Another good article today! This one from the N.Y. Times:
http://news.yahoo.com/pumping-iron-prevent-dementia-204624299--abc-news-health.html
The article talks around the cardiovascular benefit to the aerobic group and glosses right over the "balance and tone" group. I say, why not have a variety of all of them?
But it's good to see research starting to point out that resistance training is important even into our 80's.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Article link: Taking fitness plateaus from failure to feedback
Just ran across this-it's a pretty good read, isn't hyping the supplement or the workout device (i.e. junk) of the day, and quickly talks about variety and cycling workout types and structure. Let me know what you think in the comments!
Taking fitness plateaus from failure to feedback
Taking fitness plateaus from failure to feedback
Friday, April 20, 2012
Another "tabata" today
Currently away from my usual gyms, so throwing a few tabata's at my body to keep some work going. I think I will do tabata squats but need to settle on a number. 8-10 may be too few (although 80 total) but I also don't want to be so sore that by Monday I can't get back in a squat rack. 15x8 would be 120....
What I don't need to do is go to a Crossfit website or youtube and feed the competitive juices!
Update: Finally did this yesterday, did 10 per "tabata" (is that even right?) for 80 total plus a few warming up. Feeling it (and the window seat on a 4+ hour flight) today!
What I don't need to do is go to a Crossfit website or youtube and feed the competitive juices!
Update: Finally did this yesterday, did 10 per "tabata" (is that even right?) for 80 total plus a few warming up. Feeling it (and the window seat on a 4+ hour flight) today!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Tabata push-ups for 4 minutes-fun fun fun
I haven't done a 4 minute tabata workout of any type in a while. Since reading and writing about it earlier this week and not having as easy access to a weight room this trip, I decided to knock out a quick 4 minute push-up workout. Before you get any wrong ideas, I only did 8 push-ups per interval, so it wasn't that many total.
I remembered the cardio-vascular aspect from earlier Tabata workouts but not fully. Wow, can just a few exercises done quickly get the heart AND the muscles going! 5 minutes of work (counting a few warm up push-ups definitely has me awake now.
Have a great day, whatever your workout is-even an important rest day!
I remembered the cardio-vascular aspect from earlier Tabata workouts but not fully. Wow, can just a few exercises done quickly get the heart AND the muscles going! 5 minutes of work (counting a few warm up push-ups definitely has me awake now.
Have a great day, whatever your workout is-even an important rest day!
Monday, April 16, 2012
You say "tabata", I say "tabata" too
Here's a fun and effective workout with high intensity and some variants that could keep you interested for a long time without the usual 1 set of 12 on each machine, three circuits boredom, or overly complicated and too much work split body part workouts: TABATA's!
Invented by a Japanese doctor (you guessed it, Dr. Tabata) you do an exercise for 20 seconds and then rest 10 seconds. Here's where all the variety comes in. You can do a full body circuit, moving from upper body to lower body to abs to the back then the chest until you have enough, you can do sets (one easy way is 8 rounds-4 minutes, which starts feeling like eternity!), or you can just throw in one tabata after a workout. This is really effective when you have to get ready for a physical fitness test (say the Navy's) and you need to focus on a certain exercise. A number of us have used this to max the push-ups and curl-ups on the Navy PRT, and I'm confident it would work on just about any exercise. When doing multiple sets of the same exercise, the goal is to start with a number that is easy the first set but hold that number all the way to set 8! Yeah, have fun!
Tabata timers are available all over the net, or just use your watch.
And thanks to Sandra over at Sandradoeslife on wordpress for reminding me how great these are.
Invented by a Japanese doctor (you guessed it, Dr. Tabata) you do an exercise for 20 seconds and then rest 10 seconds. Here's where all the variety comes in. You can do a full body circuit, moving from upper body to lower body to abs to the back then the chest until you have enough, you can do sets (one easy way is 8 rounds-4 minutes, which starts feeling like eternity!), or you can just throw in one tabata after a workout. This is really effective when you have to get ready for a physical fitness test (say the Navy's) and you need to focus on a certain exercise. A number of us have used this to max the push-ups and curl-ups on the Navy PRT, and I'm confident it would work on just about any exercise. When doing multiple sets of the same exercise, the goal is to start with a number that is easy the first set but hold that number all the way to set 8! Yeah, have fun!
