Jane Brody, kiss my butt.
Dear Jane,
I just wanted to let you know that your latest article is the biggest pile of mindless crap I have ever read.
You got arthritis from running? No, you got arthritis from having defective joints, and defective joints don’t hold up in life as long as normal ones do. You might have lasted longer if you didn’t run, but then you might have died of a heart attack by now from lack of exercise. Being too stupid to go to the doctor when you have an injury, doesn’t mean you have a problem with the exercise, it just makes you stupid.
Obligatory exerciser? There’s a nice new term to coin. Oh, yes. That term is there so that all the sedentary coach potatoes can feel good about themselves for not getting off the sofa.
“Hey, wouldn’t want to be an obligatory exerciser like Bob over there. I’d love to be healthy but not at the expense of my current TV schedule.”
Everyone would like an easy way out in this country. Faster food, easier divorces, a pill to fix everything, and “look slimmer in minutes without all that wasted time exercising”. They don’t work, Jane. Giving people a made up title like “obligatory exerciser”, gives them even more reason to avoid a lifestyle that would be better for them.
Apparently if you are an obligatory exerciser, you let exercise get in the way of your lifestyle. In the case of some of the potatoes out there, I’d say that’s the best thing that could ever happen to their “lifestyles”. And by the way, 5 hours of TV every day is not a lifestyle. Neither is filling your face with fat- and sugar-filled poison ever day for lunch, and hoping that taking a pill will “melt away those pounds overnight”.
I love your list of symptoms: “anxiety, apathy, chronic fatigue, decreased appetite, depression, hostility, mental exhaustion, mood changes, changes in values and beliefs, diminished self-image, impaired concentration, emotional isolation, sore muscles and disturbed sleep.”
Uh, good thing those thing never happen to sendentary folks because you might think they had obligatory lazy-ass disease!
Thankyou so much for writing another hyped-up, half-baked, tabloid-style, sensationalist article to annoy fit people and soothe coach potatoes everywhere. Maybe you’ll get a big bonus for such a clever article. Watch out for that though. You might be an obligatory bullsh!tter.
Jon in Michigan
August 15th, 2005 15:29
Couldn’t agree more and neither could Chelle:
http://fastchick.blogspot.com/2005/08/how-runners-look-to-normal-people.html
Two points I’d like to make: 1) If she was running correctly, with no/low impact, would she have bashed the hell out of her joints to the point of arthritis. 2) Many of her symptoms can also be attributed to dehydration AND running as an activity can indeed have those affects if one does not drink enough. Correct me if I’m wrong but arthritis ITSELF is worse if you are dehydrated so she just may be chronically dehydrated and all these things she is blaming running on are misplaced.
August 15th, 2005 17:15
i agree with your rant, jon, but at the same time, she makes some valid points. the article is poorly written, and probably better suited as a technical article, rather than widespread publication, like the nytimes. but for that very small percentage of those people who are athletic (which is a very small percentage of the general population to begin with), i think she points out some acurate issues that they should be aware of. namely the impact on things outside of the sport, like work, family, friends, etc.
those of us who are athletes always chastize the unfit with our, “everything in moderation” mantra. that mantra needs to apply to running as well.
August 15th, 2005 17:47
I see Jeff’s point, but I also find myself nodding affirmatively to her bullet points:yes, I train when injured (under a PT’s supervision); yes, I talk constantly about my sport and training TO THOSE WHO CARE, ie other runners; yes, I justify my training as necessary (but that’s only if someone questions why I run on hot days!) It is all one’s perspective, isn’t it? And in many ways, running has made my connections to work, family, and friends even stronger.
August 15th, 2005 18:14
THIS isn’t why your having LAW trouble is it? I guess I would have to agree with you.
August 16th, 2005 01:48
You obviously read this article too! I understand where the author was going with the article and she had a couple points that I can accept, but I find her article was crudely written and subjected to the wrong audience. On the other side I went from mega couch potatoe to marathoner, but I took my time doing it and had no trouble with it. And as long as I keep a balance with the other parts of my life, e.g. work, family, friends, my running does not have any negative impact. This of course is not always easy.
