■ Americans tend to lean
toward efficiency and
speed to accomplish
life’s livelihoods
By Eric Pfeiffer
Oregon Daily Emerald
Wham, bam, thank you ma’am!
American culture is caught up
in a feeding frenzy of power
lifestyles that has worked its way
into nearly every facet of our lives.
Like the shop-a-holic yuppies of
the 1980s, America is selling and
swelling with a philosophy that
includes power workouts, power
diets and even power relation
ships.
Power workouts are enjoying
the miraculous magic of the mo
ment. As vanity has returned to
vogue, individuals tend to focus
on beef as personal beauty. The
strive for health and a well-bal
anced lifestyle seems to be dissi
pating in the midst of TaeBo and
“Buns of Steel.”
When muscle is built for looks,
and not for health, it’s nothing more
than a narcissistic stroke of the ego.
But what happens when the biceps
turn to blubber? Will a sixty year
old Mr. Universe have the same sex
appeal as an individual who has
maintained a healthy and fit
lifestyle throughout their lives?
One of the largest trends in the
workout industry is the genre of fit
ness videos. In the past decade,
we’ve seen everything from Jazzer
cise to MTV’s “Grind” workout.
On the positive side, workout
videos give those of us pressed for
time a little more flexibility in our
workout schedules. Instead of
spending hours at the gym, you
can just insert the tape and break a
sweat right in your own living
room. One wonders how great
these videos really are, however.
Especially with names like the fe
male workout video “Fat Chance
Belly Dance,” that encourages
women to take an eastern tip to
lifestyles
their fat reduction programs.
Still, when was the last time
you saw a beautifully crafted per
son give kudos to their videocas
sette? Someone other than Billy
Blanks that is.
There’s even a video for aerobic
shopping. God help us.
For more information on the
power workout lifestyle, you can
turn to Web sites, such as power
players.com, that offer tips, links
and incentives for the active indi
vidual.
After you’ve returned from the
gym, or rewound the videocas
sette, you’re probably going to be
hungry for a bite to eat. Power nu
trition is one of the more positive
trends in the surging body move
ment of the past 10 years.
Perhaps the best thing to come
out of this is the shift toward or
ganic and additive-free foods. Lo
cally owned and naturally run,
grocery stores have surged
throughout the 1990s and are be
ginning to take a significant por
tion of the grocery industry.
Once promised as a savior to
end world hunger, genetically en
gineered foods and processed
meals, are falling under a lot more
scrutiny these days. The return of
the organic market is also a wel
come change for farmers who
were losing their business to
spliced animal cells and additives
such as dextrose, Red 40 and
Petrolatum.
Of course, the diet industry is
certainly not immune to fads,
quacks and false promises of
quick weight loss. The most re
cent example of an unhealthy diet
fad is the high-protein diet. This
plan, which places an emphasis
on protein-based foods over car
bohydrates, is just a reincarnation
of the failed Adkin’s diet of the
1970s. Most studies show that this
system only provides short-term
weight loss benefits, and most of
that comes from water being ab
sorbed by the influx of protein.
If you want straight-talk from a
non-profit health organization,
check out heartinfo.org, which
recommends a low-fat diet as the
wiser alternative to fad plans like
the high-protein diet. And, always
remember that any diet plan is rel
ative to the individual’s age, gen
der, height and weight.
Lastly, the trend of power rela
tionships: Superficial dating and
shallow relationships are nothing
new to American culture, but a
disturbing trend of arranged mar
riages is growing in popularity
across the nation. Earlier this year,
we saw a new low in our country’s
culture: “Who Wants to Marry a
Multi-Millionaire?”
Selecting your partners based
on work titles and bank accounts
just doesn’t seem like the best way
to establish meaningful or lasting
commitments.
Then again, a lot of people seem
to like it. And if you’re experienc
ing negative returns in yoursensual
investment, you can always pur
chase the six-CD set “Advice Power
Workout.” After all, Rush Lim
baugh met his wife in an America
Online chat room. Of course, if we
quote Al Franken, Rush Limbaugh
is a “big, fat idiot.”
At any rate, if all this power
lifestyle propaganda gets to be a lit
tle too much for you, direct your
Web browser to poweraffirma
tions.com, where you can receive a
daily feel-good statement, as well
as discounts on audio therapy.
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• A maximum
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• In order to
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• Classes
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at the
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30 punch card $40
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Registration begins Monday, March 27, & a.m.-5 p.m.
CLASSES RUN FROM March 27-June 2, 2000 (10 weeks.) For more information call 6-4113 or drop by 102 Esslinger.
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002965
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