The Exercise Myth

The Exercise Myfh

Gontenfs 1. The ExerciseMarketplace I 2. The Heart of the Matter 13 3. What StressTestsDon't Tell 24 4. The CaseagainstLongevity 44 5. The Inside Evidence 61 6. The Magic Runner 82 7. The Dangersof Exercise 97 8 A Better WaY 122 N OTES

136 IN D EX

145

Ihe Exercise

Morkefploce

them early in the noming on my way to work. I sccth€m Ey office windo{,s during the day. And in the evcning, are still hustling back and forth: women in stylish gear ing to exerciseclass;middl€-agedmenbuffng to andfrom C€ntralPark; peopleof every ageand &scription pantitrEand t catiig their way to today'sveNion of the healthylifestyle, I am a cardiologist,ase6gerto saveothers'livesasthey are to hold on to their o*n. And yet for all rny concemand their affort, exercisersare a6 likely as any to wiDd up anong my p&tients.Thos€exercis€rsI get to s€e,and pelhapsto help, are ody a few of the tensof miUionsin the United Stateswho lrow run o! jog regularly, and the merest ftaction of those many millions more in this country and a.ound the world who have trlen up the bannerof vigorousexercisein general.They are ihe reprcsentstivesof all thosewho havc bought the mistaken idea that strenuouscffort promoteshealthalrd longevity.They

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inq. We've come a long way, but why? Runners iun and ex' criisers exerci"ebecauseso many peoPlehave told them it's good for them physicaily.emolionally. socially and even spiF itually.The dislinctionsbetw€envariousbenefiIsare ratherblurred to judge b' lhe books and magazineslhal promote exercise Sen a smashingsuccesson the newsstandsthese days, is de' scribed by its editor as a magazioe of "physical and emotional well-being." The titles of other oew entries into tlle field-Nelt Boily, Ame ca Health, Shape, Fit, Sp/itr8-promise a blend of {adrant skin, lithe figure, athletic prowessand excellent health whetherdevotedto motherhoodor fashTraditionalmagazines, ion, have dramatically altered their format and tinrst to reflect

exerci:e seekan unaltainablrgoal The) dre the ticlim\ ot lhe m)4h. No one knows exactlyhow many individualsexercisehard goodand often in the belief that they are doing themselves \tork oul Althoug,hlhere are probab\ millionsof beliererswho classes in dance club:' handballcourls.al tennis in gy.s. "n visible the most an; othet meeting grounds, runners are today of those who inco:rporate vigorous and often punishing exercise least' into their everydaylives You can get an imPression'at clty pavement oi the pound of how many joggers doggedly just Iookrng by streetsor troi the shouldersof suburbanrcads arcund you during the popular early-moming and afier-work trours.iheir numberhasbeengue\sedIo be l0 million who More reliablenumbersexislfor "real runners-lho\e 300 about now are nrn marathonsor enter lesserrac€s There Lebow' Fred oruanizedmarathonsnrn yearlyaroundthe world lo "marorisidentof the New \ ork RoadRunnersClub re[ers racing such organized \pread of athon fever" ;n describingthe anentranlsi regislered The Boslon Maralhon hasabout 8.000 them call other 8,000unregisteredrunneN-the rcgiste{ed racen Mini-Mara"bandits"-usually join the race. The last L'Eggs about 6'500 registered City, York thon, a 6.4-mileracein New popular increasingly women from 34 statesand 8 countries The lhe and Montreal Marathon now ha\ about 10.000entrants all' now New York Marathon, Pelhaps the most famous race of guess that to have would One attracts about 17,000registrants joggers or "mere" there are hundreds-maybe thousands-of at b€ must there novic€ runners to every registered racer' And exercise least as many people who stnve for their weekly doseof in other ways. In formir days, the healthiest form of exercise was thought could tobe a daily "co;$itutional"-a modestlybriskwalk that pantbe accomplishedwithout special gear and certainly without

the new €mphasis on exercise. Social pressure to Participate in the movement is quite real' You're as likely to hear mention of "aercbics" and "cardiovascular fitness" in cocktaifparty conversatron as you are lo hear about the latest theatrical hit, new restaumnt or fashion news.And you're expectedto respond with the right knowledge, jargon and enthusiasm. Knowledgeand jargon aren't hard to come by. Bookstorc shelvesare 6lled \trth exercisebook\. trealiseson ho* to run and when to run, on strengtheningyour body, on cbangingit and making it better. The enthusiasm is catching Jone Fondo's york Times best' Workout Book was n\mber one on the New seller list for 51 weeks-in some sPot on the list for 92 weeksand James Fixx's best-selling bookl on running sold nearly 1 million copies in hardcover alone lts authol' who said he could "show you how to become healthier and happier than you ever imaginedyou could be,"' becamehiglly visible in television : :

commercials, Strong business and career pressures are often exerted to . " The notes de on pages 13G143

