More on the poll, part 1 of ?

Looks like fitbomb noticed my poll and is sending over some voting traffic. Waiting to see how many more votes come in. Meantime, some further observations about the poll along with a preliminary consideration of the results so far.

I'd like to begin by offering a big thank you to everyone who's participated in the poll. Thanks for visiting my blog and for showing your support for fitness and for fellow exercise enthusiasts. Now, on to preliminary considerations.

Thus far no one has slected the "3 more days" option listed in the poll--not surprisingly. That was meant to add a little levity and really can't be taken too seriously.

A few have predicted 6 more months for fitbomb, while yet more give him another year (my vote is among those). The least amount of votes so far give fitbomb 5 more years, while the most votes so far have him doing his fitness thing for the rest of his life (I suspect fitbomb himself cast the first vote in this category). What can we say about the results so far?

First, the way I've phrased the question is a bit vague. Having taught courses in which I offered multiple choice examinations I've learned that you have to be pretty precise in the way you formulate a multiple choice question: if you are not precise enough, more than one of the options could be considered correct. When that happens, you either have to eliminate the question from consideration when you grade, or you have to allow for two possible correct answers to the same question.

Similarly, it may not be clear what is the crux of my poll question. The question mentions fitbomb's "exercise craze," but what does that mean? Well, if you read my entry explaining the poll, you should be aware that in using the word "craze," I'm asking about the intensity of fitbomb's routine--which, as I observed, seems to me a bit manic.

Please note that I'm not alone in asking or wondering about the intensity level of his regime. Fitbomb himself posted an entry wherein he noted a similar reaction from a relative to whom he was describing his fitness pursuits. Fitbomb doesn't tell us whether this relative himself engages in any fitness activities but I thought it was interesting that I, as someone who's pretty serious about fitness, found myself similarly wondering about fitbomb's pursuits.

Unlike the relative, who may have been a corporate executive or something, and whose question may have been not just "What's the point? What are you looking to get out of this?" but additionally (the following words which I will conjecturally put into his mouth) "couldn't you be using that time to do something productive, like augmenting your income?," my question would have been something like "why do so much more than you need to do to maintain good health?"

And fitbomb does provide an answer in that very entry: he wants to test himself and he wants something extreme that will provide a contrast to his boring day job (side note: it's hard to feel sympathy for lawyers, but fitbomb has definitely tugged on my heartstrings with that remark :)--deepest sympathies, brotha). I certainly consider that a legitimate answer. But that answer doesn't tell us anything about the question I've asked in the poll: how long will his extreme regime last?

Speaking of which, back to the poll. What I intended to ask about in the poll was not how long fitbomb will try to stay fit. I could probably have phrased the question more carefully--as an experienced multiple-choice exam-giver should do--so that it could be construed only as addressing fitbomb's fitness extremism, rather than his desire to stay fit. But hey, this isn't an examination and participants won't be assigned any grades. This is a blog, the idea behind which is to generate discussion and provoke thought. So even responses that are wide of the intended question can be of interest and are worthy of further consideration.

My guess is that those who are voting for the fourth option, i.e., "the rest of his life," are expressing hopefulness about fitbomb's fitness endeavors. In other words, their responses, if they could be put in the form of discourse rather than simply clicks on a radio button, might go something like the following: "I hope fitbomb maintains fitness, and I encourage him to do so, for the rest of his life." And for anyone who may be wondering, I heartily concur with this sentiment and say "fitbomb, I wish the happiest and healthiest life for you and your family. You rock, my friend."

So that's one response to one of the ways in which my question could be construed. But what if we look at the other way my question could be construed, and at the implications attending that question? That is, what if we focus on the key word "craze," and identify that with fitbomb's own admitted "extremism?" In short, what if the question is not how long fitbomb can keep doing fitness and stay healthy, but rather how long can he sustain the fitness extremes in which he is now engaging? And furthermore--and a more interesting question in my view--can fitness be overdone?

Can someone do too much fitness? Is there a point at which health deteriorates owing to physical over-exertion? And, furthermore, what is the minimum amount of fitness activity one should engage in so as to maintain good health?

