Knack
Sun, Nov-10-02, 13:59
As an adolescent I remember the saying of one of my old sports
coaches "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." In
stark contrast, has anyone out there noticed the 'normal'
technique that folks in health clubs typically use on
Stairmaster machines? ;-)
I *always* see users who are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s taking
iddy-bitty little steps thru a range of motion such that the
legs have maximum mechanical advantage via knees that are
minimally bent. Looks like someone who's recovering from a
coronary surgery, or who's struggling to hold back something
in the bowel ;-) And often times too with arms at the sides,
elbows locked straight, and grasping the handle bars so as to
take weight off the legs.
What possible sense of satisfaction or accomplishment do
these people get when they perform in public as wimps? I know
that when I exercise, I like to feel good about myself; not
feeling like a wimp. Don't think I could ever follow thru
with a life-long fitness program if I was projecting the
image that I just previously described.
It's even more shocking to hear the owner of a small local
health club actually tell me that his management even
instructs their users to take small steps that are only a
fraction of the full stroke capability of their Stairmasters.
But I think I know why. They know that members will tend to
use one or two 'favorite' machine(s), instead of distributing
their cardiovascular session over 3 or more different
machines. So management supports the excessive time spent on a
Stairmaster by promoting 'cheating' with a lot of bunk about
how unhealthy for the back, and knees a marching-stepping
action is. The last thing management wants is for members to
burn out and quit coming back to the club.
Fact is, stepping is quite an effective low-load exercise
for the lower back, and unlike running, it's a nonimpact
exercise for the knees. But can marching steps harm the
body? Well, can't any exercise cause discomfort/harm if you
do it too long? If you really want to protect yourself, then
avoid all exercise!
I think almost all Stairmaster users have got it wrong. This
is not a good exercise for greater than 15 minutes at a time
if you're doing it properly, because of the various
discomforts that set in. The solution is not to extend the
time by cheating but to march the stepping action and then
move quickly to a different machine as soon as fatigue is
intolerable. You can then possibly move back to the stepper
several minutes later if you desire, but better to use a
number of different machines at moderate/high intensity for
short durations so as work as much of the body as is practical
throughout the total exercise session.
If you have some sort of disability, or are recovering from an
injury or surgery, or are *way* out of shape and are just a
newbie then that's another matter.
coaches "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." In
stark contrast, has anyone out there noticed the 'normal'
technique that folks in health clubs typically use on
Stairmaster machines? ;-)
I *always* see users who are in their 20s, 30s, and 40s taking
iddy-bitty little steps thru a range of motion such that the
legs have maximum mechanical advantage via knees that are
minimally bent. Looks like someone who's recovering from a
coronary surgery, or who's struggling to hold back something
in the bowel ;-) And often times too with arms at the sides,
elbows locked straight, and grasping the handle bars so as to
take weight off the legs.
What possible sense of satisfaction or accomplishment do
these people get when they perform in public as wimps? I know
that when I exercise, I like to feel good about myself; not
feeling like a wimp. Don't think I could ever follow thru
with a life-long fitness program if I was projecting the
image that I just previously described.
It's even more shocking to hear the owner of a small local
health club actually tell me that his management even
instructs their users to take small steps that are only a
fraction of the full stroke capability of their Stairmasters.
But I think I know why. They know that members will tend to
use one or two 'favorite' machine(s), instead of distributing
their cardiovascular session over 3 or more different
machines. So management supports the excessive time spent on a
Stairmaster by promoting 'cheating' with a lot of bunk about
how unhealthy for the back, and knees a marching-stepping
action is. The last thing management wants is for members to
burn out and quit coming back to the club.
Fact is, stepping is quite an effective low-load exercise
for the lower back, and unlike running, it's a nonimpact
exercise for the knees. But can marching steps harm the
body? Well, can't any exercise cause discomfort/harm if you
do it too long? If you really want to protect yourself, then
avoid all exercise!
I think almost all Stairmaster users have got it wrong. This
is not a good exercise for greater than 15 minutes at a time
if you're doing it properly, because of the various
discomforts that set in. The solution is not to extend the
time by cheating but to march the stepping action and then
move quickly to a different machine as soon as fatigue is
intolerable. You can then possibly move back to the stepper
several minutes later if you desire, but better to use a
number of different machines at moderate/high intensity for
short durations so as work as much of the body as is practical
throughout the total exercise session.
If you have some sort of disability, or are recovering from an
injury or surgery, or are *way* out of shape and are just a
newbie then that's another matter.