In this listener Q&A episode, Kevin tackles your questions on a range of topics: his take on the Jefit workout app, whether there’s ever a right time to slow down your training, and how to adapt your workouts as you age. He breaks down what “functional training” really means and explains why strength may matter more than cardio as you get older.
In this listener Q&A episode, Kevin tackles your questions on a range of topics: his take on the Jefit workout app, whether there’s ever a right time to slow down your training, and how to adapt your workouts as you age. He breaks down what “functional training” really means and explains why strength may matter more than cardio as you get older.
Get-Fit Guy is hosted by Kevin Don. A transcript is available at Simplecast.
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Hello listeners, I hope everyone is doing well this week. After last week’s episode, I have received a bunch of email questions, so I will try to answer some of them this week. If you missed last week’s episode, go check it out. The short of it is that there are only 4 more episodes where I am the host of this show. For the long of it, go check out last week’s episode.
Ok, on to the questions:
Good day
Thank you for the show!!!!
My question is, can you give us your thoughts on a workout app jefit (jefit.com).
Thank you
Brian
Hi Brian. So, it is going to be really hard for me to give any feedback on that particular app. The reason being that to do so, I would need to use the app. It’s a paid app and its behind that paywall. So I can’t explore more than their own marketing blurb. However, based on that, here are my thoughts: From what I can see, a user can select a bunch of exercises and put them together into a workout to do. I usually think that the best way to test something is to attack it on the grounds of absurdity. Ask my professors. I have written a bunch of essays that were absolutely ridiculous. The thinking being that if I can use a particular moral theory to justify something like the slave trade or evil robot overlords (both of which we can say are wrong), then that moral theory must be ridiculous. So, the plan here is: use the workout builder to create the most ridiculous workout, which makes zero sense and might lead to overtraining.
So, I started my planned workout in the app with a spicy little superset of heavy bench press, heavy deadlift and heavy squats. 10 sets of each. With 10 seconds rest between. 10 sets of 50 bench press, 10 sets of 100 reps on the deadlift and because I really want the leg gains, 10 sets of 900 reps on the squat.
The app had no problem with letting me create this workout, didn’t offer any suggestion at all that it might be totally stupid and didn’t give any advice.
Therefore, I have to conclude that this app would be about as useful when it comes to planning a workout as simply writing a bunch of exercises on post-it notes, sticking them on a wall, wearing a blindfold and throwing darts at said wall.
The problem with a build-it-yourself training app is that it makes the assumption the person doing the building knows something about muscle groups, what exercises work those muscle groups and what appropriate workout volume, load and recovery looks like. I would argue that most people have no clue what to do at the gym and giving them a database of 1400 exercises wont make things any easier. People should have a data base of 5 exercises: Squat, Bench, Military Press, Deadlift and Pull ups. I have used this analogy before, but I see these apps and even gyms themselves as having a lot in common with the TV show ‘Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares’. This particular app reminds me of an episode where Chef Ramsay goes to an Indian restaurant in England called ‘The Curry Lounge’. The gimmick in this restaurant that was losing 20,000 dollars a month was the menu was do-it-yourself curry. Diners could select from a bunch of options, meaning there were hundreds of variations of the dishes. Gordon blindfolded the owner and made him taste the different options. He couldn’t tell from tasting them what the different curries were. The reason being that these hundreds of options were made from 3 base sauces. The same thing goes for training. There are a few basic irreducible movements: squat, bend, push, pull, gait (walking/ running/ lunges) and thats about it. Everything else is simply a variation. 1400 movements? NOPE, there are 1400 variations of 4 or 5 movements. Thats confusing, its not needed and its trying to be too clever.
So, although I can’t see the whole app because it needs payment, the fact it would let me create a workout with 9000 squats in it means its a hard pass from me.
Next question:
Hi Kevin,
I'm a 54-year-old guy, I'd say solid muscular in build (90kg/172cm) - not body builder material, but heavy. I enjoy adventure racing, mountain biking, kayaking and running. Normally I wouldn't include running in that list, however last November I tore some ligaments in my ankle and wasn't able to run for some time and found myself missing it. In a week I'll go to a local gym three times where we do functional training - normally with specific workouts, a good mix of movement, weights and cardio. I also try to go three times a week for a custom program made for me by a physio to work on bits I've injured over the years. In addition, I run at least twice a week, ride my mountain bike at least twice a week and am trying to get paddling in more (I also want to add in swimming, as I have access to a pool). Basically, it's normally about two workouts of some form a day, and a long, easy one on the weekend.
