" mentality. Not because he necessarily lifts weights, but one of his definite goals is to build or sculpt his body into a certain shape and image. There is nothing wrong with this goal, certainly, as long as it is kept, I believe, within the context that there are many goals for pursuing exercise and movement. All goals are valid, and being "in-shape" is largely relative to each individual.

    Let's digress here: I am not at all claiming that the ACSM exercise guidelines don't provide a great framework for general health and wellness, nor that training for high performance is negative. I am also not claiming that being a "couch potato" is necessarily a viable movement goal or fitness program. But coming from a background working at a 55+ senior center, and working for the YMCA, I have come to espouse the idea of meeting people where they are, with what their own goals are. There are plenty of seniors, and I'd bet plenty of younger people, whose goal is to be active enough to be healthy. My argument is that the fitness industry as a whole as of the time of this writing tends to put down reasonable goals or to engender the idea that high performance goals are more "worthy."

Quantity

    I want to state from the beginning that these are my own conclusions on what I perceive to be the trend in pop culture, in social media, and in the fitness industry as a whole. There seems to me to be a huge push for movement quantity. By movement quantity I mean that it's output based. How many reps at what weight, how long can you hold the plank, how intense is your spin class or step class, how many calories did you burn on the elliptical? The output, the intensity, the duration, distance, or weight shifted tends to be the focus. There are many reasons for this- weight loss, for instance, happens more rapidly, in general, at higher MET levels (overall increase in metabolism due to demand on the system).

    The issue that I see with this quantitative approach to exercise is that the output becomes the metric. IE had a 'better' workout because I moved more weight on my bench press today. This can be a very dangerous way to think, and one that is so ubiquitous that it has become very hard to even notice! Even in yoga classes, like Vinyasa, or even Hatha yoga, the perceived quality of the practice is in the "heat" generated or trying to match certain angles and depth for stretches.

Quality

    So what, then, is a qualitative practice? Well, I always have to come back to Tai Chi where I was really first introduced to the qualitive aspect of movement. In certain Tai Chi and Qigong forms the instruction is to "move without effort" and to "integrate the external and the internal". Other instruction is "coordinate upper body and lower body". You're playing a game trying to figure out how to set the feet at the end of one movement so that the next movement can be more efficiently approached, you're trying to coordinate the breathing with the movement.

    Now, this is not solely limited to Tai Chi practice, nor is it limited to "mind-body" exercise as a whole. Martial arts, dance, hell even weight lifting all have this aspect of looking inward or proper form... when approached from that angle. There are many sources I've read from weight lifting, yoga, and other movement theory that all say how important this mindfulness is in your training. The issue that I see is the general trend in the industry to direct the consumer, the "uninitiated" into the high intensity, the high output, training and eschewing or denigrating or downplaying the more mindful practice.

Possible Solutions

    Now I'm not trying to rush to the end of a very complex debate, but I want to look at some ways to solve or marry the two sides of the equation. The industry will not change until the people who train teachers change or the instructors change what trainings they want, that much should hopefully be fairly obvious. Or, what the consumer seeks out, what they value and choose to pursue, shifts.

    With that aside, I tend to like the idea of an approach of "First A, Then B." First, master movement mechanics. Then add volume and output. "First move well, then move often" as physical therapist Gray Cook likes to say.

    So as a movement enthusiast, I'd tell you the same thing. Learn to watch your body from the head to your feet, learn how when you move one part, another part of the body compensates. Learn to engage and gradually progress to higher output and volume movements when an easier progression becomes more manageable. You don't HAVE to go straight to push-ups and squats! Watch to see if your ankles collapse (pronate) when you try to do a squat and then do strengthening exercises to mitigate that, for an example.

    The qualitative exercises are equally demanding, in my book, as the qualitative ones. The output might not be as high in the form of sets, reps, METs, or heart rate, but the input or internal focus required from looking at form, technique, points of failure in a movement pattern, and working on refining that requires just as much or more effort. Go ahead and run marathons, but first learn that you need a good internal core and structure and posture for running and build that, too. Build that FIRST.

Conclusion

    I fully expect, and hope, that the quantitative people talk to me about this topic. It's not really a popular opinion, from what I have seen. Getting right into the fray in the New Year and hitting the pavement happens all the time. The same with Beach Body training, weight loss challenges, Biggest Loser workplace events, and other programs that happen on and off through the years. But I'd love to see more about ergonomics, exercise progressions, learning your limits, mindful movement, and movement building blocks and basics start to emerge and gain popularity. Physical therapists and people who watch YouTube are already familiar with those who engage in parkour and slacklining without the proper foundation, but any output-based movement has the same risk for "fails."

    Take your time, feel your body, start easier than you think you need to, and then go from there.