The Fitness Culture Of Japan
| The Intelligent Workout is Back from Japan – Great Success! I had an excellent stay abroad and learned a large amount by delving into their culture. For starters, the food quality over there puts the U.S. to shame. The snacks at 7-11 beat out any fast food joint over here and the average grocery store was comparable to a Whole Foods in the States. On the other hand I was dismayed at the sparse protein powder selection I came across during my trip. I only discovered two jugs at a basketball store in Kyoto. I would have bought ‘em out had I stayed longer. |  |
Another huge dietary difference aside from quality was quantity. The portion sizes were way smaller than anything served here. Instead of two huge items you would see in America there were five or six things to eat. So as opposed to a Big Mac, Large Fry, and a Coke you would have two large shrimps, a tiny bowl of salad, a tiny bowl of miso soup, a small serving of rice, a few veggies, and water or tea. Even at the fast food burger joints where we are willing to settle for two tasteless beef patties they would have one delicious burger at an equal or lesser cost. Less total food, greater marginal enjoyment with every bite, and no love handles to boot. Poor Love Handles…
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Beats The Pants off of McDonald’s & Burger King
Another intriguing health aspect of Japan was the lack of gyms. Tokyo is Vying with Mexico City as the biggest city in the world with around forty million people but I never came across a single gym throughout all my hours of walking. Surprisingly without all those gyms I saw roughly nine fat people total when I was over there and their BMIs were probably hovering around a thirty at best.
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Out of the Nine Chubby People I saw one had to be blocking my picture of the Geishas. I hope she doesn’t read my blog… & Who needs a gym when you can hang off the side of random stacks of bricks? 8 Minute Abs Japanese Style.
If I had crossed paths with the same amount of people in America I’m sure the percent difference in body fat would be tremendous. Everyone in Japan already appears fairly fit so there is much less of a demand for all the businesses and products promoting weight loss. In the States there are so many overweight individuals that there has to be the market to match which ends up coming over the top with all the body sculpting hubbub and diet pill bull pucky.
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I taught them ‘Steal The Bacon’ so they can stay fit for life with out a gym membership. I also hope to get fifty percent of the profits when it becomes a cultural explosion.
I met my friend Dave in Japan who told me that the gyms there are excellent but carry a high premium. Having a car in Japan is also much more costly so it is easy to see why people rely on walking and the efficient train system to move about. To be fair to Americans they did have more ’skinny fat’ (low total weight yet higher body fat percentage) people walking around. They solved this dilemma with an intriguing market of body shaping and slendering underpants.
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Who needs to workout when you can buy a boneless belt and padded underwear for buff buttocks?
The one large negative health aspect in Japan was the relatively high smoking rate. Around 30% of Japanese adults are smokers compared to 20% in most other industrialized nations. I’m sure there are several other factors going into that equation such as a very low incidence of drug and alcohol abuse but it still seemed silly to be breathing in that junk like every restaurant was a Denny’s from the 80s. I suppose it is a decent trade-off for the lack of fat bottoms and drug usage.
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My friend Dave excited to speed recovery with his new massager. Apparently Coke Zero gives you wild health when in Japan. I was sold
Japan was a fantastic time – even the weather seemed to know I was visiting. I gained a fresh appreciation for walking, hiking, and not being so particular about my protein intake. I also acquired a taste for seaweed packets, they came with my favorite power breakfast, and Matcha – a delicious type of green tea – keep your eyes peeled for it.
For Your Consideration, Some Things To Take Away from the Japanese Culture Would Be To:
-Eat Higher Quality Food In Smaller Portions While Drinking Only Water or Tea
-Drive Less and Walk More Frequently. Be More Efficient Yet Learn To Slow Down.
-But Don’t Smoke Or Substitute A Daily Set of Bodyweight Squats For Undergarmets With Ass Pads.
This post has 6 comments
November 18th, 2009
Man, sounds like you had a good time. I’ve always wanted to travel abroad and have been interested in the Japanese culture for a good part of my life. Of course I love their food(well what I know of the American version).
I know you updated last month saying you were taking a trip but was there any particular reason?
November 19th, 2009
The food was one of the many highlights. Hard to find the same level of quality back in the states.
My friend started working there in August, my apartment lease was up at the end of September, and I had never been abroad before so it was an all signs pointing to Yes kind of situation. I lucked out having him there since it wasn’t as English friendly as I had thought – Great time and experience.
November 19th, 2009
Man that sounds like a blast. I hope to drop everything and travel abroad once I graduate. What all did you partake in whilst visiting?
January 4th, 2010
Lots of Walking Through The Big Cities, Sightseeing The Temples, Eating Ramen, & Drinking Coffee from Vending Machines. Sleeping in a Capsule Hotel and Teaching Gym Class To First Graders Were Two Most Unique Things I Did Over There.
January 2nd, 2010
I have no idea where you went, but there are huge gym chains in most major cities. My gym is Konami, and Golds, Tipness, and Central are the other big ones.
Fat people are all over the place, and the country is undergoing a “metabo” (short for metabolic syndrome) phase. The national insurance agency is charging companies more to insure employees that don’t meet the insane standards for slimness.
Real fitness buffs buy their protein & supps from catalogs, but, there tends to be a train of thought that if you eat a healthy diet and just train enough, you’ll be averagely healthy. That is the key thing “average” is in, and Japanese, as a whole, don’t tend to like men/women who are too buff. You’ll see a lot more swimmers, joggers, runners, walkers, and cyclists than powerlifters.
January 4th, 2010
I was in Osaka and Kyoto for three days, the Mie Prefecture for a week, and then Tokyo for four days. My friend I was visiting did say he was seeing a greater amount of fast food joints popping up which would help explain the ‘metabo’ going on. I hope they nip it in the bud before it gets anywhere near the level in the United States.