A few days ago something wonderful went viral:  moderate fitspo from Lean Girl in  Training.   At first it looks like regular old (unmotivating at best, shaming and even dangerous at worst) fitspo.

But in fact, it’s not like that at all.  It writes over and adds stuff to the regular fitspo it cribs from. The message “It doesn’t get easier, you just get better,” has been scrawled over so that it now reads, “It does get easier & you also get better.”

And “four simple rules” have been changed into four simple “tips” that support moderation:

Yes, “Lean Girl in Training” has her height-weight stats and is trying to lose weight.  But in addition to the goal weights, she has another goal, which she thinks of as her ultimate goal:  “Ultimate goal: to be free from chronic tendinitis; to be able to write, lift, walk and run without chronic pain; to respect my body and learn to treat it well.”

People can have the goals they want to have, but in the scheme of goals that make me smile and that resonate with me, this kind of thing, especially learning to respect our bodies and treat them well, works.

And the moderate fitspo messages work.  Way back when I blogged about the inspirational dis-value of fitspo, I complained that (for me) fitspo has the opposite affect of what’s intended. Photos of slender, youthful, ripped bodies that will never be mine don’t get me out of bed in the morning for my workouts.  And I think that’s  good thing because it means I’m realistic. That’s progress. I haven’t always been realistic. Or moderate. Or kind to myself.

Even if regular hardcore fitspo works for some people, the messages are dangerous and unloving. They lead to overtraining.  As the revised message in the “tips” says, we are not machines. We’re just doing our best to live an active lifestyle–ideally because it feels like a loving thing to do for ourselves.

Sam blogged earlier this week about what to do with our blog’s moderate message of finding stuff you love to do and opening up space in your life to do them if you’re not able to find any activities that you love.  She had some good suggestions that ranged from resisting “healthism” and “the health imperative” to building activity into your everyday life–things you do anyway like gardening, cleaning the house, carrying the groceries.

For me, realizing that it was getting harder to carry the groceries a couple of years ago got me back into the gym. At first, I didn’t like it much, but I stuck it out and eventually it got me where I am now–leading a pretty active lifestyle and doing things I love, even things I never ever thought I would do (like triathlon!). See my post about never saying “never” here.
Fitspo was never going to get me there. Neither was a bunch of seemingly hardcore fitness enthusiasts telling me what *they* do. Why? Because to someone who is not active, or who is doing things in moderation, photos of people who look like they spend hours a day in the gym, or the workout schedules of people who actually DO spend hours a day “exercising,” are disheartening.

They’re also shaming. They send a message about what you’re “supposed” to look like and what you’re “supposed” to do to get there.  None of that’s true.  For all the messages we are bombarded with, we do get to make choices and we can resist.

That’s why moderate fitspo makes me happy. I love the idea that “three days without exercise is a holiday” and that “if you don’t go all the way, just go halfway.”  These are realistic messages that keep me at it and take the pressure off when I don’t stick to my schedule.

For me, they’re motivational because they’re humane.  We love that kind of thing here.

Rest days? Excellent! Blanket hugging on a rainy morning?  Go for it! Doing less?  By all means!

[all image credit goes to Lean Girl in Training]

I love this t-shirt. I might even get one. Christmas is coming. Hint!

I like doing cleans even though I still feel like a beginner at this move and maybe I always will.

What’s the clean anyway? It’s half of the clean and jerk. Okay so what’s the clean and jerk?

“The clean and jerk is a lift that is a composite of two weightlifting movements: the clean and the jerk. The clean portion consists of the lifter moving a weighted barbell from the floor to a racked position across deltoids and clavicles. The jerk portion involves lifting the weight above the head until the arms are straight and the bar is stationary.Several variants of the clean and jerk exist, with the most common being the Olympic clean and jerk. The clean and jerk is one of the two Olympic weightlifting events, the other being the snatch.”

The women’s world record for the Clean and Jerk in the 75kg+ category, is 190.0 kilograms (418.9 lb) as of the 2013.  To give you some perspective the most I’ve managed is 44 kg though I like to think I’m limited by timing and execution rather than strength. Truth be told, it’s likely a bit of both. But I’m working on it, getting better, getting stronger, slowly but surely.

Why learn to clean? Functional strength is the main answer. It’s like the deadlift that way.

“A lifter pulls a weight from the floor, heaves it into the air for a split second, squats beneath it with lightning-fast precision and catches it at shoulder level. The power clean is an impressive sight, but unless you belong to a gym specializing in Olympic weightlifting, it’s a rare one. And that’s too bad, because it’s one of the most functional strength-training movements you can do.“Power cleans build not just strength, but full-body power — the ability to move weight quickly,” says Mike Robertson, MS, co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training. That’s essential for athletes’ need to achieve more speed. But anyone can benefit. As Olympic weightlifting coach Mike Burgener puts it, “Anytime you lift something from the floor to your shoulders — whether it’s a barbell, a toolbox or a toddler — you’re doing a version of the power clean.””

From Learn to power clean

As university professors who spent a lot of hours reading, researching, writing, and talking at seminar tables with students Tracy and I are concerned about how many hours we spend sitting.

See past posts:

• Stand up, get out of that chair, and get moving
• Sitting more dangerous than cycling!
• Chairs are evil (once again)
• But can you sit in the evening if you have an active job?.

Short answer to the last question: NO!

We’d like to think we’re combating sitting disease by being really active. You know, running, biking, swimming, weight lifting , yoga, soccer, Aikido, rowing and all that stuff we do.

But new research suggests athletes spend just as many hours sitting as the average person. Even those training for marathons can be couch potatoes, it turns out.

