The Tomato Effect
by Dexter Tenison, MSS

The tomato is originally a fruit that was found in Peru in the 1500s. It was transported to Spain and by the 1560s the tomato played a significant role in the diet of most Europeans. However, in the 1700s, when North America was beginning to have settlements, tomatoes were totally avoided. This is because the Americans believed that the tomato belonged to the nightshade family of plants, which at the time were considered poisonous. It wasn't until 1820 when Robert Gibbon, wanting to prove that tomatoes were not poisonous, stood on the courthouse steps in Salem, New Jersey for all people to see, ate a tomato and lived! It took nearly 200 years for the tomato to be one of the largest commercial crops in North America.

What took Americans so long to finally begin eating tomatoes? To be asked in another way, why isn't physical activity and healthier eating being embraced by the population? It's all around us, yet we don't seem to bite. The answer could come from the 1978 American of Sports Medicine exercise guidelines. They originally claimed that health benefits could only be obtained through "strenuous, sustained" aerobic activity. And then the misconception began and the fitness craze of the 70's and 80's rolled into full force. Everyone ran. Everyone sweated. Everyone tried to keep up with the blistering pace of "strenuous, sustained" activity. The funny thing is, eventually it became too difficult to maintain and as soon as the running stopped, the weight seemed to creep back up. That became the beginning of "I can't" in modern society.

Fitness professionals are the ground army, if you will, of giving people the “fitness truth.” We fight each and every day people’s misconceptions about fitness and health. While I could write a book on actual “tomato effect” phenomenon towards fitness, one of the most common misconceptions, especially in women, is the idea that doing resistance training will make them look masculine. Also, I talk to men look want to look “cut” but not too big, so they also don’t want to do much resistance training. For both the men and women, I can understand why they believe this. If a person views magazines and sports events on television and in person, they can see men who look completely unnatural and women who have the bodies of men. What the public is finally beginning to realize is that steroids and other enhancement drugs are the reason why these people look the way they do.

I have seen improvements in the general public’s view of resistance training, exercise physiologists, personal trainers, and other health related fields are getting the word out that research proves that hypertrophy does not occur in natural men like people on the “juice,” and women usually achieve very little hypertrophy at all. Also, am helping people in Memphis change their perception of resistance training. I have proved time and time again with client before and after photos that resistance training will not make them look like “Arnuld” unless they really want to achieve that look.

When people implement resistance training (and cardiovascular activity, and supportive eating) into their week in an effective way, these areas will improve:

• Typical aging trends
• The life-shortening effects of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) risks of smoking and excess body fat
• Coronary artery disease
• Hypertension
• Obesity
• Stroke
• Peripheral vascular disease
• Cancer (Colon, Rectum, Stomach, Breast, Prostate, Lung, Pancreas)

• Type 2 diabetes
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Mental Illness

We live in a time where people know that eating better and exercise is good to do on a regular basis. Like Robert Gibbon, my clients and I are taking a bite for all to see that exercise will not kill you. Take a bite of exercise. Iit won't kill ya. You don't have to eat 20 in a row, but a bite will work. For exercise, it should be efficient and effective and definitely not too strenuous.

Take a step and begin working with me through online fitness training. Click here to find out more.

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