Using It - Friday 31st March

[Ottawa]

Today was 60 Situps and then biking along the canal bike path into work. To make the biking more interesting and more like a workout, I am setting targets to make it more like interval training. There are only two intersections to go through and all the rest is pathways. I am definitely not the fastest biker but would be almost to the middle of the Bell Curve and target bikers a few hundred yards ahead and give it all I've got to pass them and continue on then do it again a few minutes later. Using speed intervals is supposed to multiple the effect of the exercise and keeps it interesting.

There was a recent article on it relating to running and another on biking that said ...

"Our brains turn on the pain before we actually run out of fuel," says Timothy Noakes, M.D., a professor of exercise and sports science at the University of Cape Town. It's a safety measure--the brain tells the body to shut down to protect it from injury.
In short, our brains screw with us. They stop us from getting the most out of our workouts, and from losing that last 10 pounds. Guys like Lance Armstrong and Michael Phelps have figured out how to fool the brain and body into giving more. It's a bit more than "I think I can." But not much. Here's what the experts say.
RUN ANOTHER MILE

Why you stop: You're running low on glycogen, the primary fuel source for your muscles. But it's not the only one. Any body fat you have is available. Your brain knows this, but it's not telling you.
Keep going: Try this trick from Jane Hahn, a senior editor at Runner's World magazine. If a runner is in sight, slowly reel him in. "Imagine there's a magnet attached to him," says Hahn, "and it's pulling you toward him." (Or her. Imagining it's Scarlett Johansson works well.)



SWIM ANOTHER LAP

Why you sink: The burning sensation in your muscles is partly a result of an accumulation of lactic acid, says Shawn Arent, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., an exercise scientist at Rutgers University. You reach a point called your lactate threshold, when your body can't flush it out fast enough and you need to slow down. Any kind of interval training can push your threshold higher, but there's another trick.
Swim farther: "You'll send less lactic acid into your muscles if you're relaxed," says Joel Kirsch, Ph.D., a sports psychologist and director of the American Sports Institute. Removing the tension in your muscles lets your limbs fully extend and your stride--or stroke--lengthen, says Kirsch. "Check your muscles as you move and ask yourself, ?Are my legs moving freely, or am I pushing them?' " If you're pushing, focus on easing the muscles. At your desk, practice tensing the muscles in your arms and legs, then slowly relaxing them. You'll get the hang of controlling your muscles, says Kirsch.

It went on to cover biking and how interval training both on and off the bike can extend your "duty cycle" before running out of gas.

[Mitra]

Interesting stuff, Randy.

I'm resting today, but did some light yoga postures and a few back exercises. My back's been improving through the day, so I don't think the shopping trolley did serious damage.

[Shadow]

Randy - Thanks for that info :D! And way to go on the interval biking - I think you're going to be very pleased with the results :).

Today is a rest day for me.

[hawk]

Randy, Thanks for that info. I am doing some interval training today. I use it every cardio day. It has helped me get to the point where I can run for longer than a minute on the RSD leg. Gradually I know I will be able to go the whole 20 minutes.
Also , the article lets me know that when I am thinking that I am hitting a 10 on the resistance training, that my body is holding out on me and I can actually push it a little harder.I just need to tell my brain to back off and give me more. That is what I do every cardio session with my leg. As soon as I begining to run and my right leg hurts, I start talking to myself and encouraging me that my leg is strong and healthy and feels great .
It's called heart.
At least that's what I call it. The best athletes have heart. They are the ones who can push it up the hill or climb with their last breath.They win.
Randy. you are one of those winners. Everyone who pushes themselves to get up and get moving even when they don't feel like it is developing heart. They will accomplish what they set out to do.

[Ottawa]

In a recent post by Mitra she asked why we exercise. I was not very specific other than losing a bit more weight and some waist.

I should have been more specific and actually entered some target.
Although my LBM has increased over teh past few months my pant still fit the same although my wife notices the change in my face and neck.

There are two areas I would like to target. Abs/waist and inner thighs. WIth longer days I hope that it just gradually starts to melt with increased effort. The situps/crunches have added muscle tone and teh appearance of less gut but it still meassures the same and I've been an inch away from moving to the next pant size for several months.

I want to lose that inch and 10 lbs. this year. Hawk, your incredible results with strenght traing after a long stall showed me that there is light at the end of that "stall tunnel".

For those interested there is a daily mailout from Men's Health that often has a great article referenced although it is done partially to push the book the ABs Diet. I picked it up at Costco and it is a good read and close to low carb although the author actually condems low carb and many others, yet his choices all fall into any PP'ers shopping list except a few higher carb fruits and the meats are leaner cuts.
The articles although definitely written for men are generic in the wisdom dospensed and there may be a similar site for Women's Health which is a great magazine as well coverniing fitness, style, etc., aimed at health and increased muscle mass.

There are many articles on improvements to cardio by using interval training.
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=weight.loss&category=abs.diet&conitem=ca718c37f2728010VgnVCM200000cee793cd____

[hawk]

Thanks Randy. I was doing cardio and light weights before this year. This year I got the body for life program. Although I do not believe in the food program, The resistance training at least has a program I could follow step by step. It is not the same but similar to Gabes where you change the weight of the weights with each set. Gabe starts out with a heavy set, I start out with a lighter set and more reps(12) and then do less and less reps (10,8,6,) as I add weights in about 5 pound increments. The last set I go back to my original starting weight or the second one and do 12 reps. I have a minute between sets. After the last set of 12 I immediatly move to another excersize that uses the same muscle and do a set of twelve with no rest . The burn gets incredible. I have gotten results.
I have printed Gabes method and switch off onto that now and then for a change of pace and so my body can try something new.
For your inner thighs, try squeezing an excersize ball or any ball and holding it( but not your breath ) doing sets of 12 - 15. I am so strong from doing that and an adductor and abductor machine that I could probably break someones ribs by squeezing them. It's really helpful for horseback riding. You can do that while you are on the computer or watching tv.