See The Marathon Runner as Couch Potato in today’s New York Times.

Gretchen Reynolds writes about a study of how many hours very active people spent sitting:

“As expected, the runners, training as they were for a marathon or half-marathon, reported spending considerable time sweating. On average, they exercised vigorously for nearly seven hours per week, “which far exceeds the standard exercise recommendation,” said Dr. Whitfield, who is now an Epidemiological Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

But those hours of exercise do not seem to have reduced sedentary time. On an average workday, the runners reported sitting for more than 10 hours at the office and at home, easily topping the likely national average. (Almost all of the participants were employed; a few were students.) On non-workdays, the runners spent about eight hours inactive.

The researchers found no correlation between running pace or training volume and sedentary time; fast runners and slow runners both sat equally often, as did those who were putting in the most or the fewest hours each week training.

In effect, the data showed that “time spent exercising does not supplant time spent sitting,” said Harold Kohl, a professor of epidemiology and kinesiology at the University of Texas and senior author of the study. “It seems that people can be simultaneously very active and very sedentary.”

Yikes. We’ve also written about the sloth like ways of otherwise very active people in this post, Sedentary athletes, not a contradiction in terms.

My standing desk helps, I think. And I try to work lots of everyday exercise into my life. See In praise of everyday movement but like most things, it’s a work in progress.

A big warm Wednesday welcome to all of the new followers who found us via this wonderful article on feminist fitness bloggers by Avital Norman Nathman. It’s on the Ms Magazine blog and it’s called The Femisphere: Fitness Bloggers.

Natham writes:

“In a culture that conflates health with a particular body type–often achieved via Photoshop–it’s both refreshing and a relief to read fitness posts that are actually about being healthy. Striving for a certain media-based idea of “perfection” seems to have become the norm when it comes to discussing health and fitness. Not only does this continue to promote unhealthy and unrealistic ideals of beauty, but it can also lead to behavior that is the antithesis of being fit. Thankfully, there are many out there writing about fitness from a feminist perspective, and in doing so they challenge societal norms.”

We’re in great company. She also profiles Feminista Jones and Krista Scott Dixon. We feel honoured.

It’s always lovely to have new followers but it’s especially lovely when they come to us from a feminist referral. It’s nice to know we share some values at the start of a friendship.

You can also like the Fit, Feminist and (Almost Fifty) Philosophers (now with added friends) on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

But why do that, you ask, since you can get the blog posts here?

We post lots of other fitness content on our Facebook page and there’s a lovely community of like minded people there. Come join in, if that’s your thing. We’d love to have you. Please share and help spread the word.

In Listen to the Pig Skepchick writes: “As far as I am concerned, Ms. Piggy is one of the strongest female characters in popular culture in the past 50-odd years. Piggy proves, time and again, that she is a strong, confident woman who can go toe-to-toe.. or snout-to-snout with anyone else. But I might be wrong. Let’s analyze a little, shall we?”

She goes on to give reasons why Miss Piggy is a feminist icon. And of course, her martial arts prowess is one of the reasons.

I agree. I’m a big fan of Miss Piggy.

Tough, feminine, and a fighter. I like that combo.

And so when a call for papers on Jim Henson and philosophy hit my mailbox this week, my thoughts turned to the pig. I mentioned the themes that interested me and a friend suggested a title. It’s “Miss Piggy’s Feminism: Redefining Human Relationships Through Martial Arts.”

Now I just need to write the abstract!

Oh, a quick Google search told me that Miss Piggy is still using her martial arts skills. Here’s an excerpt from an interview with Miss Piggy and Kermit.

“Miss Piggy, we get to see you use your martial arts skills in the film but only briefly, are you still a black belt and how often do you practice your fighting moves?

Piggy: Yes I did all my own stunts in the movie. I trained at and continue to be seen frequently at Master Chang’s Karate Dojo and Chinese restaurant.”

The food reference is of course a comment on Miss Piggy’s size. One of things that’s interesting about Piggy is that she’s portrayed as being both fat and fit and she’s a strong woman. Sure she’s teased about her weight and portrayed as eating too much, but there are never any doubts raised about her strength. How rare is that in television and movie culture?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mwOPCl_0sU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

CFA: Jim Henson and Philosophy (Abstracts due 12/15/13; drafts due 3/15/14, 4/30/14)

Edited by Timothy M. Dale and Joseph J. FoyAbstracts are being solicited for a new book, Jim Henson and Philosophy (under contract with Rowman and Littlefield).Most known for his work in children’s programming, Jim Henson’s puppets are among the most recognizable cultural icons in the world. From his creation of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and other characters from the Muppets, to the enduring legacy of Sesame Street and the Children’s Television Workshop, Henson’s creations have had an immeasurable effect on the growth, development, and substance of educational television and children’s entertainment in the 20th and 21st centuries. Within his stories and characters Henson communicates a complex set of philosophical messages, including explorations of identity, love, death, friendship, and knowledge. Henson’s legacy endures in part because he did not shy away from exploring philosophical questions, and never underestimated the ability of children (and adults) to grapple with profound cultural and philosophical questions. In addition to the Muppets and Sesame Street, Henson developed additional worlds that produced equally profound stories, including the television show Fraggle Rock and the films Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and MirrorMask.This book will explore the many philosophical aspects of Henson’s work, and examine his characters, stories, and productions for their contributions to perennial discussions about metaphysics, ontology, epistemology, ethics, and social philosophy. Chapters are solicited that investigate philosophical themes written in an approachable style for a general audience of lovers of philosophy and Jim Henson. This book will follow in line with the successful collection Dr. Seuss and Philosophy: Oh, the Thinks You can Think! (Rowman and Littlefield).