One common misinterpretation of Operation Pull Your Own Weight is
that we claim "conventional pull ups are the best exercise for kids who
want to lose weight." Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact
overweight kids are generally unable to do pull ups, and they burn very
few calories when compared to aerobic exercises like walking, running,
biking, or swimming. For a variety of reasons, any one of these will
burn significantly more calories than pull ups, and thus are much better
exercises for kids who need to lose weight.
A Simple Way to Distinguish
On the other hand, the sheer difficulty of doing conventional pull ups makes them valuable in terms of their ability to help kids learn to avoid obesity. In other words, kids who can do pull ups are never obese. So, if we start 'em young, before they've had a chance to gain much excess weight, and help them learn to do pull ups, we have an incredibly simple and cost effective way to naturally immunize kids against obesity for life, as long as they maintain the ability.
We recognize that excess weight undermines anyone's ability to do pull ups. The bar is acutely aware of excess weight and it denies its carriers the success that all kids crave. But if kids actually need to lose weight in order to do pull ups we fully endorse activities like walking, biking, swimming, etc, because of their accessibility, and their calorie burning capacities. However you slice it, pull up bars automatically pay for fat loss in the form of improved performance.
A Preventative Not a Rehab Strategy
Used correctly, Operation Pull Your Own Weight is a preventative, not a rehabilitative strategy. To reiterate, if you start them early, the odds of most kids learning to do pull ups in a predictable amount of time, and immunizing themselves against obesity for life, are very good. But if you wait until junior high or high school, when they've developed bad eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, and excess weight, the job becomes much harder. In this instance an ounce of prevention is worth ten tons of cure.
Just Because Kids Can't do Pull Ups...
Misinterpretation number two is, "we imply that all kids who are unable to do pull ups are obese. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. It's entirely possible for a child to be super skinny and still be unable to do pull ups due to a lack of upper body pulling strength. All we claim is that kids who can do pull ups are never obese. It's a practical, cost effective, functional acid test, nothing more and nothing less.
The Only Qualified Exercise
Misinterpretation number three is that we claim "the conventional pull up is the only exercise that qualifies as a functional acid test for avoiding obesity. This isn't the case.
Here's a brief list of other exercises that qualify: dips, hand stand push ups, super man push ups, sissy squats (if done without bending at the hips), a seven minute mile, a 30 inch vertical jump, and that's just for starters. What we are saying is that learning to do pull ups requires very little space, budget, or expertise, and it compliments the phrase Pull Your Own Weight like no other. For those reasons we focus on pull ups.
It's Not a Full Blown Fitness Program
Misinterpretation number four is that we claim "pull ups constitute a full blown exercise program." We've never made such a claim. We do claim that pull ups are a simple, practical, and cost effective functional acid test that has value if used correctly. Those who criticize Operation Pull Your Own Weight for being less than a full blown fitness program are missing its greatest strength...sheer simplicity. Avoiding these four common misinterpretations will help anyone who's interested in preventing childhood obesity understand the program in a more accurate light.
A Simple Way to Distinguish
On the other hand, the sheer difficulty of doing conventional pull ups makes them valuable in terms of their ability to help kids learn to avoid obesity. In other words, kids who can do pull ups are never obese. So, if we start 'em young, before they've had a chance to gain much excess weight, and help them learn to do pull ups, we have an incredibly simple and cost effective way to naturally immunize kids against obesity for life, as long as they maintain the ability.
We recognize that excess weight undermines anyone's ability to do pull ups. The bar is acutely aware of excess weight and it denies its carriers the success that all kids crave. But if kids actually need to lose weight in order to do pull ups we fully endorse activities like walking, biking, swimming, etc, because of their accessibility, and their calorie burning capacities. However you slice it, pull up bars automatically pay for fat loss in the form of improved performance.
A Preventative Not a Rehab Strategy
Used correctly, Operation Pull Your Own Weight is a preventative, not a rehabilitative strategy. To reiterate, if you start them early, the odds of most kids learning to do pull ups in a predictable amount of time, and immunizing themselves against obesity for life, are very good. But if you wait until junior high or high school, when they've developed bad eating habits, sedentary lifestyles, and excess weight, the job becomes much harder. In this instance an ounce of prevention is worth ten tons of cure.
Just Because Kids Can't do Pull Ups...
Misinterpretation number two is, "we imply that all kids who are unable to do pull ups are obese. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. It's entirely possible for a child to be super skinny and still be unable to do pull ups due to a lack of upper body pulling strength. All we claim is that kids who can do pull ups are never obese. It's a practical, cost effective, functional acid test, nothing more and nothing less.
The Only Qualified Exercise
Misinterpretation number three is that we claim "the conventional pull up is the only exercise that qualifies as a functional acid test for avoiding obesity. This isn't the case.
Here's a brief list of other exercises that qualify: dips, hand stand push ups, super man push ups, sissy squats (if done without bending at the hips), a seven minute mile, a 30 inch vertical jump, and that's just for starters. What we are saying is that learning to do pull ups requires very little space, budget, or expertise, and it compliments the phrase Pull Your Own Weight like no other. For those reasons we focus on pull ups.
It's Not a Full Blown Fitness Program
Misinterpretation number four is that we claim "pull ups constitute a full blown exercise program." We've never made such a claim. We do claim that pull ups are a simple, practical, and cost effective functional acid test that has value if used correctly. Those who criticize Operation Pull Your Own Weight for being less than a full blown fitness program are missing its greatest strength...sheer simplicity. Avoiding these four common misinterpretations will help anyone who's interested in preventing childhood obesity understand the program in a more accurate light.
Rick Osbourne is a Chicago based writer who currently serves as
Executive Director of Operation Pull Your Own Weight, an informational
web site that's dedicated to naturally immunizing kids against obesity
for a lifetime, and to eliminating childhood obesity within one decade
or less. If you're interested in childhood obesity prevention, then
check out http://www.pullyourownweight.net or http://www.pullyourownweight.com any time.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_Osbourne
No comments:
Post a Comment