5 Disclaimers for Popular Fitness Programs
Sure, they’re great for some, but these workouts are hiding something. Consider yourself warned
Infomercials make every exercise program look amazing, and there’s no doubt they can work for the folks they fit—if you love a program enough, you’ll stick with it, get results, and maybe even see your before-and-after mug gracing the screens of late night.
But those half-hour call-now sessions hide things, too: little inconveniences, pseudo-scientific babble, and just plain weird stuff that every consumer should be aware of before paying shipping and handling. Consider these your public-service warnings for six popular programs—they may not be deal breakers, but at least you’ll know the full story before you fork over your cash.
Disclaimer: Those aren’t pushups. Concentrate on your cycling.
Somewhere in the middle of your Spin class, while you’re sweating through your shirt (good) and your quads are on fire (good), your instructor might tell you to get out of the saddle (good) and start performing “pushups” on your handlebars.
Not good: Those aren’t pushups. Your position only allows you to press a tiny fraction of your body weight, and the fact that it’s all upper body ignores the pushup benefits to your core, butt, and legs. The range of motion is restricted, too, which science says isn’t good: In a study published in 2010 in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, scientists found that a decrease in range of motion was associated with a decrease in muscular recruitment.
So concentrate on your pedaling. And when you get home, work on your upper body while your post-workout shower warms up: Drop and do a set or two of full-range, total-body pushups before you hop in and clean off.