Tabata timers are available all over the net, or just use your watch.
And thanks to Sandra over at Sandradoeslife on wordpress for reminding me how great these are.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Finally-Part 4 of a well "balanced" workout plan!
How many of you liked to roller skate, skateboard and ride bicycles (even unicycles!) as a kid? How about walk along the curb, the top of a retaining wall, or maybe stand on tree branches high above the ground? How about now? Do you ever find yourself walking along the sidewalk, and actually walk right on the curb? Did you roller blade with your kids, or sit or stand nearby, safely but boringly on both feet?
One of the major causes of injuries as we age are simple falls caused by losing our balance. While sometimes these are unavoidable, researchers found that these falls occur more often because people stop "working" on their balance as they "grow up". But did any of us work on our balance as kids, or did we just do activities that made us better at balancing our body? My church had a long retaining wall that ran alongside a large playing field-at the time it was probably a couple of hundred feet long. While part of it was really high (maybe 10-12 feet) at the street end it was only about two feet high. Progressing down the wall from first holding your parent's hand, to walking most of it, to standing atop the tallest part was a rite of passage for many of the youth of the church. While the Elders never joined us up on the wall, some of them probably had walked it in their day, and had grandsons (and some granddaughters) "working" on their balance up on it.
While that wall is long gone, the point is we need to incorporate activities that make us balance our bodies, working both the muscles that help us keep our balance, but also the automatic nervous system feedback loops. To be honest, this can be as easy as shifting our weight while standing, just to get a feel for feeling our position in space again. Progressing to standing on one foot is low impact, and then the sky is the limit. I have friends in their 40s that still walk on their hands and do one handed hand stands! You don't have to go that far, but I mention it to say what is possible.
Thanks for your patience for me to get this fourth installmant posted.
One of the major causes of injuries as we age are simple falls caused by losing our balance. While sometimes these are unavoidable, researchers found that these falls occur more often because people stop "working" on their balance as they "grow up". But did any of us work on our balance as kids, or did we just do activities that made us better at balancing our body? My church had a long retaining wall that ran alongside a large playing field-at the time it was probably a couple of hundred feet long. While part of it was really high (maybe 10-12 feet) at the street end it was only about two feet high. Progressing down the wall from first holding your parent's hand, to walking most of it, to standing atop the tallest part was a rite of passage for many of the youth of the church. While the Elders never joined us up on the wall, some of them probably had walked it in their day, and had grandsons (and some granddaughters) "working" on their balance up on it.
While that wall is long gone, the point is we need to incorporate activities that make us balance our bodies, working both the muscles that help us keep our balance, but also the automatic nervous system feedback loops. To be honest, this can be as easy as shifting our weight while standing, just to get a feel for feeling our position in space again. Progressing to standing on one foot is low impact, and then the sky is the limit. I have friends in their 40s that still walk on their hands and do one handed hand stands! You don't have to go that far, but I mention it to say what is possible.
Thanks for your patience for me to get this fourth installmant posted.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Time for a check-up/Max lifts day
At the end of January, I started the Stronglifts 5x5 lifting program. I have used this basic but solid program two other times, including last year. About September I used work travel as an excuse, and ended up "taking four months off"! In order to "practice what I preach" I realized I had to get back in the gym. After a few "fun" workouts (one that left me sore for over a week, but that's another story) I started the SL 5x5 program 10 weeks ago. Mehdi has you start with just the bar so you master form first-a very good practice. You add weight every workout, so it gets tougher but you also see results.
Well, today I did my 10 week benchmark testing. While my numbers aren't huge and today was only a check-up on my way to a larger goal, I'm pleased to report I am already within 10% of where I was in September, and that was over two rotations of the log sheet/training plan I use. My squat and deadlift were ahead of where I wanted them to be by now, and my bench press was relatively easy for the target weight.
