Awhile back I wrote Part 1 of this post. If you didn’t get a chance to read it, I suggest you do before reading the rest of this as you will  want to have the context for which I’m starting from.  (Wow, imagine that.  Context? In an internet posting?)

As well, my initial intent was to do a two-parter, but due to the variety of responses, I feel it’s necessary to clarify my original point in part 2, and will give you the science behind it in part 3.

I mention this as apparently my previous article stirred up quite a bit of controversy as pieces of it were posted in various chat room forums. From reading the replies, it was clear that some people only read certain quotes and took things out of context while others read it in its entirety.

How do I know?  Because if I read this:

Gwyneth, if you are listening, “YOU SPEND 12 HOURS PER WEEK IN A GYM AND PRODUCED AN AVERAGE BODY. TRAIN PROPERLY FOR HALF THE TIME AND SPEND MORE TIME WITH YOUR KIDS”.

…then I might think the author is a bit dickish.

And that was only  one of the quotes that some people chose to read before making their uninformed decision.

However, if I read the entire article and understood it came from a DIRECT QUOTE from Gwyneth Paltrow on the Oprah site:

“While shooting a film in New York City, Gwyneth says she came home every night thinking about what she’d missed. “I left the house while my kids were asleep, and I came home and my kids were asleep,” she says. “I walked into their room, and I just cried. I mean, it was pathetic. I was like, ‘What am I doing? I missed the whole day. I don’t know what they said today. I don’t know what they ate. I don’t know where they went.’ I just felt terrible.”

(Oprah.com)

…then I might think ‘okay, now I see where he was going’.

And before I drop some science to back up my opinions, let’s make a couple of things clear :

1) I have nothing personal against Tracy Anderson. She may  be an extremely sweet, well-intentioned person. I have no idea. Have not met her.  The only thing I speak to is the method she personally described as to how she teaches her clients.

and…

2)     To a certain point, a VERY LIMITED point, almost everything in fitness works initially. I mention that for 2 reasons:

1 .  With a population in North America that is as overweight as it is, ANYTHING is better than nothing.

2 .   If you email me your comments saying ‘her methods totally worked for me’ and then go on to say you had done nothing for the 6 months prior, OF COURSE IT WORKED FOR YOU. ANYTHING WOULD HAVE.

In fact, if you have not been active at all, stay tuned for my new ‘Hop On One Leg For 20 Minutes While Barking Like A Small Dog’ program to hit the shelves in the fall. That will also work for you.

I, of course, also received a few of the ‘don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it’ type of comments.

Let me say this - I appreciate anyone that has taken the time to read the blog and make a response, whether they agree or disagree. I also appreciate that different people will find certain things that just work better for them, for whatever reason.  The point they are missing is that women are fed a great deal of information on how to improve their fitness and body shape, but most of that information has no science behind it to back it up.  Women are fed a false bill of goods and they are eating it up.  With no results.  Why?

Great marketers prey on fear because fear is a great motivator.

Want proof?  It got George W elected to a second term.

Religions relish in it.

It tries to make us believe that everything outside of Western educated medicine is quackery.

Do you know what the fitness equivalent of this is?

WOMEN SHOULDN’T LIFT HEAVY WEIGHTS BECAUSE THEY’LL GET BULKY.

If your trainer says this, find another one, because it’s obvious that trainer has not kept up with the research.

It’s EASY to sell this message. Women already have preconceived notions about it due to years of misinformation. So when fitness “pro’s” come along and keep the cycle going, it frustrates the rest of us that are trying to bring the combination of science and common sense back to fitness.

In all of the consultations with women that I have done over the last decade, I would say 90% of them had mentioned initially that they ‘didn’t want to get too bulky’.

It would be SO EASY for me to prey on that rather than begin to re-educate them about the advantages of strength training, how to do it properly and in what amounts to get to their ideal body shape quicker than any 3 lb dumbbell will ever do.

I think women get a crap deal when it comes to fitness. This is why I’m passionate about making the right info available.  I also believe that because there is so much information out there, you also need to determine what information is best for you, and what program will be best for you.  If any of you have watched “What Not to Wear”, Stacey and Clinton provide you with the general Rules of Fashion.  Consider me your trainer equivalent.

In my next post, I am going to provide you with the basic Rules of Fitness for the Fastest Results Possible.

Yours in health,

Cord