Dance Marathon or Rush Hour
December 3rd 2006 14:04
Whatever you want out of exercise can be programmed into your body and achieved in the gym. Get bigger and look more shapely? Its there. Get smaller and more shapely? Its there.
What is not available somewhere on the dumbbell rack or on the stepping machine is know-how. If you don't know how to proceed you will not be able to get what you want. Start orienting your work to a specific body type and you will get what you want. Just go in and "wing it" and you will be disappointed at the results.
You have to tell your body what you want to achieve. It will get the message, however, only by a systematic presentation of your message. How? Lets take a look at athletes who send their body distinct messages and the results they get.
My favorite example athletes are runners, although I couldn't run worth anything under any circumstances. There are varieties of runners, each of which sends his body over and over a distinct message suited for what he wants to achieve. Runners,in fact, range from sprinters who limit themselves to 100 meters to marathoners who run outrageous distances. Between these extremes there are several gradations like 400 meters and 1500 meters. If we just take a look at the bodies of these various runners we learn volumes about how to get what we want from our bodies.
What message do marathoners send their bodies? " We are going to run for hours and we want to be fast at it, of course, but we really can't sacrifice endurance for speed." This message is sent via organized training regimen over and over to the body. What is the result? The marathoner possesses a very slight body with neither excess fat or muscle. Their arms are very tiny and their upper bodies generally bony. If you are saying," I could use some of that", then you have your model. Start training for endurance. If running is out of the question, start working out on cardio machines, adding minutes and pace as you go along. I wouldn't mess with resistance equipment. All that movement will certainly make building muscles unlikely. Put the effort you usually give the weight machines after your cardio to more cardio.I don't want to disillusion you, but unless your are a real endurance freak you will not lose alot of the fat you want to lose. Your body will get rid of those heavy muscles first, if you keep exposing it to running or its proxies. That's the fact, Jack. Endurance gets rid of muscles but keeps fat as an energy source. Unless 20 hours a week of cardio is in your plan, you will have to diet and move alot at the same time.
Look next at sprinters. They want explosive speed for a very short distance. They have bodies the uninitiated could mistake for those of bodybuilders. Their legs, of course, are ultra powerful and thick, but it is their upper bodies that amaze. They are huge with muscle-arms,chest, shoulders. Do you think they lift weights? Probably, but only if it enhances performance.They derive most of that mass as a direct result of their training regimen. They are constantly seeking to go all out for the briefest time. All longer distance runners have to give some attention to endurance. Not sprinters. Its brief and intense to the max. Sprinters have really low body fat too and lung power to spare, I suspect.(Explosive leg exercise builds the entire body? More on that later!
Explosive exercise yields thick muscles. If you would like some of that, then you have to give up one hour sessions of either way too many sets of weight exercises or exercises down with long rest periods between,(or gab sessions on your cell phone). Instead, slam big iron as fast as you can and get on home. Keep hitting it hard with heavy weights in everything you do, limit time between sets, and crawl with exhaustion to the couch after a half hour.You will get bigger muscles and find out why sprinters look like they do. You too will have to diet; short intense exercise can't burn the all the calories that stupid diet loads in you. Your servant, as always.
What is not available somewhere on the dumbbell rack or on the stepping machine is know-how. If you don't know how to proceed you will not be able to get what you want. Start orienting your work to a specific body type and you will get what you want. Just go in and "wing it" and you will be disappointed at the results.
You have to tell your body what you want to achieve. It will get the message, however, only by a systematic presentation of your message. How? Lets take a look at athletes who send their body distinct messages and the results they get.
My favorite example athletes are runners, although I couldn't run worth anything under any circumstances. There are varieties of runners, each of which sends his body over and over a distinct message suited for what he wants to achieve. Runners,in fact, range from sprinters who limit themselves to 100 meters to marathoners who run outrageous distances. Between these extremes there are several gradations like 400 meters and 1500 meters. If we just take a look at the bodies of these various runners we learn volumes about how to get what we want from our bodies.
What message do marathoners send their bodies? " We are going to run for hours and we want to be fast at it, of course, but we really can't sacrifice endurance for speed." This message is sent via organized training regimen over and over to the body. What is the result? The marathoner possesses a very slight body with neither excess fat or muscle. Their arms are very tiny and their upper bodies generally bony. If you are saying," I could use some of that", then you have your model. Start training for endurance. If running is out of the question, start working out on cardio machines, adding minutes and pace as you go along. I wouldn't mess with resistance equipment. All that movement will certainly make building muscles unlikely. Put the effort you usually give the weight machines after your cardio to more cardio.I don't want to disillusion you, but unless your are a real endurance freak you will not lose alot of the fat you want to lose. Your body will get rid of those heavy muscles first, if you keep exposing it to running or its proxies. That's the fact, Jack. Endurance gets rid of muscles but keeps fat as an energy source. Unless 20 hours a week of cardio is in your plan, you will have to diet and move alot at the same time.
Look next at sprinters. They want explosive speed for a very short distance. They have bodies the uninitiated could mistake for those of bodybuilders. Their legs, of course, are ultra powerful and thick, but it is their upper bodies that amaze. They are huge with muscle-arms,chest, shoulders. Do you think they lift weights? Probably, but only if it enhances performance.They derive most of that mass as a direct result of their training regimen. They are constantly seeking to go all out for the briefest time. All longer distance runners have to give some attention to endurance. Not sprinters. Its brief and intense to the max. Sprinters have really low body fat too and lung power to spare, I suspect.(Explosive leg exercise builds the entire body? More on that later!
Explosive exercise yields thick muscles. If you would like some of that, then you have to give up one hour sessions of either way too many sets of weight exercises or exercises down with long rest periods between,(or gab sessions on your cell phone). Instead, slam big iron as fast as you can and get on home. Keep hitting it hard with heavy weights in everything you do, limit time between sets, and crawl with exhaustion to the couch after a half hour.You will get bigger muscles and find out why sprinters look like they do. You too will have to diet; short intense exercise can't burn the all the calories that stupid diet loads in you. Your servant, as always.
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Comment by Anonymous
On the topic of runners, you're absolutely right. As a sprinter, I push myself to the max on every part of my workout, from sprinting to lifting to getting my steps right. Fast muscles, whether for running or other needs, are largely influenced by the speed and ferocity with which you practice, as well as the amount of practice you put in, including the weekends. The same is true with long distance runners; while they may not exhibit the same amount of "ferocity" as sprinters, they push themselves dayly to get that extra mile so that they can strengthen their endurance. Its nice to see that somebody views runners as muscle builders. Keep up the good work!