ACSM vs. The Gurus
As you may know, the American College of Sports Medicine recently updated its exercise guidelines and released them last month (you can read the full position stand HERE).
Many people find the fitness industry about as frustrating as the stock market because we always seem to be up and down regarding what’s “optimal.” It’s no wonder our dogmatic ways get mocked:
The fact is, the field of exercise is still very young, and there are very few techniques that can’t be argued both for and against. Even the 2011 ACSM Guidelines admit they are, in fact, just guidelines.
For example, one of their new additions is the inclusion of a recommended 20-30 minutes a day of neuromotor training (i.e., balance, agility, coordination, proprioception, etc.) – which a lot of us have thought for quite some time to be beneficial for most people.
But while research on this type of exercise does suggest a benefit for older adults, they make it clear that there simply isn’t enough data yet to show the same in younger populations. Still, we see its success in our daily work, and the recommendation holds because enough evidence suggests “probable” benefit. It’s then up to us to decide whether or not to include this type of training in our programs.
Like it or not, a majority of training works this way. Heck, a majority life works this way (just ask President Obama). Various forms of evidence suggest something may help us improve in some way, so we adopt it until we learn otherwise or don’t get the results we hoped for. Training is a learning process, and there’s nothing wrong with trying different techniques in attempt to find the ones that work best (as long as they’re safe and make sense).
Considering it’s a debate that no one can really win, we do seem to spend an awful lot of time arguing over what’s right and what’s wrong – which I think is what that guy in the video was trying to say. But I guess that’s what makes this field interesting! And it does force us to think and continually assess why we do what we do. Just remember: The fact that you don’t agree with someone else’s techniques does NOT make you dumb!
Filed under: fitness commentary
Hilarious video!