Cosmetic fitness - Grade: 83% PDF

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Steve Cook - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3kbAe8BguiZFnsVYY1oW0w Part A: Nutrition: Abs are Created in the Kitchen. Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ENsP5BPpo Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsojeQ5Y8Gk Throughout the two videos, Steve Cook is providing nutritional advice for an individual who would be trying to reduce body fat whilst maintaining as much muscle mass as possible. The video’s provide dietary guidelines for supposed goals and are relatively high calorie. The proposed guidelines would be ideal for an individual of intermediate exercise experience and high physical activity. Steve discusses the various body types (endomorph, ectomorph, and mesomorph) and provides a brief suggestion on the approach to nutrition each specific body type should have. He also suggests using an online base caloric calculator, to give individuals a generalised idea on how many calories they should be consuming per day. Unlike a lot of fitness bloggers, Steve emphasises the importance of carbohydrates in nutrition, where many other bloggers suggest dropping/minimising carbs. He outlines the necessity of carbohydrate consumption and places emphasis on obtaining carbohydrates from sources as clean as possible. In these videos, Steve provides viewers with many valuable tips and tricks to consider when grocery shopping, in order to get the most nutrition out of their diets. Suggestions such as:  avoiding all processed foods  eating only wholefoods  avoiding hydrogenated oils  adding a variety of different coloured fruits/vegetables Throughout the videos, Steve has suggested a ‘diet’ to drop body fat at a steady rate whilst maintaining lean muscle mass. He has split macronutrients as follows; 40% protein, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fat (Cook, 2013). Compared to the Food Standards for Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) Code 1.1.1, this is a very high protein diet. The FSANZ suggests that macronutrients should be split as follows; 60% carbohydrates, 30% fats and just 10% proteins. Steve also suggests a minimum of 30-40g of Fibre per day for individuals considering following this nutritional advice. In comparison to the FSANZ guidelines which suggests consumption of 30g per day, Steve’s advice is therefore suitable considering his dietary suggestions are for an individual of high physical activity, benefiting from the increase in fibre and high calorie diet.

Physical Activity and Exercise Advice: Summer Sizzle Ep #1 - Workout https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkgGycJ5YuE Steve has extensive knowledge and training experience in all aspects of Physical activity and exercise. He has been a personal trainer and competitive bodybuilder for just under 2 decades, and he has shared his vast knowledge with many health professionals from all over the world. The US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) introduced a Physical Activity Pyramid to provide individuals a guideline on how they should segregate their recreational time. Segmenting free time allows an individual to achieve maximal health benefits from physical activity, whilst minimising the negative effects of modern sedentary lifestyles. Steve Cook places heavy emphasis on including a warmup and cooldown routine after all heavy weights sessions (5-6 times per week), and implementing some cardiovascular endurance exercise at least 2-3 times a week alongside his weights/resistance workouts (Cook, 2019). Steve also suggests stretching and mobility exercises at least three times a week – the Physical Activity Pyramid suggesting 3-7. In regards to repetition ranges and intensity, Steve’s advice matches that of all current scientific research and study:  6-8 repetitions for muscular hypertrophy and strength increases  10-12 repetitions for muscular endurance and cardiovascular output

It would seem that all the advice Steve has provided to his viewers would match that of current guidelines and research. However if we refer back to the Physical Activity Pyramid, we can see that it suggests resistance/weight training just 3 times per week, whereas Steve suggests 4-6 sessions per week for those aiming to achieve increases in muscle strength and size. Mental health: Don’t Let Social Media Do This: https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=Sig3KoZ9-ZA Cosmetic fitness can be defined as striving for a particular “look” as the focal point of fitness activities, with less focus on the actual physical/mental health benefits. At the forefront of Cosmetic Fitness is Social media, most particularly websites such as Instagram, Youtube and Snapchat all of which Steve Cook uses.

Without social media Steve Cook wouldn’t’ be in the position he is in today; a wealthy fitness promotor with many vast sponsorships (from supplements to fashion) and therefore a large influence on the fitness community and the young people within. Remarkably, Steve still emphasises the negative effects this forum can have on the mental health of its users, and most particularly young people. Steve admits he sometimes gets anxiety when going through social media too much, due to the constant negativity, bullying and narcissism he observes on these various platforms. Steve discusses the comparisons we make with the people and photos we see on social media, and the negative impact this has on our mental health. These often result in feelings of inadequacy about not only our fitness/body image but our social status, our socio-economic status and all aspects of our lives. As an effort to combat any psychological issues he or his viewers may face, Steve suggests implementing a few strategies into our daily routine. Aside from the obvious, everyone should be exercising for at least 30 minutes per day (Steve exercises for up to 2 hours per day). As well as this, he suggests implementing some form of mediation into our daily lives, whether this be with or without music, in public or at home, any training of mindfulness to focus our attention on the positive aspects of life, has boundless positive repercussions on our mental health. Steve suggests anywhere from 5-30 minutes is optimal, which compared to HeadSpace’s founder Andy Puddicombe, “All it takes is 10 mindful minutes” (Puddicomb, 2013), a 5-30-minute session would be sufficient in improving stress levels and combatting mental health issues.

Part B – Evaluation I would recommend Steve Cook and his Youtube channel for anyone looking for #fitspo. I believe Steve has a vast knowledge on many aspects of fitness, evident in his large following, and he provides research-backed exercise advice for his viewers. In reference to nutrition, it is apparent that the dietary suggestions discussed above and in the videos is too high in protein. This can increase the risk of heart disease and colon cancer due to red meat and saturated fat intake. A high protein diet also puts stress on the kidneys if the body doesn’t remain sufficiently hydrated. Discussing his Physically Activity and Exercise Advice, Steve is spot on with all of his suggestions relating to frequency of exercise, stretching/mobility and warm ups etc. He does however suggest weight resistance sessions 4-6 times per week, whilst the pyramid suggests a maximum of 3. I think Steve provides his viewers some valuable advice on mental health. Discussing mindfulness, meditation and where to focus our attention is very important for those pursuing ‘Cosmetic Fitness’ and its hashtags. By voicing these mental health problems that Steve himself has experienced, he provides viewers with an insight, in that even those who have achieved #fitspo and Cosmetic Fitness goals, still experience the same mental health issues as everyone else. I think it would be important to note that whilst the above diet and exercise regime (particularly the frequency of weights sessions) would not be suitable for a beginner or even intermediate exerciser, for more experienced individuals such as Steve, high protein diets and

increased exercise frequency would need to be implemented to overcome plateaus and continue to observe gains in strength and muscle mass, which is the overall goal of his Youtube Channel. `

References Cook, S. (2013). Swoldier Nation - Trainer Edition - Abs Are Created In The Kitchen Part 1. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0ENsP5BPpo [Accessed 17 May 2019]. Cook, S. (2013). Swoldier Nation - Trainer Edition - Abs Are Created In The Kitchen Part 2. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsojeQ5Y8Gk [Accessed 17 May 2019]. Cook, S. (2018). DON'T LET SOCIAL MEDIA DO THIS! | Sundays with Steve Episode 1.. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sig3KoZ9-ZA [Accessed 17 May 2019]. Cook, S. (2019). SUMMER SIZZLE EP #1 || WORKOUT. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkgGycJ5YuE [Accessed 17 May 2019]. Human Kinetics. (2014). The Physical Activity Pyramid. [online] Available at: https://us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/the-physical-activity-pyramid [Accessed 17 May 2019]. Puddicomb, A. (2013). All it takes is 10 mindful minutes | Andy Puddicombe. [online] YouTube. Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzR62JJCMBQ [Accessed 17 May 2019]....