So in closing, remember what our goals have to be: Measurable challenging and with a commitment, so here is mine: Do a 1000 total pound powerlifting series (squat, bench press and deadlift) by December 31st, 2012. Today I was just below 700 pounds, so I still have some work to do but I'm on my way!
Well, today I did my 10 week benchmark testing. While my numbers aren't huge and today was only a check-up on my way to a larger goal, I'm pleased to report I am already within 10% of where I was in September, and that was over two rotations of the log sheet/training plan I use. My squat and deadlift were ahead of where I wanted them to be by now, and my bench press was relatively easy for the target weight.
So in closing, remember what our goals have to be: Measurable challenging and with a commitment, so here is mine: Do a 1000 total pound powerlifting series (squat, bench press and deadlift) by December 31st, 2012. Today I was just below 700 pounds, so I still have some work to do but I'm on my way!
STtrreeettcchH ah feels so much better!
OK, long enough delay on talking briefly about our third component, stretching and flexibility. This component, while often seen as a warm-up or cool down, is just as important as strength and cardio-vascular training. Stretching helps maintain the range of motion of our limbs, helps our circulation, and just plain makes us feel better. While age and injuries can impact our flexibility, consistent stretching can restore much of this range of motion.
So how much stretching and when should we do it? Well, like anything, you can overdo stretching, both by doing too much too soon, and by forcing your body past its current limits and tearing or straining something. Stretching is best done after you are sufficiently warmed up by easy activity, and haven't been in one position too long-like just waking up, sitting at a desk or driving too long. Sitting at a desk is a whole topic to itself, but if you find yourself sitting most the day and night, you definitely need to stretch! Light activity such as walking, a few deep knee bends (remember those?) and working the joints you will stretch in one plane of motion at a time without a load all help. Then a few basic stretches held for a few easy breaths each really work wonders. Bob Anderson's "Stretching" is probably the all time classic (Disclosure: I am now an Amazon Affiliate and the link at the bottom helps, but you can find the book all kinds of places!). I also found the stretches I learned from yoga tapes and classes and my Tae Kwon Do classes all help my flexibility. Ironically, a Navy physical health assessment showed me I was losing flexibility in my 30s, so I worked at it and when I retired I had too good a range of motion-something like 99 percentile despite neck and shoulder injuries over the years....not that I'm complaining!
Remember, easy does it with stretching-find a few ones that work your problem area and build up to daily stretching and you will soon feel and notice the difference!
So how much stretching and when should we do it? Well, like anything, you can overdo stretching, both by doing too much too soon, and by forcing your body past its current limits and tearing or straining something. Stretching is best done after you are sufficiently warmed up by easy activity, and haven't been in one position too long-like just waking up, sitting at a desk or driving too long. Sitting at a desk is a whole topic to itself, but if you find yourself sitting most the day and night, you definitely need to stretch! Light activity such as walking, a few deep knee bends (remember those?) and working the joints you will stretch in one plane of motion at a time without a load all help. Then a few basic stretches held for a few easy breaths each really work wonders. Bob Anderson's "Stretching" is probably the all time classic (Disclosure: I am now an Amazon Affiliate and the link at the bottom helps, but you can find the book all kinds of places!). I also found the stretches I learned from yoga tapes and classes and my Tae Kwon Do classes all help my flexibility. Ironically, a Navy physical health assessment showed me I was losing flexibility in my 30s, so I worked at it and when I retired I had too good a range of motion-something like 99 percentile despite neck and shoulder injuries over the years....not that I'm complaining!
Remember, easy does it with stretching-find a few ones that work your problem area and build up to daily stretching and you will soon feel and notice the difference!
We interrupt this blog....
