NEW YORK, NY, February 10, 2026 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Faux Fitness directly challenges the idea that tough, oxygen-depriving workouts are healthy, claiming instead that training the body to use less oxygen may actually harm rather than help us.

What do your weekend runs, the story of the dead Greek messenger, and the 1980s aerobics boom have in common? E.J. Neiman's Faux Fitness says they share a belief: that challenging, punishing exercise is good for you simply because it's hard.

Faux Fitness: A User's Manual for How Our Bodies Really Work came out this week, arriving at a time when people grapple with burnout, chronic pain, and confusion about fitness. Even with gyms full and gadgets tracking every heartbeat, many feel stiff, sore, tired, or older than they should. Instead of offering another program, Neiman poses a question most in fitness don't consider: Is working out without oxygen truly beneficial?

This question feels deceptively simple. Saying it aloud makes it sound odd: since oxygen is essential to life, why do we celebrate workouts that leave us gasping for air?

This question leads to the book's main claim: the widely accepted belief that demanding, oxygen-depriving cardio and fitness routines are the best way to improve health may be mistaken. Instead, prioritizing workouts that deprive the body of oxygen could actually undermine long-term health. Neiman explores this in depth, inspired by Dr. Thomas Griner's unconventional biomechanics research, which prompted him to reconsider common fitness wisdom.

Neiman's personal journey began with a childhood injury. His search for lasting relief led to questions: Why does pain persist, and why does harder exercise often worsen it?

These questions guide the book, shaping its message to readers.

For example, why are humans alone in intentionally raising their heart rate for long periods or praising pain in the gym, while elsewhere it's a warning? Do we really have to feel our age?

Neiman also asks if grandparents could move as they did when they were young.

Through these questions, Faux Fitness encourages curiosity.

Neiman's book stands out by making a clear claim: health is not improved by tougher, more punishing, oxygen-depriving workouts. Instead of listing routines or diet rules, he asserts, "It's not what you do for exercise, it's how you do it." This shift from force to function, and from punishment to awareness, forms the core of his message.

Readers won't find dense medical terms, just a touch of science, humor, and a conversational tone. Early readers describe it as "finally getting the owner's manual you didn't know you were missing."

But Faux Fitness goes further, covering not just fitness, but topics like food, cholesterol, heart health, chronic pain, and even the difference between feeling good and being well. The simple idea remains constant: what we don't understand still affects us.

Faux Fitness is available at major bookstores, Barnes & Noble, and fauxfitness.com. If you're ready to break away from punishing fitness advice and discover how health can truly feel better, pick up your copy of Faux Fitness today and start your journey to a more energized you.

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