Alex Viada is awesome. In an interesting bit of timing, T-Nation (which seems like its gone full satire a la The Onion) also published a piece today which ragged on the elliptical trainer. Alex read both the T-Nation piece and mine, then posted this to Facebook (republished with permission): Just a quick point- two articles came out today which mention the utility of the elliptical. One makes the following statement: Why do people continue to flock to the elliptical at alarming rates? The answer is simple: The elliptical is inherently easy and unchallenging, both physically and mentally, for the person whos content to only pretend to exercise. When used as a singular method of fitness, the elliptical provides self-justification for people who are not mentally or emotionally capable of training with passion, purpose, or focus. The other says the following: First, some science: I spoke with Reed Ferber, who is an assistant professor of biomechanics at the University of Calgary and director of the Running Injury Clinic. “The elliptical best mimics the motion of running without the impact,” Ferber told me. “I think it’s good for people who are just getting into running as part of their weekly routine.” [snip] “It is also fantastic in terms of returning to running,” Ferber said of injured runners. “It allows them to maintain their cardiovascular base without loading the joints.” Speaking of loading, Ferber also explained that walking creates a load equivalent to approximately 1.2 X Body Weight. For hard running, it can be up to 6 X Body Weight. For the elliptical, it’s just barely above a walk in terms of load, coming in at around 1.5 X Body Weight. I dont think anybody reading my wall really cares much for the former publication, but the difference here is plain. The former makes a blanket insulting statement with zero backing whatsoever, the latter has the author directly contact an unbiased authority on the subject. In a perfect world, the former author would have egg on his face. Instead, hes probably being contracted for a follow up piece on how much exercise sucks. If youre wondering who Alex is, I interviewed him a while back for this piece: ca.askmen/sports/bodybuilding/the-hybrid-athlete.html
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 17:33:24 +0000
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