August 16th, 2005 07:44
I’m with you Jon! She can kiss my butt too! And her list of symptoms? I had all of those symptoms BEFORE I got fit…
August 16th, 2005 10:14
The author of the article admits that she worked out 2-3 times a day. Where is the rest in there?
Also, she states that beyond about 4 hours of cardio a week, “there are no added health benefits”. I’d love to see the references for that. It’s such a hugely broad statement, that I have a hard time accepting it at face value.
Finally, it seems to me that her biggest logical fallacy involves comparing her personal experiences (guessing 18+ hours cardio a week) with the guideline (4 hours a week). That’s one huge jump, especially if you’re unwilling to leave gray area in between, as she seems to be.
August 16th, 2005 11:44
i disagree with your rant. i think that her points are valid, and my only complaint is the focus on her knee injuries, rather than the sad reality that though her knees might have crumbled regardless of her overactivity, her inflexible mindset probably caused her family/friends/self a lot more damage. there are those out there that are overexercisers, and they might recognize themselves in her vignette and bullet-pointed list. she is NOT advocating ‘couch-potato’-life at all — 2000-3500 calories burned IS a healthy amount of exercise. i train for marathons and do more than that, but not for health — really because i enjoy it (and so do you, jon, i think!). anyway, i agree that it wasn’t a perfect article, but it doesn’t deserve this slam. i think it might do you well to think about what made you so angry (ie, a bit defensive about your own tendencies?)
August 16th, 2005 15:25
Rant on Jon! I think I’d rather have a world of over-indulgent exercisers than lazy couch potatoes. Why do you think so many fast food places are re-evaluating their menus and adding supposed “healthy choices”.
August 17th, 2005 02:54
I can’t read the article b/c it’s the NY Times is only letting me read the first paragraph or so. I’ll have to read it at work, where I have access to Lexis-Nexis.
But I will say that from the little I’ve read, it seems that Jane Brody isn’t very knowledgeable about the benefits of exercise ….
August 23rd, 2005 14:10
When I clicked on the link to the articel, I found that I could only read the first 50 of 1230 words of the article. Apparently the New York Times wants me to pay $3.95 to read the rest of the article. $3.95 for ONE article! What does it cost to buy the entire newspaper at the local newstand? Anyway, I did some googling and found that the article is reprinted in full on several websites.
Jane Brody’s article is a bit alarmist. She gives you the impression that anyone who follows a Hal Higdon training program is a potential obligatory exerciser. On the other hand, I think some of us (including me) should heed her warnings.
Clearly, SHE was obsessed — jogging daily, playing singles tennis for an hour nearly every day, ice-skating or cycling almost every day and lap swimming four or five times a week. In total, she did two or three exercise sessions every day! However, you could do far less exercise than she did and still be obsessed. Sticking with a challenging training program despite feeling increasingly sore, tired and irritable as the weeks go on is stupid!
If you’re constantly running in pain and feeling tired, change your goals (at least temporarily)! Instead of doing Hal Higdon’s advanced program, try his intermediate program or even his novice program (you could even make your own program that combines elements of the intermediate and novice programs). Otherwise you may get seriously injured and wind up back on the couch beside the TV for a prolonged period of time.
What’s more important, getting a PR in the next race or being healthy? What’s more important, running in a marathon and injuring yourself just to say you did it, or running a 5K and having some fun while surviving to race another day?
Since I started running 5 months ago, I’ve lost 10 pounds, reduced my blood pressure by 10 points and reduced my resting heart rate by almost 10 points. That’s all the reinforcement I need to know that I am doing something right. Sure I’ve gone in some races and I’ve enjoyed achieving PR’s, but I don’t follow an exercise program religiously.
I’m with Jeff when he says the ?everything in moderation? mantra should apply to running. If you’re hurting, stop running. Cross train or take a rest day…or two…or three (heck, a recent article in Runner’s World quoted some US coach as saying even if you took five rest days every now and then, it would have a negligle effect on your fitness level).
?Everything in moderation? should apply to EVERYTHING, not just exercise (for example, drinking too much water can kill you). Moderation brings balance to your life AND keeps everything fresh, new and exciting!
Cheers,
Joe