T H E E XE R C IS E MY TH

make people conform to the dogma of the ex€rcisebelievers' may compelolherqise Subtle- and nol.so-subtle-influence\ physical_activityproin unwilling individuals to participate gams. In 1980,over 3,000 businesseswere providing health/ fitne"" prog.u-s for e-ployees. Somecorporationshave made laree financial investments in building their own exercise facif iries for the use of all lherr personnel.Other companiespay considerablesums of money to outside exercisefacilities for their executives,and individual participationin the Programs may be periodicallyrevievred-RunnercHandbookrcportedthat in one maior corporation, employeeswho don't exerciseare gently admonishedby their colleagues.No wonder; $5 billion is spent yearly on employee-fitness programs'2 and no business likes to seeits investmentswasted. The CorporaleChallengeSerieshas become.excepl for the New York Marathon, the largestrac€ organizedby the New York Road RunnersClub. lt receivesa lot of media attention' andcompetition,while ftiendly, is intense.The latestCoryorat€ Challengerace attracted8,000runners.As describedby Deborah Greene.rac€ director of the 1980Manufactulen Hanover Corporate Challenge, in New Yotk Run/ti g News,"after a hard day at the office, tired corpolate workers, ftom office boys to for a presidents, wended their way toward Central Park parading the streets to run, competitiverace.They camedressed in shorts, running shoes,and singletsemblazonedwith the names of their companies.They . . huddled under the signsor banners of theil corPorateteams."r Wlether facilities and proglams for exerciseand competition are foslered by lrue bul misplacedbenevolentconcem on the part of corporatemanagementor by the unprovenexpectatron and hope of greater employee productivity, the fact is that the manageror executivewho doesn't see these corporate commitments as an unspoken corporate philosophy or command

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world' msy be tisking career advancement Within one's business $;ithin one'sneighborhood'being "into" exerciseuddeniably conveysa c€rtarnstatus Te'levision has had an important iniuence on the fitness pubohenomenon.The glodficationof winnen and the intense iicity surroundingwhat are largely media events-the runner has been called the "darling of the media"-allow even fte regular nelwork television amateur to feel special '!,Vhereas blazealthe trail by increasing coverage of the professional and trained athlete, cable television focusesheavily on the unhained amateur, that person at home who could be you The Cable Heahh Ner\\ork, for example is a relalivel) new lwenry-[outhour cable televisionchanneldealingonly with health and 6tness.A wide rangeof programsis broadcast wilh lhe healiesl emDhasis _Th" on exercise. that exercise is bene6cial-reflected ill th€ "onr"o.u. social. career and media plessures to exercise, and the coupling of fitness to health, beauty' sexual, social and businesssuccessis both the product of, and the impetus for' a variety of exand unfounded claims about what exercisecan do fo' travagant -Manv promise mrdical help. A highly successfulexercise vou. **.. in i'1." York offers a syslematicprogramdesignedlo strengthenyour heart . . . and help reducecoronaly nsk factors. i . ." A professional dancer offers a cou6e in aerobicsthat " and have you will "strengthen your cardiovascular system "thoroughly enjoy your retum to good health and a good ligure." A;a;ionwide network of rehabilitationcentersfor cardiac patients promotes "safe, supervised, telemetry-momtored exircise therapy. . ." thtough which "you'll find a new way ot life . . . an atmosphereof hoPe,not heartbreak" Even a manufacturer of com oil oflers an "information-packed booklet" in ' which "different tlpes of exercisesare evaluated for fitness and caraliovascularhealth." And a dentist suggests that you "Jog

