I'm going to be a magazine editor!
OK, this might not be a realistic goal, especially considering the fact that at almost 30 I think I'm already grown up. Yes, Jenny...we're almost 30! You may be asking yourself why on Earth have I, at this time,decided that being a magazine editor would be a good choice. I've never even feigned interest in this career path. However, as I was sitting last night reading what is probably my last issue of Fitness Magazine, I realized that while there are small bits of information that pertain to someone like me in there, it's really a magazine for seriously fit women.
All of the exercises shown are for people who are not only more fit but also more flexible and coordinated than I am. Not to mention they have beginning positions and finishing positions and I have no idea how they could possibly have gone from point A to point B. Their cardio information is all about training for your first tri or half-marathon, where someone like me is looking to maybe train for a 5K at best. Now don't get me wrong, I think that this magazine is well written and well balanced in it's content. I also think that for it's market it is probably a really great read. However, as much as I would like to think I am, I am SO not the intended market for this mag. In all fairness, when I signed up to get it last year when we did Lighten Up Iowa, I knew it would probably be this way.
As I was doing dishes and thinking these thoughts last night I realized that people like me, people like us, need a good magazine too: enter the thought of me starting my own. I think it would be nice to see a real woman on the cover of the magazine, preferably not in a bikini. Not that I have an issue with the bikini clad models and athletes on the cover of Fitness but I will never have a bikini body. Knowing this, it would be really great to see a woman with a body that is a realistic goal for myself.
Then I started thinking about my sister. She and I went to Dick's sports when I was home over Christmas because she wanted to buy some hand weights to use. She is trying to look her best in her wedding dress after all. Unfortunately, due to my time constraints I was never able to show her any exercises that she could do with them. It would be nice for someone like her, whose education was in management/marketing, not health and physical education, to have a magazine that she could pick up and learn the basics and learn them well. If I, someone who's education was centered around wellness and the like, can't figure out how to do some of these exercises, a beginner surly doesn't stand a chance. Let alone the chance of a serious injury would be great.
I was also thinking that it would be a really great asset to have nutrition information that was more pertinent to women like myself. If I want to lose weight, my nutritional needs are a lot different than they would be if I was only 15 or 20 pounds overweight. I read the articles about balancing diet and exercise in Fitness and I try to adjust the recommendations but who knows if that's accurate. I think having nutritionists who have focused their careers on the overweight population, who understand the physiology and psychology of this group, would be a tremendous help to readers who have no idea what they're doing.
I often think to myself that I'm lucky because my studies have given me a solid foundation of information regarding diet and exercise but there are still times where I have uncertainty in my own lifestyle changes. Am I doing things right or wrong? What areas am I doing my best? Are there areas I could tweak? How can I make my weight loss attempts more efficacious? I can't even imagine coming in without any knowledge. I can certainly understand why people give up because if you approach these lifestyle changes the wrong way it's not a pleasant path. If you do the wrong exercises, or even the correct exercise the wrong way you won't have fun and you can hurt yourself. Severe pain is not a good motivator. If you approach diet changes the wrong way and deny yourself everything you like you will never be able to sustain the changes. You will, at some point, lose your willpower and binge. Don't you think if there were instructions, say in the form of a really great magazine, it would be easier and a lot more pleasant to make these life changes?
I guess now all I have to do is come up with a catchy title, get funding, hire a staff, find contributors and get to work!
2 comments:
I've always wanted to be an editor, but not for the same reason as you. You could always do an online zine to save money until the project gets up and running. I still get Fitness Magazine too, but I barely read it.
I really dislike seeing the skinny broads doing exercises. I too agree with your comments about the inability to do what they are preaching, plus there is little direction to understand how to get from A to B.
One thing that is funny is how I learned some of the exercises that I do. For my "beginning" years of exercising, I used to watch people work out. I would then do the same exercises if I felt they were doable, beneficial, etc.
Good luck with the project.
Your choice of occupation does not shock me. I barely read many fitness magazines and online content because I know that much of it is not designed for someone of my size, ability, etc. In fact, I bet many people burnout or fall off the wagon because they choose to follow diet plans, workout plans, etc in magazines like Fitness Magazine and don't realize the caloric intake is wrong and don't understand why the progression doesn't fit them appropriately.
I actually lectured this week about how to properly overload your body during exercise so that your body adapts and continues to improve and move toward fitness. The textbook stresses that no cookie-cutter approach exists for anyone....even for a group of very fit people. They shouldn't do the exact workout necessarily since they don't have identical cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, and body composition. If fit people shouldn't mimic workouts, less fit people or those with excess body weight certainly attempt workouts that aren't designed for their specific demographic.
The same can be said for diet. Everyone should follow the basic guidelines (hydration, all food groups, eating the right amount of calories) but everyone's basic needs flucauate and differ.
I agree about the visual appeal of a magazine too. It would be nice to see real women...maybe I should call them everyday women so the images are realisic.
It would be great if the magazine could take the research that Nicole and I read or were exposed to in grad school and present it to the public in a more laymen's method. I know several magazines attempt this but they often leave out details or spin the research to help them prove points supported by their magazine.
Good blog entry Nicole....you made me step up on my soap box before 10am today.
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