Today’s instalment will provide you with zero in the way of personal development, motivation and/or education. It’s more a case of me thinking out loud than it is any kind of potentially transformational message. You’ve been warned.
A Fitness Dilemma
The other day, I spoke with a woman who had arrived at the gym without her heart-rate monitor. What a tragedy. She informed me that she couldn’t train without it. I told her she would be fine without it for one session. She disagreed and drove home (a fifteen minute trip each way) to retrieve it. Good grief.
The Old Days
Remember the good old days when you didn’t need a PhD in engineering, computer programming or exercise physiology to use gym equipment, do a workout or raise a sweat? Think hard. Back in the day, we had these amazing things called skipping ropes, old boxing bags and rusty dumbbells. And dirt tracks. And soft sand. And hills. And stairs. Real stairs; not revolving ones.
There was a time when we rode our pushbikes without the any hint of lycra, titanium frames, waxed legs, quick-release wheels, professional coaching, iPods, cheer squads or gels to replenish our glycogen stores. Whatever glycogen is.
A Payment Plan for My Shoes
I remember when I didn’t have to take out a bank loan or sell a kidney to buy a pair of running shoes. And when people didn’t leave one building (their house) to drive to another building (a gym) to run on a revolving rubber belt in a room full of other people all doing the same thing. And what about way back in the day when our body (and not a heart-rate monitor) told us whether or not we were working hard? Apparently, our body has that ability. Uncanny.
Who knew?
Once upon a time, we didn’t go jogging with high-energy, high-performance, high-cost drinks strapped to our body. No, when we got thirsty we simply jumped someone’s front fence and guzzled from their tap. It seemed to work.
I even remember a time when our Olympic swimmers swam in… well, swimmers. Bathers. Cossies (or whatever you call them in your part of the world). Crazy stuff I know. They didn’t spoon themselves into space-age, hi-tech, low-resistance, hi-buoyancy, performance-enhancing body-suits. No, back in the day, swimming apparel was all about modesty and practicality; not which country could provide the greatest ergogenic benefit via a super-suit. We were of the crazy opinion that winning or losing should come down to swimming ability, endeavour, training and courage.
Again, good grief.
Playing in the World of the Three-Dimensional
Remember when children climbed trees in backyards every day rather than fake walls in rock-climbing centres once a year for some kid’s birthday? And what about when they played games with real three-dimensional things like balls and bats? Remember those? These days, it seems they’re too busy killing electronic dragons while staring at a screen for three days straight.
Obesity anyone?
Old-Fashioned Protein
History tells us that there was a time when we got protein from eggs – not six-dollar bars with more chemicals in them than a nuclear reactor. And remember the good old days when a mirror (and not a three-thousand dollar body-composition machine) told us when we were fat? Apparently, these days we’ve lost the ability to identify fat visually. We need to pay some expert with three degrees to wire us up with a bunch of electrodes and tell us what our grandma could have told us in five seconds (for free): “you’re getting fat”.
Now, I know that being an exercise scientist and gym owner, some people might question my sanity in writing such a commentary. Don’t get me wrong, for the most part, I appreciate and value science, progress and technology. But there are times (like today) when I miss those old-school, low-tech sweat sessions.
I miss those days.
Or, maybe it’s the attitude and the culture around the low-tech days that I miss.
What about you?
What do you like and dislike about the hi-tech approach to exercise, sport and getting-in-shape? And what do you miss about the old days? Love to hear your thoughts.
* I will announce the winner of the coaching session (re Wednesday’s post) early next week. 
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{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
in the words of lance armstromg ‘its not abt the bike’ sort of ironic really. Persönally the gym i work at is so old school..things break, we know each others name, have fans and the bigger body builders crank their music on request and the old complain i love it!
ROFL! Couldn’t have said it any better myself Charlie Brown – Good Grief!!!
I hear you, Craig. I was watching a 3D movie yesterday, reflecting on the reality that technology is taking a baby step toward eliminating our need of binocular vision…
On the topic of exercise: I don’t miss the days when unassisted exercise made me like I wanted to puke. I love my Polar… it moderates me. I relate to the woman who panicked at the prospect of exercising without it. But I’m beginning to dislike the emphasis on BF% and the “entrepreneurs” (mostly from the USA) who are attempting to profit from man’s pursuit of 0% BF.
