[Sportsandrec] Accessible Gym Equipment and Fad Diets

[Thornbury, Kelly]

Finding the most accessible piece of gym equipment depends on what you like, and are willing, to do. It also depends on your current fitness level, and your goals, as to what equipment will work best for you. For "in the gym" equipment I am going to use often, I make "accessibility sheets" to cover the display buttons (most gyms generally frown on placing the stickers directly to their equipment). Take a document protector (the clear plastic sheets you put reports in), and cut it along the seam so you have a single-thickness plastic cover for the controls. Then have a gym staff member help you place grommet protectors (the small round stickers with a hole in the middle, used to strengthen sheets placed in ringed binders) on the buttons you need to operate the machine. Most equipment can be programmed for different types of workouts (intervals for example), but I generally find these to be a waste of time, and the same results can be achieved with the manual controls. I've never come across a machine that did not have the manual controls to start, stop, and control speed, resistance, and incline. With your accessibility sheet, you should have little difficulty adjusting the intensity to suit your workout goals. 

 

Or, once the weather gets a little better, go for a walk.You can not get much more accessible than that, and it is free. 

 

As for the Zone diet, it is in fact a "fad" diet, not that all fad diets are necessarily bad. Every diet you see on TV is backed by "scientific" research, even my "favorite," the original Atkins diet (but really, how healthy can eating bacon every day really be???). The problem with many commercial diets is that you will in fact, for the short-term, lose weight and that is their "scientific research." Also notice that all those TV diets have the disclaimers "Results not typical" and "These claims are not tested by the Food and Drug Administration." (Usually with good reason). There are some decent "fad" diets out there, and their successfulness depends on whether you can stick to them or not, and how balanced and varied they are. According to the scientific literature (peer-reviewed and published in recognized professional journals), the most researched diet is in fact the food guide pyramid. Remember the one with the carbohydrates at the base, dairy and lean meats in the middle, and fats and simple sugars at the top? The new pyramid even includes physical activity within the design. I think the website for the pyramid is http://www.mypyramid.gov. If you are interested in finding a good nutritional plan, talk to a registered dietitian.your personal trainer generally is not legally or ethically qualified to give dietary advice without an RD degree. A registered dietician gets at least 4 years of diet-specific training, and can suggest a nutrition plan specific to your needs, medical conditions, and goals. An RD will point out the downsides and negative side effects of many of the commercial programs, and emphasize the importance of getting all your macro-nutrients in the right proportions (again, based on sound peer-reviewed and published studies). 

 

Finally, one of the worst goals you can set is to "lose 20 pounds." Simply losing the weight is the easy part, but if you do not change the underlying behavior that put the weight on in the first place, you will never keep those pounds off. Better goals should include positive changes to your lifestyle, and those lost pounds will be a nice bonus or reward. 

 

Kelly Thornbury

B.S. K&HP

ACSM HFI

ACE CPT, GFI