T H E E XE R C ISE MY TH

over" to his office for special"dentistry for the runner." Promisesof medicalhelp often tend to shadeinto promises of spiritual renewal. One exercisecenter coins a new term, "biofitness," and offers "a tailormade program, basedon individual needs,to integrate the mind and body in a get-wellget-bettergoal." Perhapsthe exaggerationof benefitsand blurring of claims are best summedup in the advertisementof a large sportinggoodsstore, which promisesthat its indoor jogging treadmill focters"CardiovascularHealth, AerobicFitness, FacilitatesSleep, Better Balance,Muscle Strength,Fe€ling of Euphoria, Better Heallh.lncrea\edStamina.weight Conrrol.' No wond€r people are willing to pay for such a panacea. And pay they do. On the basisof amazingclaims,the public is spendingenormoussumsofmoney for exerciseclothing,equipment and programs,and exercisehasbecomevery big business, On Wall Street, it would be called a "growth industry." Sales of jogging shoes,for example,have morc than doubled in the last five years,althoughsome may buy them more for comfort or stylethan for running. One out of every three pairsof shoes sold in the Uniled Statosis sneakeis.The Nike Companyalone sold about 13 million running shoesin 1983; and their total sales,now includingother apparelas well as shoes,are in the hundredsof millions of dollars. The sheernumber of different runningshoesis astounding.Afew yealsago,a leadingrunners' magazinelisted about a dozen brands.The latest availablereport lists over one hundred. The number of models must be staggering. The National Sporting Goods Associationestimated 1982 salesto individuals(not countingany institutionalsal€s)of athletic equipment,includingbarbells,treadmills,tmmpolines,exercisebicycles,rowing machinesand jump ropes,to be $499.4 million. Individualsbousht 42.2 million Dairsof exercrseshorts

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on \weat\hirl\' rnd lor ill?4 million they spent$212mrllion ol B Doyle Llirecror iltr rlttion on qarm-up\uits Thomas figures these calls ,"t"ut"h for the association' iii ,rtution "na percentlower than ac_ .rrn*"ruutin",and e"timat€sthey are 25 trrl salesfiqures lo heaul) \lalus tn teeo"inswith the couplingol exercise ol clothrnge\ercisenis high la'hion nnJ.".."i., irt. business i' lockeFroomchic ha\ beencoinedand Th. t.'. ;;;;;. mag^zrne a ne\t riruallv the name of lhe lashion seclion o{ hals visor5\un_ shirts short\' socks W"rt-'to *i,., running eucall promotedvia an inseniou\ly fi,'*r. it*aOr"a'. ari ccssfulamalgamof fashion and hlness just as trendy and slavish Runnersanrl other exercise$are Of cou$e, much of the fashionem' tn fJion u. unyon" "l.e numberofnew plodohasishasbeen directedto women' and a demand-Sincethe the to capitalizeon lr"o t ut. t""n "t"ut"a greatly'manufacturers nurnU".of *o-"n utttt"teshasincreased than a dozen "spo(s bras" in the past h"u" introau".a -ot" bounce" and "joggers' nipples" are now t"* y.u.r. "fogg.t"' your sport"'one brand *.-i" ,".-" O*f"tce. "Whatever "ii.,ft"r.f u i.u. . . ." They offer the racquetbra and the "fui.r, bra, as well as the running bra ,J"l*o-un """."i"t devotionto phys_ Most believersin exercisedeny that their promolron'\ocra' by adverlising icalaflivil!i: great\ influenced The' claim lo be immunelo \ucn n. career'consid.,ariont on "selling" exercrse blandishmentsalespitethe money spent beauty and success' with throush the allute of its association

getting viJin .i."*u,ion. .uggestotherwiseAnd' anyway' does probabl! rrack ,* .ou*, o-ion the runnrng r"Linf, and ""so.iatuen.nt' iuslasexercise amongexecutives iuie som. henefitsUkima!ely' iurine"speopleprobabt)doesoflercareer reasonlor their ,r'.""i i-.l.r.i" onei a 'o" hard-nosed erercise punishing i.""oiion.I'.v *r,.'" thatvigolouseten

TH F EXERCI S E

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leadsto beiter health and longer life. They bclicve,specifically, that excrcisepromotes cirdiovascular heallh and protects against heaft attack, the leadingcauseof dealh in this country and in other industrializedsocietics. The idea of immunity from cardiovasculardiseaseby virtue of vigorousexercisehasbccn lhefourdation uponwhich interest and participationin exercisehave 8rown. Achicving a longer life and a healthierone through exerciseis ihe singleconstant rhr