I had a theraputic massage on my RSD leg and when she got to the inner thigh, the woman doing the massage said.. "What the heck do you do to get this large of a muscle and become so firm on your inner thigh? "answer work out 45 minutes 3 times a week and do cardio for at least 40 minutes the other days. In the summer I bike ride. in the winter I bike on a excercycle. It is gettin nice enough to be able to use my 15 foot trampoline outside. That will slim down the hips and firm the thighs faster than anything I know of. It also builds your cardio. I don't know how kids can jump in them for hours. great investment for $150.00 .

[ShayKNJ]

Hawk I was doing my strength training similar to yours, one set (20 reps)lighter resistance, next set (10-12) higher resistance then my last set (5-6) at the highest resistance.

I emailed Fred (author of Slow-burn) to get his opinion of my method and his response was I was wasting my time doing the first two sets. Do one set at the highest resistance to exhaustion for no longer than 90 seconds. I was tearing into the muscles more than I should by doing all those unnecessary reps. He said my total body workout would only be 20 minutes instead of the 40 it was taking me. He said to do this twice a week and the benefits are when the muscles are recovering.

I started doing this last week. I just feel like I am not doing enough.

[Ottawa]

In my sculpting class we do heaviest (Pyramid style she calls it) first and switch to light only at the start of "failure". There is a small 20 second aerobics or loosening up between sets snd then back at it or a related set.

[hawk]

I think you have to experiment with what works for your body. Some people have fast twitch muscles and some have slow twitch muscle fiber.
The slow twitch can do alot of duration sports,such as long distance running. Fast twitch are the sprinters. One way to tell is to see how far the bicep is from your elbow. I can only put two fingers between the inside of my elbow and my bicep. I am definately fast twitch.
If you can put three or more fingers between the inside of you elbow and your bicep, then you have slow twitch muscle fibers, THey have more endurance enzymes,mytochondria..aerobic energy sources.
Fast twitch have high force,short duration,more glycolitic (sp) enzymes. 50 % more than slow twitch.
Because of this , I am very muscular and build muscles easily. I need to do more reps and more aerobic type of activity to try and train my muscles to have more endurance. They bulk up in a very short amount of time.
My opinion, which is not expert in the least, is that everyone is different and what works for some will not work as well for others. I have very large calves and large quads. I was a very good sprinter when I was younger. I also was the wide reciever on a girls football team.I, really tried to to be a long distance runner. My coach told me I could train all day but would not change my body . I was not a bird person. I was built for bursts of speed and would always struggle with long distance. I could throw a shotput really well too.
You can train your muscles to be different, but it aint easy.

[Mitra]

I don't think I have either :rolleyes: - I was no good at long or short distance running, and when I looked just now, had trouble finding my bicep, let alone deciding how many fingers away from my elbow it was :confused:. The closest I come to "bulking up" is actually having any visible muscle at all ;). I suppose that makes it easy to find an exercise that will improve things :D.

[hawk]

Anything you do is an improvement. You will be amazed what a small amount of consistant excersize will do. The returns are tremendous. Our bodies were made to serve us well. We don't use them nearly enough. How many times do you carry things over your head or craw under something, climb something, or pull something? We were made to do that. When we don't, we lose the ability and our body actually begins to break down when it doesn't move like it should. Moving is healing. I can attest to that.
Mitra, you crack me up. I can't imagine.Totally relaxed my bicep shows.
I have a freind who was visiting me and I asked her if she could grab one end of my couch and move it a foot or so with me. She could not lift it at all. I was shocked. I could not imagine not being able to do what I want to, or need to do. I take it too much for granted. Or maybe not. I work at it. I like being able to move the refridgerator to clean under it or a full wheel barrow of stone in a large wheel barrow to landscape. I would go crazy and so would my husband if I had to ask him constantly to do the things I want done.My husband is the bird person with the slow twitch muscle. When we run, he runs circles around me literally as I run so he doesn't get ahead of me. His arms are lean and long and the bicep is a hard ball about 5 inches away from his elbow. His legs are long and thin and look like they are made of steel sinew. He hates them because he says they look like chicken legs. They are hard as rock though. The muscles are long and lean . He teases me when he leans on my shoulder that he is fluffing up a shoulder to get comfortable because when they relaxed they have alot of muscle covering the top of shoulder . His are thin and you can see the shoulder bones. If he wants to build his muscles, he has to lift heavy weights with little reps.My calves are 16 inches, I do alot of reps with smaller weights to tone. I don't think he could ever get his to be that big unless he really piled on the weight with few reps. His calves are 14 inches and he is 6 feet tall. Even then I wonder if they would do it. It is a matter of genetics and training .

[Mitra]

I find it frustrating not to be able to move heavy things - I have the muscle strength to do more than my back can take. It's another one of those things that depends on body-type, I think. The same set of hormones that gives me a curvy shape also makes the pelvic connective tissues soft - and my muscles get very soft if I don't work them all the time. The work doesn't ever seem to make them bigger (maybe it would if I did more), but without it I lose muscle tone quickly. But as far as my back goes, the weakness isn't muscular, and strong muscles can only go so far to compensate for the over-stretchy ligaments.

It's interesting to hear your thoughts on different training for different body-types.