Fitness exercise prescription

The so-called fitness exercise prescription is never the "training plan to lose 10 pounds in 7 days" or "universal vest line development strategy" that can be seen everywhere on the Internet, but a personalized exercise execution plan that is customized based on the four core dimensions of individual body baseline, exercise goals, past medical history, and life rhythm, while taking into account effectiveness, safety, and sustainability. It is essentially a "tailor-made" fitness action guide, rather than a standardized industrial product.

Speaking of which, I met a particularly impressive customer in the past two years. He was a 28-year-old back-end programmer with a mild lumbar disc herniation. He used to practice core training with Pamela, a popular blogger. He was in so much pain that he couldn't stand up in three days. He went to the hospital for a review and the herniation worsened by 2 millimeters. He was particularly aggrieved at the time, saying that other people had lost weight and had slimmer waists after practicing, so why did something happen to him? The reason is actually very simple. That plan is designed for healthy people with no back injuries and good core foundation. Putting it on him is equivalent to prescribing glucose injection to a diabetic patient. An inappropriate plan will be useless no matter how popular it is.

In fact, there are two different ideas in the industry regarding the formulating logic of exercise prescription. There is no right or wrong, but they are just suitable for different groups of people. One is the evidence-based school, which means that they completely follow the guidelines of ACS M (American College of Sports Medicine). A comprehensive physical test must be done before prescribing: resting heart rate, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength of various parts, and joint mobility. They even need to get your physical examination report for the past six months to confirm whether you have any contraindications such as high blood pressure and arthritis. They even ask whether you sit for 8 hours or stand for 8 hours at work, and how much complete exercise time you can squeeze out every week before you dare to make a plan. The advantage of this method is that the error tolerance rate is very low, and there is almost no sports injury. It is especially suitable for middle-aged and elderly people, people with underlying diseases or old injuries. The disadvantage is that the process is cumbersome, and many novices are discouraged when they see that there are more than a dozen tests to be done.

The other school is the more popular practical school among first-line coaches. They believe that novices do not need to engage in such a big battle when they first start. They can first give a very low-threshold starting plan, practice for two weeks, and then adjust based on feedback. For example, if you have no exercise habit at all before, first let you take 10 minutes a day to walk briskly at home. If you can do it for a week without being lazy, then slowly increase the duration and intensity. After all, for many people, "being able to persist" is much more important than "100% standard movements". If a high-intensity plan is arranged for 5 times a week and 1 hour each time from the beginning, 90% of people will give up within a week of practice, and no matter how scientific the plan is, it will be in vain.

I have been prescribing exercise myself for almost 6 years, but I don’t stick to any one group’s rules. It all depends on what the person decides. As for the programmer who had a lumbar protrusion before, the plan I prescribed for him didn’t even include a few “waist training” movements: 3 times a week, 40 minutes each time, 20 minutes of slow walking on his dusty elliptical machine (no running or jumping, which puts minimal pressure on the lumbar spine), 15 minutes of deep core muscle activation such as dead bug pose and abdominal breathing, and the last 5 minutes of stretching the hamstrings and lower back. I also specifically marked “stop immediately if your legs feel numb during the movement, no need to hold on”. Don’t underestimate this adjustment. After practicing for two weeks, he said that his waist was no longer sore after sitting for a long time. Later, he gradually added strength training such as seated rowing. After three months of reexamination, he found that the prominent positions were even slightly reduced.

I once wrote a prescription to a 62-year-old aunt with high blood pressure. You may not believe her. She just walked slowly for 30 minutes after meals every day and went to the community to attend Tai Chi classes twice a week. The requirement was that her heart rate should not exceed 110 during exercise. She persisted for half a year and the dosage of antihypertensive drugs was reduced by less than half. It was much more reliable than asking her to go running and aerobics.

Many people still have a misunderstanding about exercise prescriptions. They think that since it is a "prescription", it must be strictly implemented and not missed for a day. It’s really not necessary. Every time I give a client a plan, I will specifically say that if you have to work overtime until 12 o’clock this week, don’t get up and practice. Just take 5 minutes to stretch your shoulders and neck. Not only is it ineffective, but it is also easy to get injured. On the contrary, it will give rise to the frustration of “I can’t even continue to exercise.” There is another client who really hates running. I didn’t pay attention at first, so I arranged for him to run aerobically twice a week, but he refused to come for two weeks. Later, he changed it to playing badminton twice a week, plus strength training at home. He happily persisted for 8 months, and his body fat dropped by 6%. He had no knee problems. Isn’t this better than everything else?

Of course, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to find a coach to prescribe a prescription. Many of my friends follow online plans and practice by themselves. When practicing, pay more attention to feeling the body, stop if it hurts, and adjust the movements if it feels uncomfortable. By slowly exploring, you can find the most suitable plan for you. However, this kind of trial and error is costly. People with old injuries or basic diseases should not take this risk.

To put it bluntly, there are so many mysterious professional thresholds for fitness exercise prescriptions. The core is the three words "suitable for you" - suitable for your physical condition, suitable for your work and rest, and even suitable for your preferences. It can make you willing to practice for a long time without getting hurt. This is the best prescription.