Research is driven by trends, not the other way around. Fad workouts didn’t get developed and aren’t made popular because of the research that’s been done to see how effective they are. Yes, there may be theory behind them, but there’s not research to determine the effectiveness until after they become a trend.
Just because there’s a new popular workout doesn’t mean that it’s going to be good for you. We’re all different and we’re all going to have our specific preferences as well as abilities and fitness levels.
If the new trend suddenly becomes Olympic lifting and you weren’t previously lifting at all, you wouldn’t want to run out and start trying to lift as heavy as you can. Or, you’ve been doing yoga and now the fad workout is cross-fit. Should you just suddenly go out and join a cross-fit gym because that’s what you’ve heard works? Not necessarily, it depends on the individual.
Factors to Consider Before Starting A Fad Workout
There are some questions you need to ask yourself before starting something new. I think the first question to ask is, “does it look like something I’d enjoy?”. Does it looks like something you would dread doing or is just too far out of your fitness level? Maybe it’s not for you or not for you yet.
If you hate doing a certain workout, but you’ve decided to do it because you’ve heard it’s effective, it’s probably not going to be effective for you. If you dread your workout, it’s probably not going to be something that you keep doing or do consistently. Just another excuse not to workout, right!?
If you start doing a workout that your body isn’t ready for, then your risk of injury goes way up. Different workouts are going to require different levels of things like strength, flexibility, and/or endurance. If your current level is not what it needs to be to participate, it doesn’t mean that the workout is never going to be right for you.
If it’s something you’re interested in doing, you’ll just need to start by working out in a way that gets you in the condition you need to get started and not get hurt. Getting injured is never the goal and it just delays our results even more.
You also need to think about new fad workouts in a rational and realistic way. Do they claim to be effective and get you the results you want quickly? Of course they do! That’s how they sell it and get people to pay them. That’s not to say that it can’t be true, it’s just to say that it won’t be true for everyone.
The reason it doesn’t work for everyone may be because of the factors talked about above. Or, it may be because exercise alone generally does not get you the results you want. There are several other factors to take into consideration when working toward living a healthy life and meeting your fitness goals. Exercise is just one piece.
The Truth About Fad Workouts
The truth is, fad workouts are called that because that’s what they are, a fad. They are something new that’s trending and popular for the time being. They may stick around for awhile or they may fade away fairly quickly. If they stick around, it’s probably because research gets done to back up the claims of their effectiveness or because people just enjoy it. But, in the end it’s really all about personal decision. If you enjoy it and it’s effective for you, then it’s good for you. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for your best friend too. If we hate it and/or we’re frequently getting injured doing it, then it’s not the right path for us. Even if others swear it’s the only way, it’s not.
There really is no “only way”. If you’ve found your way, that’s awesome! Keep it up, but don’t get stuck and be afraid to change it up sometimes. Boredom and monotony can kill the effectiveness and your results too.
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