I will post part 3, stretching of the four components of a well-rounded (hey, can't keep saying "balance" until that post!) workout plan to give a link to my FB friend Sandra's blog. She put up a great post on her recent visit to her dietician that really makes some great points, so here's a link to it: http://sandradoeslife.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/the-dietitian-and-the-magic-weight-loss-pill/
Sandra, thanks for letting me link to your blog, and it's great to see your motivation to make some real changes in your life! Really good stuff, and it's going to be awesome seeing you get fit and healthy!
I'll be back later to talk stretching and flexibility. Have a great day and a great workout!
Sandra, thanks for letting me link to your blog, and it's great to see your motivation to make some real changes in your life! Really good stuff, and it's going to be awesome seeing you get fit and healthy!
I'll be back later to talk stretching and flexibility. Have a great day and a great workout!
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Cardio training-component number two
Today’s topic is the second component of a complete fitness plan: CARDIO. Cardio is training that makes your heart more efficient. Since the heart is a muscle it can be conditioned and strengthened, making us healthier and creating a reserve before we get “winded”. Cardio training also helps in our breathing rhythm, can help your sleep, and has a side benefit of assisting in building muscular endurance.
There are many ways to get your cardio training, and many we don’t even call “exercise”! Depending on the intensity level, some house work/yard work, dancing, skating and other activities can have a cardio-vascular benefit (there, I said it!). So let’s talk about intensity. There are many formulas and calculators out there, including some like laboratory VO2 Max testing that get very complex. The most basic is that cardio work is generally done above 60% of your max heart rate over time-not just a minute or two. To figure our max heart rate, the rule of thumb is to subtract your age from 220. You then multiply this number by .6 to get a heart rate you should try to achieve to get basic cardio fitness. You then take your pulse either on your wrist or neck or you can buy an inexpensive heart rate monitor. (Shameless plug here-follow the links to Performance and Bike Nashbar to check some out!)
The other easy check for basic cardio training is the “talk test”. If you can carry on a conversation in short sentences you are at about the right level. You shouldn’t be gasping for air, but you also shouldn’t be able to read this post out loud non-stop!
This is basic low-intensity training. To benefit from any cardio training, you have to perform it 3-4 times a week, but the good news is you start seeing gains in 10-14 days in most cases, especially when starting out. Any activity counts toward that 3-4 times a week when done at enough intensity and long enough, so you don’t have to do just one sport or activity. That said, finding an activity you enjoy and can commit to really pays off. My Mom for example walked with friends to control her high blood pressure-for over 20 years! She successfully kept it in check and maintains a vibrant productive life. If you are just starting out, build up slowly-as we train our heart and lungs, we also have to make sure our joints and muscles can handle the new activity. After a long break from running, I started run/walking just a mile (humility training as well!) but within about 9 months was able to complete a half-marathon.
Later I will discuss specific types of training, like intervals, event training (say you are targeting a 5K/10K or century bike ride), and mixing cardio with muscular endurance training.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
A fun exercise with exercise, and a big sale from Performance Bicycles
I'll post info on cardio, stretching and balance work later this week and this weekend, but wanted to share something I remembered that is fun to do with your weightlifting before moving on. Hopefully you keep some kind of log of your workouts, anything from a notebook, a spreadsheet, online or now one of the many apps that help track your progress. Whether you are lifting for maximal strength or muscular endurance a fun thing to do is add up the total weight lifted and compare it to everyday objects. Say you are working on muscular endurance today and do "thrusters" with just the bar. Quite humbled compared to folks who didn't scale the workout, you decide to total up your lifting anyway. Say the WOD included 10 thrusters as part of 5 rounds. Well, just by lifting the bar, you lifted over ONE TON! Depending on how much you lift, think in terms of cars, trucks, planes, your house.....ok, if you lift enough in a workout to say you lifted your house, maybe I need to read your blog!
OK, on to the big sale, and how you can help me out. Notice the text Performance ad over there---> While it highlights a jersey sale, other items are on sale, and if you need bicycle accessories, parts or even a new bike, click on the link and you will go to the Performance website. In the name of full disclosure, I get a commission for sales through blog, and am donating half of my commissions between now and May 5th to CMA's Run for the Son. Performance is running a bonus promotion, so your purchases may actually help twice! Thanks, and have good workouts!
