He Was Ahead of All of Us.

While I contend that short, intense exercise bouts and proper diet are all that are necessary to achieve and maintain health, the idea isn’t original. Jack LaLanne trumpeted this concept 60 years ago (as well as the crazy notion that eating too much sugar would make you fat and eventually kill you).

Here’s the relevant passage:

“He concurs with Jack’s belief that a person only really needs 13-17 minutes of high-intensity exercise every day and that a plan is more important than a lot of fancy equipment (emphasis added).”

I’d contest the “every day” part, but a plan being more important than the equipment? Is it ever.

Look, we’re not reinventing the wheel here, folks. The honest truth: While you can manage your health and fitness activities any way you please (and please, feel justified in doing so), there are several undeniable truths.

• First, muscles are made to move bones.
• Second, muscles move those bones in specific ways (i.e., have a unique job to do).
• Third, the cardiovascular system supports the muscular system.

The conclusions?

1. There’s probably a best way to move an object from point A to point B.
2. There’s probably some value in performing activities that challenge the muscular system.
3. It’s probably best to challenge that muscular system in a manner befitting the actual function(s) of the individual muscle group(s).

My old boss, Bill DeSimone, put it best – “My programs look simple; but boy, the thought I put into them!”

Keep it simple, folks. Basics = Best.

Edit (7/18): Full disclosure – I get no kickback from Bill for linking to his manual. In fact, unless he reads this blog it’s highly likely he doesn’t even know I did it. If you’re a fitness professional or a savant on exercise or biomechanics (or the kind of person who reads Godel, Escher, and Bach for fun), you will find his book valuable (personally, I think it’s Awesome). But be forewarned – it’s more Good Calories, Bad Calories than Body For Life.