A Tirade Against Needless Complexity In Fitness, Rehab & Health (V02 Max, Grip Strength)

Here's something I find infuriating.

When some health professionals overcomplicate things.

When they use technical, academic jargon to an excessive extent.

And when they focus too much attention on matters which are peripheral in regard to health. The things which have only marginal impact.

This is particularly bad online, where sharing information is often about fostering engagement, and not necessarily being helpful.

Why Do They Do This?

1/ It's about ego. Using big, complicated words makes them feel like they are really smart, and that boosts a sense of high status. It’s a mental flex.

2/ To create dependency. If information is presented in a highly technical way, the public needs experts to decipher it and to do the thinking for them. This breeds dependency, and that can lead to financial gain. Dependency can impart a sense of power and importance to the person in control.

3/ To make money. If you can create anxiety and fear around marginal and esoteric aspects of health, you can leverage these emotions to get people to buy your stuff.

Why Does It Bother Me?

Sowing confusion.

Making something simple seem complicated creates confusion.

Confusion undermines action because it adds mental friction, and distracts the mind.

Inaction prevents positive change.

Selfishness.

The task of healthcare professional is to serve the interests of their clients.

If they’re all about ego, status and money, they’re neglecting their whole reason for being.

(Yes, healthcare pros DO need to make money - but it needs to be tied to real value - things which actually advance the ball for people).

We healthcare professionals should be all about empowering our clients, and not leeching them dry.

What's The Right Approach Then?

1/ Trustworthy health professionals use plain language (they are secure in themselves).

2/ Reliable people who want you to succeed will SIMPLIFY, not COMPLEXIFY (they don't need you to think they're a brainiac).

3/ And they stress the big things which matter a lot, over the little things on the margins.

Want Some Examples?

You got it.

EXAMPLE 1: Grip strength

This is a classic example of studying for the test - and not really learning the subject.

Grip strength is being touted by some as a magical potion for health and longevity. People will prescribe specific exercises and programs targeting grip strength, believing it will drive improvements in health.

In actual fact, grip strength is simply a proxy measurement for overall muscular strength throughout the body. Stronger people tend to have a stronger grip.

Overall muscular strength has a huge causative influence on good health - not grip strength in isolation.

Grip strength is very simple and convenient to measure. No fancy or expensive kit is needed and there’s no need to get sweaty and uncomfortable (so it can be done in a doctor’s office). Also, it’s super quick and super cheap.

The danger here, as I see it, is people will start focussing a lot on developing their grip strength to the neglect of other body parts which are more important to focus on (such as the legs, where the largest muscles reside, and where deficits have a far bigger impact on quality of life - especially into old age).

Or, they end up spending way more time on their training than they need to. That’s fine if you love it, but for most people (who are short on time) it’s the sort of thing that can lead them to think “it’s all too hard!” and throw in the towel.

The job of the healthcare professional is to draw attention to the hard facts, cut through the noise and empower people to work on that which matters most.

EXAMPLE 2: VO2 MAX

VO2 Max is being hailed as the king fitness metric; THE thing which defines and determines your health.

And, in the wake of this, follows a barrage or workouts and exercise plans to help you increase your V02 Max measurement. These workouts are done at very high intensity, which many people really dislike.

But just like grip strength is to muscular strength, V02 Max (which is the maximum rate at which your body can use oxygen, and not how much air you can breathe in), is a stand-in (surrogate/proxy) for cardiorespiratory fitness.

You can be quite fit, really healthy and not have an off-the-charts V02 max.

Furthermore, you don’t necessarily need to do much high intensity exercise to have good cardiorespiratory fitness.

High intensity cardio is ideal. It’s time effective. But there’s many ways to skin a cat. A substantial volume of low-to-moderate intensity cardio will get you there as well. And people with this preference - or who don’t have any other choice (perhaps because they suffer from chronic fatigue) - get caught in the crossfire.

EXAMPLE 3: “HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR <INSERT NICHE PHYSIOLOGY REFERENCE> HEALTH?”

Have you thought lately about your <insert organ/tissue/cell name/physiological system> health?!

Your epidermal health?!

Your renal cortex health?!

Your meningeal health?!

Your synovial fluid health?!

Your lymphatic health?!

Your telomeric health?!

Your chromosomal health?!

IF NOT …. WHY NOT?! YOU IGNORAMUS! YOU LAYABOUT! YOU DORK!

This one’s a classic, too.

You start out by asking someone if they are tuned in to some body part or body process that a normal person doesn’t think about (NB: because they don’t need to).

You then create a sense of fear or FOMO because the insinuation underneath the question is: “you ought to be doing this” or “the cool/healthy/happy/sexy people are all thinking about this”.

The point here is to create a sense of need for a product, or to foster intense engagement with a content creator, who’s hoping to sell you something down the track.

It comes at the expense of training people to think they need to be aware of every body system in intricate detail, and that failure to do so is dangerous or immoral. Which is patently absurd.

EXAMPLE 4: “DO YOU KNOW IF YOU’RE GETTING ENOUGH <INSERT OBSCURE MICRONUTRIENT> IN YOUR DIET?”

Just like the example above, this is about creating a sense of a deficit - or imparting guilt.

It’s done by insinuating you should be across the most marginal and inconsequential aspects of nutrition.

And that failing to train your microscope on these matters is dereliction of duty or a threat to your wellbeing.

A responsible person will draw attention to the basics. The big things which matter most. The stuff you can reasonably hope to influence. The points of maximum leverage. The tried and tested rules of thumb which have stood the test of time.

The hard truth is that focussing in on teeny weeny things which don’t matter distracts your focus and saps your energy. And then the big stuff that DOES matter tends to suffer. Stuff like relaxing with friends, enjoying your family, moving for pleasure and seeking meaningful work.

So, next time hour 3 hours deep into the weeds into a Huberman Lab-esque podcast, just ask yourself,

“Is this about me? Or is it about them?”.