The Number One Reason You Aren’t Getting Results
First off, I want to extend deep condolences to the family and friends of all the victims in this weekend’s horrific massacre in Norway.
What happened can only be described as a tragedy, and you’ll all be kept in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time.
And not that this compares in any way, shape or form but, as I’ve mentioned before, it’s also a tragedy that Kim Kardashian and so many others still buy into the idea of “toning” shoes like Skechers Shape-Ups while evidence abounds to refute their efficacy. But while research has always supported their ineffectiveness, this recent NY Times article highlights findings that suggest it may not be so much due to design as to the fact that the body just adapts incredibly quickly. This is true in all facets of fitness, and the number one reason most people don’t get results.
In short, the article discusses several studies negating the claims of toning shoes, one of which was conducted by University of Nevada professor of biomechanics, Dr. Mercer. Here’s an excerpt summarizing his study:
…he recruited a group of healthy young female students (toning shoes are marketed almost exclusively to women) and had them walk on a treadmill for 10 minutes at a time while wearing, alternately, a walking shoe or a toning shoe — in this case, the Skechers Shape-ups. He and his colleagues attached sensors to the women’s legs to measure the electrical impulses generated as their muscles contracted. They also determined the women’s oxygen consumption, to see if they worked harder and burned more calories with one shoe rather than the other. But as it turned out, according to results presented in June at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine, muscle activation and oxygen consumption were almost identical whether the women wore walking shoes or Shape-ups.
The reason? The human body is endlessly ingenious and utterly indolent, according to the article. As Dr. Mercer puts it, “Humans are quite lazy from a physiological standpoint…Our bodies will try to do the least work possible in any situation.” In other words, none of the following holds true:
Another study from the University of Calgary supports this theory of human adaptability: Last year, researchers had volunteers wear a rocker shoe throughout the day for six weeks. At first, they wobbled around in the unstable shoes, activating and strengthening the stabilizer muscles in the feet and ankles. But after six weeks, these effects had significantly diminished.
This article alludes to similar findings in the literature regarding why softer surfaces aren’t any safer for running than concrete. Simply put, the body quickly adjusts its mechanics to keep forces constant. If you run on a soft surface, your legs stiffen; on a hard surface, you decrease stiffness and flex your hips and knees more – even though you don’t realize it.
The adaptability of the human body applies equally to nutrition as it does to exercise. I’m currently editing a physiology book and author Dr. Marco Zanetti – while still encouraging a high vegetable intake and moderate consumption of healthy fats – highlights a plethora of research supporting the fact that the ideal diet for health and longevity can vary greatly depending on where we come from. For example, Eskimos have always consumed a diet low in produce but rich in meat and, as a result, high in saturated fat. Yet, they have a very low incidence of heart disease, unlike people from other regions who consume this same diet. Why? Over time, the Eskimo metabolism has adapted and evolved to thrive on this diet whereas the Westerner’s metabolism has not. Some nutritionists and advocates of the Paleo Diet use this same logic to explain food allergies and intolerances: Many of our ancestors didn’t eat dairy or grains, so our digestive systems don’t respond well to these foods. They’ve adapted and evolved to digest certain foods well and others poorly, depending on our heritage.
The most successful fat-loss experts have learned to manipulate this adaptability to get better and faster results. Ask guys like Joel Marion and John Romaniello, and they’ll tell you that a calorie and carb-cycling program is the only way to avoid plateaus resulting from fast metabolic adaptations.
Speaking of John Romaniello, he and his trainer, Matt McGorry (who happens to be an old friend of mine)just released a great program called the Super Hero Workout.
They were also nice enough to extend the discounted rate until MIDNIGHT TONIGHT, so pick it up now!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The human body is incredibly adaptable. Some say the most important factor in determining diet and fitness results is consistency; but the single most important thing you can do consistently is CHANGE.
Stay tuned for my review of the Super Hero Workout!
Filed under: exercise programs, exercise research, workout tips