The mirror is all we really need… unless we’re blind, but then a pair of old jeans will do.
You seriously crack me up Craig!
I miss the days of the kids hanging out and playing in the street and the parents sometimes having to drag us to dinner by the scruff of our ears cause we were too busy racing around getting revoltingly dirty and having fun with each other to care about dinner – and playstation – what was a playstation??
And more than just the physical side of it – I miss the community feel that went with it – we knew our neighbours and not only did we know the meaning of treat your elders with respect, we knew a smack across the back of the head was well deserved if we didnt live by it.
OK – stepping off the soap box now…
cant afford all that fancy stuff myself. so i still run on the sandy beach, swim in shorts and lift weights in the garage. youve made me feel pretty good about myself today
I got out in the yard yesterday afternoon and shoveled dirt for at least a half hour — great, sweaty exercise and I got a chore done! How’s that for old-school
Hey Craig !
Geez, you sound almost as old as me !! (Chronologically speaking, of course… we’re both teenagers in reality !)
{{HUG}}
Tina
On days that I don’t go to the gym (via bicycle), I simply jump rope to get my fix. Doing this a couple of times per day helps keep my head clear. I use a weighted jump rope because it is less buffeted by the wind, although it tends to hit me in the back of the head when I get fatigued (annoying).
I miss that my when i was in Grade 12 I did Health and Physical Ed as a subject (I’m 40 ish now..) and that I did race walking for a piece of assessment. You had to pick a track event you could improve in the most over the course of the term. I’ve got the coordination of a stunted gold fish (i don’t let that deter me mind you…) so this was my best shot. My dad and I sat down and worked out a training regime to the best of our ability and I trained like I was an olympian…!! Every weekend dad and I would head to the high school to so I could time how I was doing. I blitzed it by the way..the girl who was most likely to not do well, improved the most out of the whole class… ! My dad & I still reminisce over these times, 20 years later. It was about the fact that is was quality time we spent together, he inspired me to try harder. He still inspires me, he rides a bike now & he is in his late 60′s with my uncle who is in his early 70′s. He rides 30-40k-3/4times a week and can rip me..!
My dad instilled in me that exercised is fun, if you try hard you can improve. The gift that I want to give my children, is that moving your body feels great, sharing the experience can be awesome, sometimes you just have to try…!
Sorry a bit off topic…
Love this post! I also miss the days when you didn’t have to take out a second mortgage to pay the entrance fee for a marathon or ‘fun run’!
There’s no greater way to enjoy a run than to leave the Ipod, Garmin, HR strap, orthodics and expensive shoes at home and just go for a long sweaty run on the beach. Mind and body both come back refreshed!
I feel great
I don’t own a heart rate monitor, an ipod or anything to make me go faster.
My favourite ways to exercise are running or cycling around the neighbourhood.
I even still climb trees occasionally!
The ‘good old days’ are still here Craig, just not enjoyed by so many.
High five Craig!!
Yep – you do sometimes wonder. Heard of the song “I wish I was a punk rocker” – spot on. Lamenting a much simpler time. My own children (both 18yrs now) wish they were born in ‘my day’ due to the stuff we did and how simpler it was!!
Well said Craig! I’ve spent so much time fussing about grams of protein, carbs, beats per minute, high intensity, low intensity, body fat its a joke! The more I learn, the harder it all is and the less I do!
If we just focused on doing something instead of being perfect we’d get somewhere!
I came across a website recently: http://www.bodyrock.tv
and it’s changed my whole attitude to training, nutrition and getting/keeping lean. Check it out, highly recommended for girls and guys will love it too, trust me!
Love your work xo
Protein bars are excellent. Everything else you say is pretty much spot on – except for the jumping the fence to drink out of taps… Just wait til you get home to re-hydrate the crap out of yourself.
I grow my own protein bars at home, There called Real Eggs,
I have my own personal trainer she walks me three times a week,
she is called a jack russell, I wear a pair of old bathing shorts when I swim, I m there to work not a fashion parade.
With all this rain in Melbourne tell your kids to get outside and tell them not to come back in until they are completly covered in mud!
