Blown Builds Muscle : CR question

[rte.sushil]

John: In several months of going to the Apex Health Club almost every day in the early-morning hours, I have seen almost no one using the weight-training equipment designed to help increase muscle mass. Almost everyone uses only aerobic exercise machines, which are designed to help people burn fat. The Blown company is best known for dietary supplement products aimed at people trying to gain muscle mass, so Blown's plan to advertise just outside of the entrance to Apex Health Club is ill-conceived.

Each of the following, if true, weakens John's argument EXCEPT


A. Most of Apex Health Club's members work in nearby buildings whose exercise rooms contain aerobic exercise machines of higher quality than those at the club.

B. Most members of Apex Health Club are aware that weight training is generally ineffective for individuals who have not consumed a pre-training meal 3 to 4 hours beforehand, while fat-burning exercise is most effective after eight or more hours of fasting.

c. Many members of Apex Health Club who do not train with weights share a household with people who are trying to increase muscle mass.

d. Customers of a nearby store that specializes in weight-training equipment must walk past the entrance of Apex Health Club to enter the store.

e. Blown has recently begun to produce fat-burning products aimed at aerobic exercisers.

Manhattan test series
OA: A

I am not convinced with the answer explanation in : A
here it goes:

If higher-quality aerobic exercise machines are available elsewhere to most members, then one would expect to see a lower proportion of Apex members using aerobic equipment (and a correspondingly higher proportion using some other type of equipment, including weight-training equipment). If anything, then, this statement actually strengthens John's argument.

I understood that most people will work out in nearby buildings. but i dnt know whether they have weight lifting equipments or even if they have what quality of equipements they have.but it doesnt matter. In short , less members go to that club so the plan will be ineffective. Hence A

But" one would expect to see a lower proportion of Apex members using aerobic equipment (and a correspondingly higher proportion using some other type of equipment, including weight-training equipment)" says that low people will use aerobic equipment and many will use high quality equipment . I dnt understand how high proprotion? it can be of weight lifting or it may be possible that those rooms dnt have any weight lifting.
so explanation in A doesnt seem sound especially that bracketed portion.

Your comments.

Thanks!!

[jlucero]

But you are missing one of the biggest premises the argument makes:

"I have seen almost no one using the weight-training equipment designed to help increase muscle mass"

If (A) is true, then, yes, you might expect to find people using weight-training equipment. But if people prefer using the aerobic equipment and they have even better aerobic equipment where they work, maybe these people just aren't into weight-training.

John is saying that Blown's plan to advertise isn't good. Not because it's a better spot to advertise than at the workplace gym (maybe it is, maybe it isn't). But because it's just not a place where people are looking to gain weight.

[AbhijitM752]

I did not select A and my reasoning goes as follows:

If it is true that the people coming to Apex health club have access to better aerobic equipment elsewhere, there is a probability that the people focus more on weight building equipment(may be for people coming after morning hours). If this is the case, then it makes sense that Blown has displayed its advert outside the entrance of the club. Then, it weakens John's argument!
In weaken or strengthen questions, the question stem says "Each of the following, IF TRUE...., so we are allowed to bring new information and we can always look at the stimulus as a suspect!
Please tell me where am I wrong. I was furious with myself when I got this one wrong!

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

In weaken or strengthen questions, the question stem says "Each of the following, IF TRUE...., so we are allowed to bring new information and we can always look at the stimulus as a suspect!

That's right: we need to take an answer choice and imagine that it's true, and see how that effects the situation. However, it's important that we don't forget the information that we've already been told. In the case of A, we might expect people to use the weight machines if they have access to better aerobic machines elsewhere, but in reality they don't. We've already been told that 'I have seen almost no one using the weight-training equipment designed to help increase muscle mass'. This creates a puzzle: why are people using the aerobic machines in Apex when they have access to better machines elsewhere? However this puzzle is not the one that we're most interested in. John's argument is about the advertising by the company Blown.

[DavidH325]

I'm still very confused about this question. Answer choice A also seems to weaken the argument to me.

If we take answer choice A as true and it's assumed that these members prefer to use the aerobic exercise machines in their work buildings and not in the gym, then they are members of the gym for some other reason than using the gym's aerobic exercise machines, such as using the gym's weight training equipment. Also, answer choice A states "most" members and not "all" members. Perhaps in the early morning hours John isn't seeing "most" members who represent the aforementioned group of people. Perhaps he is seeing "some" members who represent a group of people who don't work in buildings that have better aerobic exercise machines, which could explain why John sees them only using the aerobic exercise machines in the gym. It can then be assumed (maybe?) that some of the members who use the aerobic exercise machines in their work buildings do in fact weight train at the gym; it's just that John sees the small minority of people who don't work in buildings with better equipment and coincidentally work out in the early morning hours just like him.

Why is my line of reasoning incorrect? Am I stretching it?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Well done for putting your line of reasoning so clearly. I think you are making a series of small assumptions that are taking you away from the answer. Let me pick things apart.

they are members of the gym for some other reason than using the gym's aerobic exercise machines

Not necessarily. Perhaps the machines in their office buildings are busy, or they prefer to come to a different location, or the quality of the machines doesn't matter to them.

such as using the gym's weight training equipment

There are many other reasons to be members of the gym, such as using the swimming pool, or the sauna, or yoga classes.

Perhaps in the early morning hours John isn't seeing "most" members who represent the aforementioned group of people.

Agreed. That's what answer B plays on.

It can then be assumed (maybe?) that some of the members who use the aerobic exercise machines in their work buildings do in fact weight train at the gym

I agree that this could be the case. Notice how this logic doesn't rely on answer A. One of the weaknesses of the argument is that the author visits the gym only at a certain time. Thinking 'perhaps people come to use the weight-machines later in the day' is good critical thinking, but this logic stands up regardless of the existence of aerobic machines in the members' offices.