OK, on to the big sale, and how you can help me out. Notice the text Performance ad over there---> While it highlights a jersey sale, other items are on sale, and if you need bicycle accessories, parts or even a new bike, click on the link and you will go to the Performance website. In the name of full disclosure, I get a commission for sales through blog, and am donating half of my commissions between now and May 5th to CMA's Run for the Son. Performance is running a bonus promotion, so your purchases may actually help twice! Thanks, and have good workouts!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Strength Training-component 1 of 4
Let's start breaking down each of the four components of a balanced fitness plan with strength training. All four are important, and there is no real reason I started here. Unless you have a specific goal/target, each is important and yields benefits towards wellness and health.
Strength training benefits us both in our daily activities and long-term, but unfortunately has gotten a bad wrap. For fear of become "muscle bound" or "bulky", many people either don't lift weights, or lift such small amounts there is little benefit. The benefits from lifting weights only accrues when enough weight is lifted enough times to challenge our muscles and make them grow. They will grow, but the huge muscles you see on bodybuilders (of both sexes) and professional wrestlers generally come from steroids use to support the heavy training they do. Most of us won't reach anywhere near that size-there is a genetic cap on how much muscle humans can carry without medical supplementation. Strength training also benefits our bone density-important as we get older, and we all do!
Strength training has two outcomes, which are slightly contradictory but can be achieved with thoughtful planning. Pure muscular strength and muscular endurance can both be built, but by different types of workouts. Unfortunately, the "3 sets of 12 on each machine" workout really doesn't do either while trying to do both. Muscular strength is built, well, quite simply, by "picking heavy stuff up, making it heavier and picking it up again". That is way oversimplified, but true. The idea is to lift ever heavier weights in low reps (usually no more than 3-5, sometimes heavy singles) focusing on good form. The advantage is fairly rapid strength gains can be made by the novice, and consistent gains by the more expereinced lifter. Some plans include Stronglifts 5x5, Smolov, the Texas Method, or comment and I can point you at some.
The other type of strength workout is for muscular endurance. Here, our goal is not to lift a maximum amount, but to lift a certain amount repeatedly for a long time. Instead of building raw one rep maximal power, these workouts focus on functional strength over longer time perios. This is very beneficial for military and law enforcement personnel, and first responders. These workouts have recently been popularized by Crossfit, TRX and P90X but have been around as long as military boot camps with recruits getting "mashed" or "slain" and then running an obstacle course have existed. Anything from body weight (via calisthenics) to light weights to unique objects (Kettlebells, medicine balls, sand bags) are used in fairly fast-paced workouts with reps many of us don't want to count!
One word of caution: "Scaling" is no joke in both pure muscular strength training and muscular endurance training! First, starting lighter than you think you can lift allows you to build good form, achieve postive reinforcement/motivation, and also minimize soreness. Secondly, there will always be someone stronger than you, and trying to keep up too soon leads to extreme soreness all the time, and often injury, which instead of helping our fitness, ends up hurting it.
Tomorrow I have a SL 5x5 workout on top of lots of physical work this week, so I guess I'm mixing both. I look forward to reading your comments on what works for you.
Strength training benefits us both in our daily activities and long-term, but unfortunately has gotten a bad wrap. For fear of become "muscle bound" or "bulky", many people either don't lift weights, or lift such small amounts there is little benefit. The benefits from lifting weights only accrues when enough weight is lifted enough times to challenge our muscles and make them grow. They will grow, but the huge muscles you see on bodybuilders (of both sexes) and professional wrestlers generally come from steroids use to support the heavy training they do. Most of us won't reach anywhere near that size-there is a genetic cap on how much muscle humans can carry without medical supplementation. Strength training also benefits our bone density-important as we get older, and we all do!
