Strength training



"Matt F." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >Firstly, kudos to Peabody for some excellent advice here.
>
> <snip>
>
> And kudos to you for even more great direction! I'll look into ankle
> stretches as well as the other points you mentioned. Your comments on
> abduction absolutely make sense to me, so I'll put that aspect of my
> routine to the background for now. Do you think in a 3x/week lifting
> workout routine, it would be wise to work the legs each of those days?
> If I'm taking a day off in between, that is? I don't want to "overdue"
> it, but I would imagine that by taking a day to recover from lifting
> (albeit whilst swimming that day), my legs should be able to handle
> this regimen.
>
> Thanks,
>
> M.
>

We only lift three times per week, generally between 50% and 75% of a
submaximally tested 1-RM. They have 8-10 exercises, covering the whole body.
I haven't found this to be a problem. I would venture to suggest that the
alternating method is key when you're lifting every day, or multiple
sessions per day. The only accounting i use is that I work my dryland around
my pool time. If you're over-doing it, you'll soon know about it. As long as
you can maintain a reasonable level of intensity and comfort, you're good to
go. Knowing the difference between 'good tired' and 'bad tired', and 'good
pain' and 'bad pain' is a murky prospect, however being that in-tune with
your body is a great barometer...if you are at stage where you thin kyou
need to ease off, don't simply nix the workout - instead do something
different, but demanding, such as a stretching routine, where stretching is
the focus, not just a supplement.

Steve
 
rtk wrote:
> Women often use the word *toned* (barf). If they only knew how
> difficult it is to enlarge a muscle.
>
> When I was in high school, hanging at the beach during the summer, I
> often kept score for guys playing pinochle. They leered at all the
> lovely, soft, very feminine girls slinking by. Then they would remember
> me sitting there quietly and look at me sheepishly, but say reassuringly
> *but you'll last!* And I did. I am very proud that I can raise my
> skinny arm and - tah dah - produce a truly impressinve bicep bulge. And,
> lemme tellya, Larry, I am learning to use that bicep in your famous new
> pull technique.
>
> rtk
Ruth,
As we have established, you and I are on opposite sides of the
weight/age spectrum. During my weight lifting days, people who had no
reason to flatter me consistently guessed my weight up to 30 pounds less
than it was at that time. I still had the figure of the "soft" girls
you describe above, but times had changed and a skinny, hard body was in
style. I miss lifting, but I think swimming and yoga have to be enough.

Similarly,there are styles in men's bodies--as many women like the
slender triathlete type as like the bulky ones. I find I relate better
to skinny Euro-body smart guys, but also enjoy a bulky hug.
Madelaine
 
There is new medical recognition that strength training is more
important/useful for health than previously believed. In the past, the
main thing about exercise which was felt to be important was
cardiovascular or "aerobic" conditioning. Hence the old advice to get
at least 3 twenty minute heart-rate elevating exercise sessions per
week.

But humans evolved to be active and health demands continuous activity
beyond mere episodic cardiac conditioning.

There has was a 600% increase in the incidence of Type II diabetes
between the early 50s and early 90s and it's continued to increase
since then. Three times a week jogging or swimming may maintain one's
heart, but it's not enough to protect against obesity and diabetes.

Something like 75% of the carbohydrate intake goes to skeletal muscles.
Skeletal muscle usage doesn't demand vigorous exercise spurts as much
as it demands more continuous, low level use. The "restless leg"
syndrome has protective benefits against obesity. General movement
(e.g. "fidgiting") does also. Larger, more toned muscles create more
of a "glucose sink" than do smaller, flabbier ones (this is where
resistance training comes in).

I think a real key to obesity/diabetes management is to go beyond the
idea that the only exercise which is worthwhile is "aerobic" type
(major heart rate elevating type). I think that there is actually more
to be gained from the standpoint of obesity/diabetes to developing an
awareness of when one is without muscle tone and when one is using
muscles as a sink to absorb circulating glucose.

You want your muscles to continually be extracting glucose from the
bloodstream. It's not all that hard. Everytime you talk on the phone,
for example, get up off of your butt. At least stand or, better still,
stand and lift your feet up and down. Lift your knees up and down.
Flex your biceps. Whatever. Rather than sitting down for a whole hour
watching Desperate Housewives, stand up during part of the program.
And move those muscles.

There is no such thing as being too busy to get the amount of exercise
it takes to be healthy.

- Larry W
 
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