100 and Counting
April 4th 2007 12:27
My 100th post came and went a couple of weeks ago and it is time for a review. Here are a number of propositions that I have been making over the months. If you are new to the site and would like to read more about these proposi
tions just click on the archive and take a look.
This is a site about fitness and the best form of exercise to achieve and maintain fitness is weight training. Running and aerobics are useful, but over a period of decades there is nothing better for the human body than resistance training. I have done intense cardio in the past-bicycling- and I have great respect for the discipline involved in aerobic exercise. However, I think weights offer more to more people. If you are out of shape and low on self-esteem thereby, I think your local gym can offer you a better way out than the track.
This is site about fitness and the fact is that there is nothing that can compensate for poor eating habits. Actually, if you are training for the Tour of Spain in September, you can probably eat whatever you want. If you are a normal mortal, you are going to sacrifice your fitness efforts on the altar of junk food, unless your discipline extends to eating habits. Of all the realities of modern life this is the hardest to accept, isn't it?
Weight training is not a very intuitive activity. By that I mean that it takes a higher level of know-how to succeed in the gym than I would prefer. There are a myriad of questions that people who want to lift weights have. "How many, when, how often, in what order..." a hale storm of questions. That is why weight training is a much more communal activity than it might seem. You can do yourself a favor by reading alot and even hiring a trainer. The good ole internet is a miracle drug in the battle to get the knowledge you need to get the most from your workouts. I still can't believe that a newcomer is a google away from animations of movements that I learned by reading and rereading descriptions in Muscle and Fitness.
One thing is clear to me about weight training and I have tried to adumbrate it whenever it was appropriate: the shorter and more intense the workout the better. Also, more short workouts,as opposed to long and heroic labors, are the key to making gains. I am willing to bet that most people who train are unwilling to really go intense. They prefer a few more sets than a couple of intense ones.
The most overlooked part of weight training is the proper balance of periods of hard training and recovery training. Most trainers who get really serious will train themselves into exhaustion and/or illness and be forced to take a week off. They are thus illustrating what I try to emphasize: you must alternate between intense periods of work and periods where the body is stimulated only enough to continue its efforts to adapt.
My web analytics indicate that I have a fair number of readers on a daily basis. I hope to continue to write things that will be of use for you in the future. Your servant, as always.
Deniro, from shelter to eutopia. Spokesdog for NMF
This is a site about fitness and the best form of exercise to achieve and maintain fitness is weight training. Running and aerobics are useful, but over a period of decades there is nothing better for the human body than resistance training. I have done intense cardio in the past-bicycling- and I have great respect for the discipline involved in aerobic exercise. However, I think weights offer more to more people. If you are out of shape and low on self-esteem thereby, I think your local gym can offer you a better way out than the track.
This is site about fitness and the fact is that there is nothing that can compensate for poor eating habits. Actually, if you are training for the Tour of Spain in September, you can probably eat whatever you want. If you are a normal mortal, you are going to sacrifice your fitness efforts on the altar of junk food, unless your discipline extends to eating habits. Of all the realities of modern life this is the hardest to accept, isn't it?
Weight training is not a very intuitive activity. By that I mean that it takes a higher level of know-how to succeed in the gym than I would prefer. There are a myriad of questions that people who want to lift weights have. "How many, when, how often, in what order..." a hale storm of questions. That is why weight training is a much more communal activity than it might seem. You can do yourself a favor by reading alot and even hiring a trainer. The good ole internet is a miracle drug in the battle to get the knowledge you need to get the most from your workouts. I still can't believe that a newcomer is a google away from animations of movements that I learned by reading and rereading descriptions in Muscle and Fitness.
One thing is clear to me about weight training and I have tried to adumbrate it whenever it was appropriate: the shorter and more intense the workout the better. Also, more short workouts,as opposed to long and heroic labors, are the key to making gains. I am willing to bet that most people who train are unwilling to really go intense. They prefer a few more sets than a couple of intense ones.
The most overlooked part of weight training is the proper balance of periods of hard training and recovery training. Most trainers who get really serious will train themselves into exhaustion and/or illness and be forced to take a week off. They are thus illustrating what I try to emphasize: you must alternate between intense periods of work and periods where the body is stimulated only enough to continue its efforts to adapt.
My web analytics indicate that I have a fair number of readers on a daily basis. I hope to continue to write things that will be of use for you in the future. Your servant, as always.
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