Treading Into Fitness Trends With Care
Friday,
October 18, 2002
Amy C. Sims
NEW
YORK — Exercise fads infiltrate gyms faster than you can say
"cardio strip," but these new routines can be dangerous for people
hopping on the fitness bandwagon.
"Jumping
on something too fast can be a mistake," said David Kirsch, owner of the
New York gym Madison Square Club. "Tae Bo was once the latest and greatest
craze, but where is it now?"
Yoga is one trend
that seems far from extinction. Approximately 15 million people practiced yoga
in the United States, a figure that has almost doubled in the past five years,
according to Yoga Journal.
But the rush in
popularity has led to some cases of novice instructors teaching the masses,
according to Leslie Kamnioff, a yoga therapist who has treated many injured yoga
enthusiasts.
And as people
push themselves to keep up with advanced classes, they get hurt. "I've had
clients who've been injured by domino effect," he said, which happens when
students fall into each other while doing inverted positions like headstands.
He compares the
yoga trend to the aerobics craze in the 1980s. "If you look at Jane Fonda's
first tape, it's like, 'How to injure yourself to music,'" he said.
But chronic
injuries are more pervasive than acute ones, he said. One such chronic injury is
what Kamnioff calls "yoga butt."
"It's a pain
that starts in the butt and goes down back of the leg," he said. "It
develops over time because the sequencing used in some classes involves long
extended periods of time sitting on the butt ... then twisting and bending into
positions."
But chronic pain
can come in many forms. Meyung Kim, 31, who began practicing yoga four months
ago has already gotten hurt. "I pulled the muscle underneath my shoulder
blade, performing a shoulder stand during a class," she said. "It
started feeling better and I went back and now it hurts again."
Kim said she
works out regularly, but started taking yoga at the gym to try something new.
These days, people looking for the latest fad will likely come across
kettlebells, a trend just hitting the U.S.
Originally used
as a bodybuilding tool by Russian soldiers and weight lifters, kettlebells are
used like weights to build strength and provide a cardiovascular workout,
according to David Ganulin, head of the kettlebell program at Equinox gym.
"It's
extremely efficient. It trains the body as a unit, instead of a collection of
body parts," he explained.
The weights,
shaped like a bowling ball with a handle, have traditionally been used by men
and can weigh up to 88 pounds. But companies like Dragon Door have made lighter
bells for ladies starting at 9 pounds. And a new book, From Russia With
Tough Love by Pavel Tsatsouline, a former instructor for the Soviet Special
Forces, creates a kettlebell routine specifically for women.
But experts say even with at a lighter weight, kettlebells pose a risk of injury.
"It seems
too cumbersome," said Kirsch. "I think it's incredibly dangerous to
use them on your own. People are going to get hurt if they do this."
And he added that
just because bodybuilders have used them, doesn't make kettlebells appropriate
for average gym-goers.
"I'm sure
strength and power people have been using kettlebells for years but that doesn't
necessarily mean they will work in a general training program."
But Equinox,
which is launching a new kettlebell program this month, says safety is
emphasized.
"There will be one instructor and no more than three people per session," said Jason Frye, Equinox's public relations manager. "It's a weight-lifting class and requires more individualized attention."
Kirsch said
ultimately, he'd rather stick with weights and dumbbells than try a dubious new
trend. "I know what works and I stick with what works," he said.
But for those who
want try the latest fads, the best way to approach any new workout is
incrementally, said Kirsch.
"Whether kettlebells, yoga or anything relatively new, you want to gradually step into it," he said. If not, your injury could linger longer than the craze.