The distraction machine

One piece of exercise equipment is becoming so popular that some people can8217;t bear to face a workout without it: the television.

One piece of exercise equipment is becoming so popular that some people can8217;t bear to face a workout without it: the television. Just as many people are glued to their TVs at home, so they are at the gym. Fun, sure, but this may not be the best way to wade through a workout. Survey the cardio area of a gym and invariably a few people will be engrossed in a show to the point they8217;re going through the motions of exercising8212;slowly pedaling the elliptical trainer, inching along on the treadmill8212;and barely sweating or breathing hard.

Studies do show that television can help people stick with an exercise programme. In a paper published in 2001 in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, about 100 exercisers were divided into groups. Some were given the distraction of television or music. Others were told to exercise without distractions and either concentrate on how they felt or simply to exercise with no other agenda. Those given distractions had significantly lower dropout rates compared with those who didn8217;t, the study found. They also exercised longer and showed improved cardiorespiratory function. This suggests that those who are new to exercise need something to divert them from the pain and discomfort, at least in the first six months when dropout rates are high, says Jim Annesi, author of the study and director of wellness advancement at the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta.

But for the more experienced exerciser, whose fitness goals are more defined, there may be fewer advantages to fixating on a TV screen. Ideally, people ought to be in tune with their bodies while exercising, staying aware of their intensity level, heart rate and perspiration. Annesi thinks that beyond the first six months people should be more conscious of how long they8217;re exercising and at what intensity. 8216;8216;They should build adherence first, then work on building physiological changes, after they8217;re able to tolerate the discomfort,8217;8217; he says. A barrage of stimuli from television could certainly interfere with the concentration required for more complex workouts, says Joseph Hellige, psychology professor at the University of Southern California. The brain can handle two tasks at once as long as they8217;re controlled by different areas, he says.

Walking on a treadmill and watching TV, for example, shouldn8217;t cause problems because it pairs motor function with cognitive function. But combining two cognitive functions8212;monitoring heart rate, say, while seeing a football game8212;could cause problems. 8216;8216;You8217;re engaging in activities in the same domain in the brain,8217;8217; says Hellige.

One thing is for sure8212;growing technology is going to provide more distractions, not fewer. That may not be such a problem for people in their 20s and younger. 8216;8216;They are used to having instant messaging going on while listening to their iPods, working on their computers and watching TV,8217;8217; says Kent Johnson, chairman of the kinesiology department at Lipscomb University in Nashville. 8216;8216;It8217;s harder for the baby boomer generation.8217;8217;

Yet if exercise on cardio machines is such a grind that a distraction is necessary, maybe something needs to change. 8216;8216;We force people into a model of only going to the gym,8217;8217; says John Jakicic, chairman of the department of health and physical activity at the University of Pittsburgh. 8216;8216;If that8217;s not what you want, find an activity you enjoy.8217;8217;

8212;Jeannine Stein