Interesting
Showing posts with label Extreme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Extreme. Show all posts
If you’re interested in fitness trends, you’ve probably heard of CrossFit. If not, the official description goes that the exercise craze involves ‘constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity across broad modal and time domains.’ However, according to wellness expert Eleanor Robertson, this is CrossFit speak for ‘running, jumping, and lifting things until you vomit or make it through to a higher astral plane based on the mind-cleansing properties of extreme pain.’ So is CrossFit harmful to your wellbeing?
‘Back in the day if you wanted to get fit, all you had to do was throw on some Howard-style trackie dacks and take the dog down the park to scare some children,’ Robertson asserts. ‘But since the exercise revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, we’ve seen a succession of hilarious fitness trends. These have ranged from the spiral-permed aerobics workouts that singlehandedly supported the legwarmer industry all the way through to hardcore bodybuilding, which is just one of many things that Arnie will have to answer for in the afterlife. None have been more all-encompassing and more ridiculous than Crossfit, which is famous for its extreme workouts and lax commitment to keeping participants alive.’
Robertson details, ‘One of the activities CrossFitters participate in is heavy barbell-based weightlifting, with an emphasis on lifts like the thruster. Throwing a loaded barbell over your own head is a technically demanding move that should be taught by an experienced professional, which is why it’s concerning that you can become a CrossFit coach in as little as two days. This limited instructor certification, combined with CrossFit’s super-macho culture, could go some way to explaining why one small study found an injury rate of 73.5%.’ But, then again, a lot of sports are dangerous. How is CrossFit any more dangerous than say rugby or Trampolining?
‘The captivating part of CrossFit is that the injuries and the exertion vomiting are used as a marketing tactic,’ Robertson laments. ‘The shoulder reconstruction goes with the rippling abs, like matching your shoes to your belt.’ She adds, ‘There’s a huge crossover between CrossFitters and people who follow the paleo diet, another extreme health trend which inspires excessive devotion and constant evangelising (you’re pretty much legally required to start a lifestyle and recipe blog, too). For the dedicated CrossFit family, there are even CrossFit classes for kids.’ Clearly, then, the demand for CrossFit is there, but why are people getting on board with such a brutal method of fitness?
Robertson notes, ‘CrossFit has a lot to tell us about life in late western capitalism. People with physically demanding blue-collar jobs are not CrossFit’s primary demographic, and the online subculture, at least as far as I can see, skews heavily toward post-industrial knowledge workers. Why would you pay $200 a month to throw weights around in a garage if you already do that as a day job? The exploding popularity of CrossFit and other “xtreme exercise” trends like Tough Mudder suggests a kind of atavistic revolution, where sit-down office workers can feel the thrill of an increased heart rate and a few soft tissue injuries without having to become a bricklayer.’
So are all CrossFitters hum-drum office workers looking to let off some aggressive steam, Fight Club style? ‘There are of course plenty of fit, lovely people who enjoy CrossFit, some of whom even have all their original limbs,’ Robertson admits. ‘To those people, I say: get out now! Go for a run, lift some weights, and do some pull-ups without giving your hard-earned money to a nebulous trend that manages the risk of muscle death using a decrepit-looking cartoon clown named Uncle Rhabdo.’
Day-to-day stress is kind of inescapable. Whether you have deadlines to meet, traffic to crawl home through or unruly kids when you get there, it’s normal, you’re used to it and – hopefully – it doesn’t affect your wellbeing too badly. But what about extreme stress, like losing a loved one, major financial difficulties or getting bad news at the doctors’? How do you cope when the bottom falls out of your world?
According to David Spiegel, associate chair of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine and director of its Centre on Stress and Health, there are a few major techniques that you should always employ to guard your mental health against extreme stress. This involves making a list of everything you need to do to solve the problem and tackling them in order of importance. He adds that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help, and you need to remember to take care of your wellbeing with rest, exercise and a healthy diet. Aside from this, there are excellent strategies that can help you to cope with extreme stress:
1. Acknowledge your feelings: Spiegel urges, ‘Don’t fight your emotions. Think of them as your friend, not your enemy.’ You don’t need to be “strong” for the people around you; releasing your emotions will bring you closer together as a family, which is exactly what you need right now.
2. Don’t isolate yourself from others: Whether you turn to a friend or support group, it’s important to feel like someone understands, and you’re not alone in this. Steven Southwick, co-author of Resilience: The Science of Mastering Life’s Greatest Challenges and professor of psychiatry, post-traumatic stress disorder and resilience at the Yale Medical School, explains, ‘Strength comes from social networks. We’re all social beings.’
3. Try relaxation techniques: Psychologist Carol Goldberg, of TV show Dr. Carol Goldberg and Company, suggests visualising a calming scene, repeating a soothing mantra or focusing on deep breathing. She notes that these techniques are ‘something that you always have within you. You don’t have to get any equipment … You can just close your eyes, and take some deep breaths.’ You might also like to try a relaxing exercise like yoga, or even taking a long, hot bath when stress is getting on top of you.
4. Face your fears: Southwick asserts, ‘Most of us have a very difficult time doing that because it’s unpleasant, but if you want to be resilient, sooner or later, you’re going to have to face those things, or some of those things.’ He adds, ‘avoidance is at the heart of all anxiety disorders.’ Start by learning about the thing you fear, and really try to understand it. Southwick advises, ‘when you do approach the fear, try to do it with someone who you really trust.’
5. Find a role model. As Southwick explains, ‘We tend to learn through imitation,’ so look for someone you know who has gone through this situation, or something like it. How did they negotiate the challenges and manage to cope with the emotional impact of the situation? Ask them about it and then try out their coping skills for yourself. Maybe they always called a friend during times of stress, or they cleared their head by going for a run. If you can’t find one, look to one of Southwick’s! He speaks of a gold-medal-winning Paralympian with spina bifida who swims 26 miles (or a marathon) a week, but still graduated college with honours. When Southwick is tempted to stop after a few laps, he often thinks of her and says to himself ‘Twenty-six miles a week … I keep going.’
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