Strength training has two outcomes, which are slightly contradictory but can be achieved with thoughtful planning. Pure muscular strength and muscular endurance can both be built, but by different types of workouts. Unfortunately, the "3 sets of 12 on each machine" workout really doesn't do either while trying to do both. Muscular strength is built, well, quite simply, by "picking heavy stuff up, making it heavier and picking it up again". That is way oversimplified, but true. The idea is to lift ever heavier weights in low reps (usually no more than 3-5, sometimes heavy singles) focusing on good form. The advantage is fairly rapid strength gains can be made by the novice, and consistent gains by the more expereinced lifter. Some plans include Stronglifts 5x5, Smolov, the Texas Method, or comment and I can point you at some.
The other type of strength workout is for muscular endurance. Here, our goal is not to lift a maximum amount, but to lift a certain amount repeatedly for a long time. Instead of building raw one rep maximal power, these workouts focus on functional strength over longer time perios. This is very beneficial for military and law enforcement personnel, and first responders. These workouts have recently been popularized by Crossfit, TRX and P90X but have been around as long as military boot camps with recruits getting "mashed" or "slain" and then running an obstacle course have existed. Anything from body weight (via calisthenics) to light weights to unique objects (Kettlebells, medicine balls, sand bags) are used in fairly fast-paced workouts with reps many of us don't want to count!
One word of caution: "Scaling" is no joke in both pure muscular strength training and muscular endurance training! First, starting lighter than you think you can lift allows you to build good form, achieve postive reinforcement/motivation, and also minimize soreness. Secondly, there will always be someone stronger than you, and trying to keep up too soon leads to extreme soreness all the time, and often injury, which instead of helping our fitness, ends up hurting it.
Tomorrow I have a SL 5x5 workout on top of lots of physical work this week, so I guess I'm mixing both. I look forward to reading your comments on what works for you.
Monday, April 2, 2012
The Four Components of Fitness and Health
Do you know there are four types of work-outs to ensure you are fit and healthy? Most people think there are two, a few think there are three, but there are actually four. And no, this isn't "diet and exercise", this is the exercise part of that equation. You probably are already thinking of the first two, getting close on the third, but maybe are stumped, so here goes!
First, the two that most everyone is screaming in their head: Strength training and cardio. Those are the old stand-by's and most programs are based on one or the other, or sometimes both. The third type is actually lumped in with your "warm-up" and occasionally a cool down (Got it now? Good). Yes, stretching and flexibility work is actually an important third component, and isn't just part of the other two.
The fourth component of a balanced and effective workout plan, that will help you lead a well-balanced life with balance in all your activities is BALANCE! As we age, we stop doing all those fun things we did as kids that helped us work on balance and body control-riding bicycles, skating/skateboards, walking on narrow curbs/walls etc., climbing, handstands. We don't keep track of subtle changes in our body, or in our ability to closely control it due to modern life. We all hear the stories of falls and spills that result in broken bones, and often these never heal, becoming chronic, life altering injuries.
So there are the four components of a well structured and balanced workout plan. I know my current plan is short on cardio, and a little short on balance work. I'll address each of the four with some ideas and tips over the next few days.
Created fitness, my friends!
First, the two that most everyone is screaming in their head: Strength training and cardio. Those are the old stand-by's and most programs are based on one or the other, or sometimes both. The third type is actually lumped in with your "warm-up" and occasionally a cool down (Got it now? Good). Yes, stretching and flexibility work is actually an important third component, and isn't just part of the other two.
The fourth component of a balanced and effective workout plan, that will help you lead a well-balanced life with balance in all your activities is BALANCE! As we age, we stop doing all those fun things we did as kids that helped us work on balance and body control-riding bicycles, skating/skateboards, walking on narrow curbs/walls etc., climbing, handstands. We don't keep track of subtle changes in our body, or in our ability to closely control it due to modern life. We all hear the stories of falls and spills that result in broken bones, and often these never heal, becoming chronic, life altering injuries.
So there are the four components of a well structured and balanced workout plan. I know my current plan is short on cardio, and a little short on balance work. I'll address each of the four with some ideas and tips over the next few days.
Created fitness, my friends!
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