Fitness or Function?
As we did with Food, let us once more challenge our paradigms.
What do we really know about fitness?
Or more relevant, what do we know of how to attain it?
‘Exercising in a specific way for less than 10 minutes a day three times
a week will give equal or better results than hours of traditional working out!’
I know…
“What!”
…please read on:
In a study carried out in Japan in 1996 by Professor Izumi Tabata under laboratory conditions, two groups of performance athletes were tested for a six week period to assess levels of fitness and endurance after completing differing training regimes on the same piece of static cycle equipment… the study was entitled:
Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO2max.
The first control group did moderate intensity endurance activity i.e. One hour sessions to 70% of their maximum Oxygen uptake capacity (known as VO2 Max) 5 times a week…
The second group did just 4 minutes of high intensity workouts (170% VO2 Max) per day 5 times a week.The conclusion was staggering…the results of the 20 minute total weekly work out both in aerobic and anaerobic improvement totally out performed that of the first group who ‘slogged’ away for 15 times longer…but furthermore the first group (the sloggers) did not make any anaerobic gain whatsoever…unlike the 4 minute athletes who did!
Check out the report summary and conclusion on the link below and watch some of the videos of the Tabata system being put into action. This system may not be for you but…the ‘Truth will Out’! More food for thought, we hope you concur.
FFT – Do predators such as Lion and Cheetah after successfully ‘exploding’ into action to make a kill that may sustain them for a week or so have trouble calling on the same levels of intensity to attempt another kill even if times are difficult and it may well be many weeks before an opportunity comes their way? What do those same animals do in between opportunities? Do they have to participate in running and leaping ‘practice’ on a daily basis in order to be ‘ready’ for their next ‘explosive’ episode? Or do they simply rest in between explosive episodes? Does the relatively infrequent albeit ‘regular’ intensive explosive activity sustain the metabolism and animal’s physique in readiness for action? Are WE not ‘predators’ dictated by our evolution? How would a ‘fit for purpose’ Hunter-gatherer behave and function? Does this have anything to do with the Tabata findings? Our anatomy certainly ‘responds’ to such explosive stimulus as is so easily verified and proved!
What do we really need to consume and what activity do we really need to partake in for us also to be in ‘balance’ and in constant readiness for action? How do we become ‘fit for function’, optimised and in tune with our ‘natural status quo’ once more? All FFT!
There are some very wise people sharing their wisdom and knowledge on the combined subjects of ‘Fuel’ and ‘Function’ and one person who I feel is sincerely sharing his wisdom for all the right reasons and doing a very good job in the process is Shin Ohtake of MAXWORKOUTS. Exercise wise, Shin’s Programs are for the energetic active type whom seek out ‘lean and mean’…but whether this is your cup of tea or not, he completely understands food and the truth of it. Just by becoming a member on his site, Shin will send you daily emails on food and fitness (invaluable information), and, of course, like every other full time professional he has his paid programs available too. This 25 minute daily workout program has recently got my attention too for all the right reasons…it’s called T25 from a guy named Shaun T…people are writing some very good reviews on it.
Check out Shin’s website and search on-line for the countless other experts who are freely giving their research and wisdom on this subject. I’ll pose a few more questions to deliberate over on the next page and let you know how we stay ‘fit for function’ and what it is that we love to do which simply delivers health and fitness as a matter of course…remember the Natural World…you never see a fat crow or a lion too fat or depressed to catch its next meal…they are completely healthy and never ‘think’ about what they eat or how fit they are!
So, the question…How do I naturally become fit for function just like my not so long dead ancient ancestors and in a way that I have to give my ‘condition’ no more thought for the rest of my life (learned basic instinct!)?
On to Page 8…