I loved being a Kid, thats why I volunteer to go and help at school camps, Pass on the old Knowlegdge of how to have Fun.
Spot on Craig, if you want to go back to the good old days you should go live in a small country town, some kids still do the fun stuff and play outdoor and play sport without their parents worrying if they get hurt. And those kids are not fat. I am lucky I grew up in a small town (Stanhope)
Craig, G’day:
I’m as much a curmudgeon for the simpler life as you. I get those ‘Remember when’ ‘back in the day’ posts nearly every day from well meaning friends. At 72 and counting, I do remember other (not necessarily better) days. Days when reading witty insights and common sense articles like yours took days through the mails instead of instant ‘turn on-read-respond- and deal with (delete or file). Days when the gas (petrol) was pennies not pounds and the often uncomfortable, noisy cars got six to eight mpg.
I look forward to you or CJ every morning. Your approach is refreshing; no Buy this Program, Sign in below, Make a million, Buy, buy, buy. You are the throwback I enjoy. Keep strokin’, mate.
I ride my bicycle a couple of miles every day. That’s high tech enough for me, and I feel great. Thanx for brightening my day. Now I’m going to go stretch a little and ride a little more.
Cheers,
Gary. from the land up over
Hey All,
Hope some of you have seen television show NCIS (you will know what i am talking about). This post can be summarized in the following.
‘Harps’ (Gibbs) rule number 10 (from fifty success habits).
Haaa!!! That was a total cack!! I miss the leg warmers, the headbands and the g-string leotards tee hee I do miss the actual visits that people made to each other rather than the facebook visits they do now. And how about everyone going to the park and playing kick to kick? That was fun! So was playing a hide and seek game in mum’s tomato plants where someone stood at the back door with a torch and you had to try to sneek out of the vegie patch to the back door without them catching you with the torch light on the way. That was always for after dinners when it was dark. Not to mention the only way we could get up the tree to the cubby house was to do some Nadia Comenich uneven bars type move swinging thing. Hand stands!! Competitions to see who could walk for the longest on their hands and back bend competitions. Cartwheels and limbo. And home made sword fights with bits of dowl…. Aaaahhh those were the days.
Craig, you have this uncanny ability of putting in to words what I think. Could you come have a talk to my hubby for me ha ha
What I find also unbelievable is that kids cant learn to swim unless they are in a class with 10 other kids who cant learn to swim, and they have to keep going, year after year. When I was a kid, dad threw me in the fifty, said ‘sink or swim” and walked off! I was actually a very able swimmer. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Having said that, I do love my gym, but you cant beat a lovely long heart pumping walk out in the bush.
As for protein bars, they must be the biggest gimmick rip off of the century and they dont even tatse good and have the same amount of calories as a Mars Bar. Give me the chocolate any day!
BTW, what does ROLF stand for?
hehehe, I also miss the days when people actually laughed out loud, rather than said “LOL” !!! Yes, people actually say it.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with bringing a little science into your exercise. I used to go to the gym 7 mornings a week at 5:45am (oh the good ol’ days) and ate what I thought was a sensible diet. The mistake I made (and many still do) was to over-estimate my energy expenditure. I figured I’d worked out and could eat. Uh-huh. 140kg anyone?
Using my HRM has helped me balance out energy-in vs energy-out a little better. Weighing in now at 77kg proves it worked in my favour. There’s also nothing wrong with enjoying a good audio-book or podcast while running through a crisp winter morning, or using ACDC to drown out the rain!
Don’t get me wrong, I luv going back to basics but seriously, what’s wrong with using technology to my advantage?
One day it might be, “Remember when everyone used to use e-mail…”
Three years ago my best friend was the OCD Monster. He never left my side. I was in a phase where I HAD to know my body fat percentage to the second decimal point and had it tested religiously and accordingly. All food was weighed / measured on digital scales and then analysed via other technological means. Every cardio session was accompanied by my Heart Rate Monitor (capital letters because it was THAT important) and the readings were recorded in one of many spreadsheets. Thank God for the technology as it kept my OCD Monster very happy.
But it didnt keep me happy.
