The fitness craze began in earnest in the early 1980s. Some of us can remember Flashdance’s Jennifer Beals sweating beautifully in leg warmers and ripped, off-the-shoulder tee-shirts. Along came Jane Fonda dressed similarly, telling us to feel the burn. Olivia Newton John stared sexily out from beneath big hair and a sweat band and told us to get physical. Everyone bought the right clothes to sweat in and the word, “workout” became a widely used noun and verb in society’s dialect. Trends have come and gone, but it appears that what’s in is a simpler and maybe, gentler approach to getting fit and healthy.
Basics are Back, Gadgets are Gone
Move more, eat less. Sounds simple, but with the popularity of the fitness craze came the desire to get fit fast. Plastic gadgets promised thinner thighs. Complicated machines with pulleys, levers, and bands guaranteed a muscular body within 5-10 days. Machines that vibrated muscle groups pledged weight loss and a toned body without a grueling workout. Most of those gadgets ended up collecting dust in a garage, stored under a bed, or sold in a garage sale. Back are basic exercises that require very little equipment; dumbbells, barbells and a bench; good old-fashioned pushups that work if done correctly. Walking or swimming replaces high impact aerobics that can result in shin splints and injury to joints. Low impact aerobics, Pilates, yoga, and body sculpting classes teach us to keep one foot on the floor and tighten the core—go with the flow and quit the pounding.
Nutrition is Nice, Diets are Downers
The term diet means the usual food and drink of a person or animal. We now think of diet as giving up something in order to lose weight because of the bombardment of diets promising quick weight loss. The liquid diet, the soup diet, the fasting diet all promised rapid weight loss. The low carb diet developed in the 70s made a comeback and many people experienced weight loss. But studies show that these diets had health risks. Back is basic nutrition. The five basic food groups: meat/poultry/fish (or beans), vegetables, fruit, dairy, and grains are the ones most of us learned in science class during elementary school as being a healthy diet. Healthy oils and fats were added to the equation once nutritionists realized that trans and saturated fats could lead to high cholesterol and heart disease.
Mind/Body/Spirit is More, Long Workouts are Lame
For centuries, philosophers and divine leaders have believed in the connection between the mind, the body and the spirit. In 1977, Dr. George Engel introduced the BioPsychoSocial Model of Health and Illness (BPS) which became the beginnings of Western modern medicine taking into account a person’s entire being. Thirty years later, holistic medicine has become hugely popular and indeed, scientists and medical doctors are realizing the connection of positive thinking (mind) and a belief in an inner spirit or divine spirit, as well as physiological health. Gone are the narcissistic, three-hour workouts that address just one aspect of the whole.
Treating the entire being in terms of taking care of the body, the mind, and honoring the spirit is the future of fitness.
References: Lakhan, Shaheen. The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Illness. Connexions. 3 Aug. 2006
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