Keeping Men Weak

Tracy Anderson is a celebrity "fitness" (one must use that term loosely in this case) trainer who gained infamy among strength training enthusiasts by stating that "no woman should lift more than three pounds".

Though there is some push-back against it, this kind of thinking is unfortunately common among women.  So many of them seem to equate weakness with femininity, that we're used to seeing that kind of drivel aimed at women.  Not being content with keeping women weak, however, Ms Anderson now wants to expand her weakness regimen to men.

This month, she'll launch a treadmill-like contraption with a built-in obstacle course called the Men's High-Intensity Machine at two of her four gyms (in California and New York), and she'll follow up in early 2014 with a manly fitness DVD. 

Define "manly"...

To a retrograde gym rat, Anderson's made-for-guys routines look girly—you won't lift a free

weight over 10 pounds and many of the motions appear negligible.

So, women should never lift more than three pounds, and men shouldn't lift more than 10 lb.  Oh, boy.

However, the high reps will leave you hurting. In a typical session, you might throw punches with light dumbbells before lifting that same weight in a floor-to-ceiling row, as if yank-starting a lawn mower. (Her masculine workouts pay special attention to the pecs, biceps, triceps, and delts.) Next, you're doing push-ups with oblique crunches. Six or so floor exercises, and it's on to cardio, grabbing overhead elastic bands and incorporating them into jumps and squats. Every move engages a multitude of muscles, especially around the core. The result: none of the "compartmentalized" bulk seen on dudes waddling from weight room to smoothie bar.

Maybe that weight vest she's wearing makes up for the lack of free weights.

What's the logic behind the Tracy Anderson Method (TAM)? "The body has more than 600 muscles," she says. "Most fitness regimens only tap into 200. I get to 400."

How does she know that?

TAM is designed to confuse muscles, making them—and your heart and lungs—work harder.

Muscles don't get confused.  Please, everyone stop using that ridiculous phrase!

Moves are contrived to tire out the big groups so that lesser-known "accessory muscles" (i.e., the ones deep in your doughy middle or beneath fleshy arms) activate. In other words, wear down the starting lineup so your benchwarmers can show the crowd what they're capable of.

What does that even mean?  Here's my favorite quote.

"You are how you move," says Tracy Anderson, crossing her sinewy legs. "You don't want to be strong and clumsy, like a bison; you want to be strong and agile, like a jaguar."

It's ironic that she chose that comparison, because, while jaguars are undeniably strong and agile, bison are no slouches in either department. 

The bison, shaggy behemoth of the Great Plains, despite weighing as much as a ton, can race up to 40 mph, jump up to 6 feet vertically and can quickly pivot to combat predators. 

Sounds pretty damned agile to me.  Obviously, animals can be both strong and agile, but what about humans?

First, we must define both terms.

Strength - The ability of a muscular unit, or combination of muscular units, to apply force.

The simplest way to test strength is to measure how much weight a person can lift.

Agility - The ability to minimize transition time from one movement pattern to another.

To test agility, we measure how quickly a person changes directions in multiple dimensions (front to back, side to side, up and down).

Is there a sporting event that tests both strength and agility?  Why, I'm glad you asked, because there is!  It's called the CrossFit Games!  First, lets look at an event that tested strength.



Lucas Parker and Aja Barto both clean and jerked 345 lb and cleaned 355 lb.  Rich Froning clean and jerked 345 lb.  They did all that on the second event of the third day of a grueling four day competition, which means they were no where near fresh or rested.  Clearly, these dudes are strong, but are they agile?  Let's look at two events that tested agility.

The "Zigzag sprint" tested their ability to change directions forwards and sideways.  Note that Aja Barto took 3rd in this event.



The "Sprint Chipper" tested - among other things - their ability to change directions front to back and vertically.  Note that Rich Froning took 1st in this event, and Lucas Parker took 8th.



Though some are stronger than others, and some are more agile than others, clearly these men are both strong and agile.  And all of them lift a hell of a lot more than 10 lb.

Only time will tell if Tracy Anderson's ridiculous method will ever catch on with men, but it's clear from events like the CrossFit Games that one need not be slow in order to be strong.  Nor does one need to be weak in order to be agile.  One can improve all 10 components of fitness if one trains intelligently.  It's bad enough that so many women insist on being weak.  Let's hope Tracy Anderson's weakness regimen doesn't catch on with men.