What does Physical Fitness SE actually stand for?

Question

This question has been edited to reflect a wider applicability to the Fitness SE however it has been closed without due consideration to those edits.

The question is in the same vein as the following;

Hot or cold shower after a workout

Given the sheer number of closed questions based on "not being a medical professional" then user should not be advising on the clinical results of submerging the body in cold water.

and

Stress-anxiety stop

Given the sheer number of closed questions based on "not being a medical professional" then user should not be advising on the clinical psychiatry or psychological approaches of dealing with stress.

and

Can you actively prevent or fix flatfoot?

Given the sheer number of closed questions based on "not being a medical professional" then user should not be advising on the speciality of qualified podiatrists and chiropodists.

We could extend this list to essentially incorporate any profession regulated by a register of a professionals or official body including personal training and exercise guidance.

If someone is not a registered Personal Trainer why should the Fitness SE community allow a layman to write a professionally uninformed response but then deny similar responses if they are about pain alleviation, exercise technique or common ailments?

A quick scan of the questions here yields far more closed and off topic flags than any other Stack Exchange site I have been part of.

This is a serious question about what Fitness SE stands for and why it has arbitrarily applied rules.

Physical Fitness is commonly defined as "...a general state of health and well-being and, more specifically, the ability to perform aspects of sports, occupations and daily activities." Occasionally we may add "...without fatigue."

It seems this community simply takes a lucky dip at whether something is in the remit of medical advice or not.

Bouldering more efficiently to prevent injury is off topic but advising on the curing flatfoot is not. A sterling example is

How long does it take lungs to recover after quitting smoking

How can advising someone on the recovery rates of the human respiratory system be on-topic? It's a highly complex study of epidemiologic research.

Answer 1

The question you state was closed, was closed before you edited it by 5 members of the community. If enough people feel that it is worded well enough now to bring it on topic, they can vote as such.

For the other questions you linked in your post:

Showers: Directly related to muscle recovery following workouts, and if one has been proven better than another. Science based, workout and not injury related.

Stress - I agree it is a marginal question. However, instead of receiving close votes, it received upvotes and multiple answers. It also has an appeal and a known side benefit of working out that is also science backed.

Flatfoot - Another marginal question, however it's not asking people to diagnose an unknown. It's asking if there are known exercises to remediate an already known condition. Again, upvoted by the community rather than votes to close.

Lungs - 5 years old, and from when the site was still somewhat debating about scope and what was on topic as a new site. I imagine that you could find several questions from then that would be closed now.

Please note: While I was the last vote needed, 4 other members of the community voted to close before myself. And Meta is not really for saying "My post was closed, how come these aren't". It's for debating scope and policy on the site, which is a much broader question than "Why did the community close this one and not that one?"

I do like your edit, however, I would go a little further in the edit. I would remove any mention of your personal pain, and widen it a bit to appeal to more than one person. Something along the lines of "I am a heavier, new climber and I am looking for exercises and techniques to help avoid forearm pain in extended sessions." You will still probably get suggestions to get with a coach that can watch you, but that would bring it more on topic, and be much more likely to get reopen votes from the community.

Answer 2

Breaking down your cited questions there is a theme among them that your question does not share:

Is it more beneficial to take a hot (warm) shower after a workout or a cold one?

This is a good question because it asks for an authoritative answer on the impact that shower temperatures have on physical fitness. The question format is: Is it beneficial to do Y or Z to help with X? and so isn't perfect (consider that Y and Z have no effect) but its still valid.

Are there workouts to help to calm myself down?

This question was written badly, the question that was answered was "Does exercise have a calming effect, if so, why and what exercise is most suited to calming?" The question itself is valid though because it was posed thus: I think that X causes Y (where X is to do with physical fitness) is this the case?

Is it possible to actively prevent or fix/heal flatfoot by means of exercises (stretching, muscle strengthening etc.)?

Passive prevention or fixing would mean f.x. arch supports / orthopaedic insoles - which is not what I am referring to.

Again, this is a good question as it poses what could be a personal problem in a generic setting. The asker is NOT saying "I have a flat foot, how can I fix this actively" but is instead asking what the effect of exercise can have on anyone with flat foot. The question is posed: Does X exist to solve Y where both X and Y are generic.

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Your question was (originally) posed:

How do I prevent the pain or is it simply a climbers version of ROMS [DOMS?] in the tendons or something?

Am I climbing too much in the hour? Why am I climb in pain?

You gave us a lot of personal information and asked how to prevent a pain that you personally got. You wanted personalised advice on how to fix your problem.

It is of note that you have edited your question to appear more generic but there is still a lot of personal fluff that shouldn't be relevant to the answer.

The form of the question is: I have X issue, how do I stop X happening again? This is a bad question as it does not fulfil: Make it relevant to others

The question is also bad because you have not checked to see if this is a common issue, did you consider it may be a unique case for you because you are doing an high volume of high intensity exercise?

The question asks about fixing/preventing some pain rather than a legitimate medical problem: Athletes Foot/Low Arches/Flatfoot/DOMS/Tennis Elbow/Tendonitis. This question is a great example of how to turn a personal medical question into a good one.

Stack exchange is a community and so we look to answer problems not your problem.

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Footnote: Being rude to mods and/or the entire community is a great way to make sure people have a bad response to your questions. Adopt a open-minded stance while and seeking out constructive criticism.

Be Nice.