As I mentioned, last November I did a 12hr adventure race where I rolled my ankle badly in the first 30 minutes; it was incredibly painful, but did settle down, so I continued for another 10 hours (we actually finished early!) Turns out I'd torn a few ligaments and completely ruptured two (hence, not really hurting too much, the damage was done). Now, I should point out here I'm not as silly as that sounds. After that first run leg was a ride leg, then a kayak leg, followed by another run and ride leg - so it was all calculated: I'd just see how I went, and if it was painful (ie doing more damage) I'd stop.
Naturally, I went to see the doctor the week after and she asked me the dreaded question: "Do you think maybe it's time you slowed down a bit? Maybe do lower-impact sports?" So I thought I'd ask you the same question: when do you think it's time to slow down? I've always just thought the answer is, in order: when I can't, when it's just more work than fun (well, more work than fun more often than not) or when I'm spending more time recovering than playing. It'd be good to get your take on that - and particularly if there's something I'm missing, like running after 60 at this weight will mean I can't walk by the time I'm 70.
... Which also makes me wonder-as a supplementary question, if you will, do you think leading into older age I should adjust my training, perhaps less strength and more endurance to muscle down if you will? I'd always thought it'd be good to hang on to as much of it for as long as I can. But should I change my workouts leading into older age to perhaps be more reps with lower total weight, that sort of thing?
Cheers, and once again, thanks for doing the show. It has been good.
Hi Chris, thank you for the email. So, just to clarify all this:
You currently:
I would say that is a significant training volume.
But lets look at the questions you are asking me:
The doctor asked you about slowing down and playing lower impact sports. What do I think? I don’t think you need to slow down, but I do think you could consider taking the machine out the garage less often. I just can’t see anything here but a scenario where the wheels fall off eventually.
Looks to me like your priority or the thing you enjoy the most is adventure racing and training for the components that facilitate that. I would focus on that. My opinion on ‘functional training’ is as follows: what is functional in terms of training is what you do, training wise that allows the expression of a particular function. In other words, if you are going to a ‘functional fitness’ facility and doing things like box jumps, kettlebell swings, muscle ups, snatches and so on, its a waste of your time. Because your particular function is to be better at adventure racing. There are no barbell snatches and box jumps in an adventure race. Therefore, I would argue that it has no function for you. I do think that a basic, structural strength program will be useful because as we all age, loss of strength is more of a predictor of mortality than loss of vo2 max. Since you go 3 times a week to do your physio work, I would make one of those days a squat day, one a press day and one a deadlift day while you are already there. This will free up the 3 times you go do the other stuff. You can use that for the swimming you want to do. Or maybe just have a rest day!
In terms of reducing strength training and doing more aerobic work as you age, the data would say strength training will be more impactful on aging than aerobic work will. That doesn’t mean I think aerobic work shouldn’t be in there, simply that strength training is more impactful on the ageing phenotype. Inspite of the reputation it has, running is beneficial. Impact is a great way to strengthen bones and stimulate growth of cartilage and can protect against osteoarthritis. Do some runners develop knee problems? Yes. Does running mean knee issues: No.
So, to summarise: I would look at what you think your main purpose in training is. Then remove the things that don’t push the needle in that direction and use the newly gained time to add in either more of what does push the needle in the direction you want or recovery. Thanks!
With 4 weeks left, if you also have been dying to ask me a question in the past 2.5 years, now is your chance! I would also like to remind everyone that, whilst I am studying hard, I actually pay for my studies with my remote coaching. So, if you have been looking for a coach, and by all accounts I am quite good at it, then get in touch. I would love to help you reach your goals and it would be a great way to support me growing my brain to epic proportions. Email me! getfitguy@quickanddirtytips.com
Get-Fit Guy is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast. Thanks to the team at Quick and Dirty Tips Morgan Christianson, Holly Hutchings, the director of podcasts Brennan Goetchuss and Davina Tomlin. I’m your host, Kevin Don. If you have a question for me, leave me a voicemail at 510-353-3104 or send me an email at getfitguy@quickanddirtytips.com. For more information about the show, visit quickanddirtytips.com, or check out the shownotes in your podcast app