Profile: Secrets of a health and fitness master
My dog is smarter than I am
My dog's name is Mojo and he's really stupid. He has no grasp of the alphabet and his understanding of world affairs is almost nonexistent. Not only that, his exercise program is truly amateurish. He doesn't know anything about exercise physiology or correct training practices. He doesn't read the research and he doesn't consult with certified experts. He doesn't practice proper form or adhere to accepted guidelines. He violates all the rules.
When he exercises, he doesn't warm up or cool down. When he stretches, he only holds the stretch until he's satisfied. He doesn't check his heart rate and he never measures his body fat percentage.
Mojo does occasional squats and leg lifts, but he's really sloppy about counting sets and reps. He doesn't keep a spreadsheet and he never bothers to log his progress. He has no performance objectives and seems completely indifferent to standard training protocol. He has no opinion on whether it's better to run 10 wind sprints 3 times a week or 3 wind sprints 10 times a week.
As for nutrition, he's totally barbaric. He eats whatever he can get his teeth on and has no sense of portion control. He doesn't pay attention to critical nutrients, doesn't follow the food pyramid and doesn't read labels. He doesn't drink water at the proper intervals either, just visits his favorite puddles when he gets a chance. He even drinks out of the toilet!
There's no sense of discipline to his method. When he goes out on the trail, he sets whatever pace he wants. If he feels like running, he runs. If he wants to stop and sniff the bushes, he stops. On some days he walks, some days he does wind sprints, some days he goes swimming. He mixes these activities up with no regard to periodization, macrocycles, mesocycles, tapering or peaking.
He doesn't do Pilates, Yoga or Taebo. He doesn't get acupuncture treatments or spinal manipulations. He doesn't wear orthotics or drink sport drinks. He doesn't take vitamins, creatine or wear a heart rate monitor. His toys don't contain graphite, titanium or advanced composites. He doesn't have a swoosh logo on his collar.
Not only that, Mojo is completely apathetic about competition. He has no interest in pushing the envelope, setting records or winning medals. He doesn't care how fast the other dogs are or who's in the lead. If he gets tired, he rests. If he gets hot, he seeks out shade. If his paw hurts, he slows down.
In general, he pretty much does as he pleases. He sleeps about 12 hours a day and lounges around for another 6 or so. And then, when he finally does get off the couch, he just plays around. He has no motivation, no ambition and no work ethic. What a slacker.
the results:
The thing I don't understand is this: According to everything I read in the fitness and sports medicine press, Mojo ought to be in terrible condition. He should be suffering from all sorts of muscle soreness, injury, bad posture, poor performance and psychophysical grief. His unapproved and improper training practices should be sending him into early retirement at the vet hospital.
But no, it's not like that at all. When we go out on the trail, he beats me up the mountain every time. Try as I might, I just can't keep up with him. We do 10 miles on the trail and when we get back to the parking lot, he still wants to play. I'm exhausted, but he's ready for more.
Not only does he perform like an Olympian, he's also managed to achieve some impressive cosmetic results. He's got great muscle tone and a slender waist. His shoulders and neck are powerfully bulked up. It's difficult to tell with all that fur, but I think that he even has ripped, razor-sharp abs. He looks like a total stud and yet he never touches a weight machine. What gives?
a one-rule dog:
Mojo may be a slacker and a scofflaw with a bad attitude, but he does adhere to one basic rule. That is, he tries to get moderate to vigorous activity on most days of the week. That's it. Aside from his obvious preoccupation with play and pleasure, this is his only rule for fitness. It's almost as if he's read the recommendations from the American Heart Association. Maybe he got his paws on a copy of the Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health. Maybe he's following the guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the American College of Sports Medicine. They all say roughly the same thing: "to maintain physical health, individuals should participate in moderate to vigorous activity on most days of the week."
Whatever the source of Mojo's fitness philosophy, it clearly works for him; we cannot argue with his results. So the question is, "Is fitness really this simple?" Can we really disregard all the details of exercise science and reduce it down to a single guideline for physical living? Can we really ignore all the experts and their expertise? It is tempting to do exactly that.
If we're learning anything from the modern obesity epidemic it's that, whatever advanced and specialized knowledge we might happen to have, it's the fundamentals of physical living that are lacking. Sure, we can determine the precise program of mileage and resistance that will create an Olympic athlete, but if people remain sedentary, such expertise is little more than a curiosity. If we can't get people to participate in a simple program such as "moderate to vigorous activity on most days," then what good is the ability to shave another minute off the marathon? We need more fundamentals and less sophistication. We don't need high performance, we need more basic participation.
he's just a dog:
Critics will dismiss the success of Mojo's training program, claiming that he's just a dog, a mere animal. But this objection just doesn't hold up to scrutiny. When we start looking at anatomy and physiology in detail, we simply don't find much substantive difference between canines and humans. Oh sure, my brain is slightly larger than Mojo's and I'm a lot better with abstract symbols than he is. But my neuromuscular system is almost identical to his; our tissue is almost interchangeable. Given the fact that we both evolved in similar environments, it seems unlikely that our physiological responses to movement would be significantly different. What works for terrestrial mammals works for both of us.
Looking at humans in isolation just doesn't work, especially when we start talking about the health and fitness of our bodies. Our brains are capable of some remarkable things, but our bodies aren't really that different from other primates, other hominids, other mammals. If we really want to be healthier, we need to get down off our pedestal and pay more attention to the creatures around us.
can we do better?
Given the impressive results that Mojo achieves with his intuitive and instinctual training program, we have to wonder why humans think that they can do better. Do we have some special knowledge? Or are we simply missing the point? Can we do better than Mojo?
