Please tell me I am wrong!
I have now been with the VA’s MOVE program for about 4 months, and I am ready to quit! When I signed up for this, it sounded really good, and the name, MOVE, implies action, but, so far, all I have seen or heard, are discussions on portion size, and hearing questions and answers that are just so absolutely basic, I feel like I have stepped into an elementary school classroom! I am sorry, common sense will tell you, fried chicken is worse than boiled chicken, fresh green beans are better than canned, and steaming them in water, is better than sauteing them in butter, simple stuff, right?
When I signed up, I had some sort of fantasy that the group really wanted to MOVE and get results, that we could go to the gym, even a fitness center, something, but no, the big MOVE event for next month is a walk in the park, literally, well, ok, that is some sort of action, but, unfortunately for me, the ROI is not worth it. What I mean is, I can only walk a very short distance, like maybe 100 yards, before the pain is so intense I have to sit. However, if it is to walk into the gym, then sit on a bench, do an exercise that actually does something besides get your shoes dirty, it would be worth it. Walking or standing are the two things I have to limit, I only can walk so far, total in one day, or I am stuck on the sofa for a day or two! If we were going to the gym, the benefits of that type of exercise, would make up for the pain, I would be getting a Return On my Investment, just walking, all I get is the pain and zero benefit.
I know that most of the folks in my MOVE group are much older than I, but, weight training is good for everyone, walking is about the least valuable of all exercises, if the same amount of effort is applied to weight training, the benefits will far exceed what one gets from a walk, as far as I am concerned, walking is only good for getting from the car to the free weights in the gym. Yes, there is a bit of cardio involved with walking FAST, but your heart gets a workout with weights too.
What is the whole point? Gaining lean weight (muscle), will increase your body’s ability to burn fat, even when you sleep, walking is only good for burning a few calories at that given time, and the muscles used for walking, will get used to that stress very quickly, and unless you start carrying weight, while you walk, you will peek in just a couple of days. If that is all that the MOVE program is about, it is not worth the gas money to get there.
Gym Etiquette: Flirting and Training, a big no no!
Gym Etiquette is one of those things that have “evolved” over time. Back in the day, throwing plates, chalk bags or even dumbbells was a normal thing. Getting mad that you missed a lift, or something was out of place was common. This was also a time when girls were not often found in a gym, but when they were, they were serious about training. Women almost always hung out in those “girly” places, like “spas”, and then “fitness centers”, but now, even a “Gym” like Golds, is nothing more than a fitness center, I often wonder if Joe Gold saw that coming back in the day, I doubt it.
Anyway, here we are in the present, and today, I just almost had to have a talk with one of the trainers. I have no idea what the exercise is called that he was attempting to teach this little girl, but between the two of them, there was more talking, and flirting, than training going on. What is the problem with that? Well, for one, it ties up the equipment, and another, it makes the trainer look like he has lost control of the trainee. Yes, I said it, control!
When at the gym, it should be all about the training, not flirting. Even though in this case, it was the girl, not the trainer, that was starting the “small talk”, but, his lack of control was obvious. When he would attempt to teach, the girl would dodge the lesson and move on to how she came to the gym 6 days a week or more. To be honest, that girl could go the gym 100 days a week and never get a workout! I’m sorry if I sound too strict, but, by not keeping the girl focussed on training, he was wasting her time, time she is paying for! Being nice is not a good quality for a trainer, a trainer should be tough, and rigid, otherwise it shows a bad example, goofing around, joking, flirting and anything else that distracts you, or anyone else, from the work at hand is just wrong!