I now run because I love it and not because I know that I would have burnt XX calories. I trust myself to eat right. I’m living life instead of slaving over spreadsheets.
Technology served a purpose once but its role is greatly reduced now. I know I dont need nor want it to maintain my health and fitness. And I am FINALLY haapy without it.
I do have an HRM but I would not go back for it if I left it behind. I also have a gym membership but it is mainly for the days when I can’t run/walk outside. I much prefer the outdoors whenever I can.
Can totally relate to this tho ‘cos when I was a kid (initially) there was no television or electronic games (just board games or cards). We were sent to play outdoors for hours and only came home to eat – totally unsupervised most of the time !
Yep the world today is “high convenience, simple, easy, quick”!!!
My favourite exercise is still hiking up the local hills on any day of the week – rain, wind or shine!!!
Lucky for me my grandchildren are being brought up with a love of sports – today I took my little 3 year old grandson to the park to play a “cross between cricket & tennis” – For a 3 year old he has great co-ordination, an extremely good throw and can power hit the ball too.We had a great time & lots of laughs at each other. 2 hours later we went home for some lunch – and NOT MacDonalds!!!
Ahh the good ‘ol days. I loved playing cricket with dad and my brothers down the side of the house. Makeshift hop skip and jump and long jump in the back yard. Sharing a bike with my twin brother and taking turns in dinking each other and riding in the dark was the best. Even better we didn’t get in trouble. Going to the park and going on the seesaw, the swings and those roundabout things, oh and the newer version the round things you hop inside with a wheel inside that you turn to make you spin till you felt sick, hmmm.
And walking to the park even when it was pissing down rain with gale force winds, (mum yelling put a coat on you’ll get a chill) ,we didn’t care as long as we could have some fun. Funny how when we were kids the weather never deterred us.
Strapping on my roller skates (anyone remember those) and skating till I dropped and the wheels were wrecked. Turning the hose on for a drink and then squirting my brothers
. Running around under the sprinklers, and climbing my grans trees. Playing hide and seek, and tiggy sometimes all the way around the block in a chase.
Skippy, elastics and gutterball at playtime and lunchtime in primary school. Swinging on the monkey bars and climbing on the new wooden thing they built when I was in grade 5.
Leaning against the front fence and listening to the radio (anyone remember 3DB and then wow it was 1420 3XY (then it became 3MMM to the now Triple M). Throwing a tennis ball to each other playing catch. Softball and little aths. Swam at the beach till we were exhausted and usually sunburnt! Walked to friends houses that were km’s away without a care or demand for a lift. Yep I loved those days.
Growing up we also had our own family reunion on my mums side of the family. At first we stayed at the Stawell caravan park but as we were too rowdy we got kicked out after a few years. Then we would hire out the school camp ‘Aginda’ at Halls Gap and all the rello’s and friends would come for the Australia day long weekend. There were about 60 or so of us. We played games, like cricket, dodgeball, exercised our minds with card games like canasta, 500, poker and even snap. Brought along a stack of board games and twister too. Lots of those so all could play (there were usually about 60 of us).
The year of the Commonwealth Games we had the Aginda games and teams. That was sooo much fun. We had talent quests, re-enacted my aunties and uncles wedding and dressed up like a fancy dress party. There were a few sore heads from the liquid refreshment but we would be up and at it anyway the next day.
Sadly Jeff Kennett changed the Australia Day holiday to be on the 26th exact day. So the long weekend no longer was continuous. As many family and friends were coming a long way numbers dropped off and eventually it was no more. So sad, I miss those times. Especially because my mum was still around for those days.
There was plenty of home made cooking as all the families cooked up meals and brought them with us) and as my uncle was a cook in the army he used to be very organised. We always had a hike up to the pinnacle at Halls Gap every year and come back completely wrecked but satisfied.
If I could turn back time (actually my aunty dressed up as Cher doing that song for the talent quest one year, photo’s and video to record it) I would. I love the computer but I used to love waiting for letters from my aunties to my mum and read them.
My mum taught me to knit and I learnt to crochet, I read a lot as I loved to read, coloring in and drawing and making stuff from craft books. All of these pursuits were enough to feel happy, no meditation needed to relax. Give me those quiet things and nature any day.
Anyone for a game of chasy
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