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A smartly-packaged approach to fitness marketing, the P90X program, is getting lots of attention across a broad swath of people who want their exercise program to be effective. As a certified fitness trainer and writer, I find this fascinating because it’s really nothing new. It just takes a fundamental principle of training – surprise your body with activities that are hard to do and which you don’t do routinely – and turned it into a product. As consumers, we often respond to products better than basic advice.

The problem is that “shock the muscles” exercise necessarily means departing from the norm. Old-style health clubs are the antithesis of this, with single-track machines and a culture of people who allow those machines to lay down the rules on how to exercise. My article on this topic explores this disconnect, in addition to providing some sample exercises.

From a personal health and physical function standpoint, it will always make sense to adopt an exercise program that tries to utilize all 600-plus muscles in the body. But the push for aesthetics – the social pressure to achieve an appealing musculature – often leads to the phenomenon known as “mirror muscles.” This is when the exerciser works only the body parts he sees in the mirror, ignoring his backside and legs. This is folly on many levels, not the least of which is how large muscles in the back and legs generate natural testosterone production, which contributes to results everywhere. My blog entry, “Getting Buff: If You Want Bigger Arms, Work Your Legs” on UrbanStag.com discusses ways to do it right (I am the site’s fitness blog writer).