As I've admitted, I do not have an answers to those questions. I have some relevant data and experience. But I consider these open questions. And observing what fitbomb does--which is extreme by his own admission and in my own and his relative's judgment--raises those questions in a real way. I'm seeking at least tentative answers and hope others who read this blog may be interested in asking those questions and finding answers as well.

I've mentioned psychological burn-out as one possible effect of overdoing fitness. This is what I experienced in my bicycle racing days. Essentially I would burn myself out early in the racing season by pushing too hard and would lose interest in training later in the season. I didn't know how to go easy: for me, getting on the bike was synonymous with going all out. I think I could have done better and been more consistent by moderating my output and deliberately taking it easy at certain points--especially early--in the training season. Though I stopped racing bicycles over 25 years ago, I'm now trying to put into practice, in my current fitness regimen, what I learned from those experiences.

That's data I can offer from personal experience. As far as data that's generally available, we could look at examples of those who do physical fitness as a profession--namely, professional athletes. Are there any examples we can cite from the pool of professional athletes that might indicate that fitness can be overdone?

I hope the answer to that is obvious. Who can follow any sport and be unaware of one or another player who might have to sit out some or all of a season because of some injury? Isn't this scenario simply part and parcel of professional sports? Sure, some of those injuries are caused by legal or illegal physical contact, but others are stress injuries incurred during the activities or training that typify the sport. And some can be career-ending: to date myself a bit, think of Dick Butkus' early retirement from football.

These examples all provide some evidence that fitness can, in fact, be overdone. It is possible to engage in training to the extent of causing physical debilitation. But I refer mainly here to the more popular American sports that all involve some contact of one degree or another. It can be difficult in these cases to separate damage or injury resulting from contact from damage or injury resulting from training.

And you can injure yourself in training, with no contact, as I proved to myself early on in my current fitness regime. That was not an injury that resulted from over-training though, but rather from perhaps using improper form.

I want also to consider briefly another class of professional athlete: the personal trainer. These are folks who, while not being paid to play some sport, are instead paid to train people in fitness. Thus, fitness is their livelihood or vocation and is something they must do with regularity--whether as they help their clients or as a means to maintain their professional image. Tony Horton certainly qualifies as this type of professional athlete. And fitbomb, in the intensity and quantity of fitness he does, seems to aim to place himself within this class of professional athlete.

So, what sort of injuries do personal trainers incur? We don't hear much about that--probably because such information would be considered damaging to the vocation. But I'm sure those who do personal training for a living will have plenty of stories about stress injuries they or their fellow trainers have incurred. Tony Horton doubtless has quite a store of them himself. But the rate at which personal trainers get stress injuries from exercise is information to which I'm not privvy.

One need not, of course, be a personal trainer to get stress injuries from exercising. Injuries much more serious than the shoulder problem I had are, of course, possible. As someone who, like fitbomb, has become interested in what kettlebells offer, I'd encourage reading this thread for an example of how fitness can result in injury--though again over-training may not be in play here. But it does stand to reason that if you risk injury from training, and you do an increased amount of training, you thereby heighten your overall risk of injury.

Doing no training at all--as we all know--on the other hand, carries its own risks. I think the matter comes down really to what some call "the human predicament." There are trade-offs, risks involved in both and a corresponding need to balance those risks. Which gets back to the crux of this entry and to my poll: how do we draw the line or chart the appropriate middle way between too much and too little?

I'm still working on that. I've charted a course--a middle way, if you will--that seems appropriate to me. But it's a tentative one. I'm keeping an eye on fitbomb to see how his endeavors play out and in hopes that I might learn something. And I do sincerely wish for him and his a long and healthy life.

ADDENDUM ON PERSPECTIVE: it's occured to me that my assessment of fitbomb's fitness regime might be a matter of perspective--age-related perspective, to be precise. As someone a little over 50, I get exhausted just thinking about all the exercise he does on a typical day. Maybe if I were his age (I peg him at about 32 years old) I'd view it more as a challenge and would be trying to do the same amount he does?

Similarly, I think many my age might hear about what I do (summarized briefly in this entry) and think that I'm overdoing it. Actually, just reading that might not do it; they might have to see me on the bike and watch how I try to chase down anyone who has the audactiy to pass me, to see how manic I can be about riding. So, is the right amount of fitness really a matter of perspective?