Welcome
to the second in my Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How to Exercise
Series. We have already learned that "you" is who needs to exercise,
especially if you do not exercise already. The great news is that the
worse your initial condition or shape, the faster you tend to see
results.
"What" is a little more complicated and controversial,
but I will do my best to approach it in a tactfully-opinionated way.
As an exercise physiologist, I am particularly persnickety regarding
what I consider exercise to be. Many popular "workouts" unfortunately
prove to be an exercise in futility at best. You may already know this
to be true. Have you ever felt that all of your hard work is hardly
working? Many times, it is not.
My intent is certainly not to
offend or discourage you; being active is always commendable and, if
you have the extra time and energy, there is a smorgasbord of workouts
from which to choose. However, if you are interested in rapid routines
and a timely transformation, it is important to evaluate the fitness of
your fitness program. Is your work out working out?
We all know
that exercise isn't sauna suits, toning tables, and eight-minute abs,
right? But what about skiing? Team sports? Elastic bands and "core"
work? How about Pilates and Yoga? Is stretching the secret? What
about cardiovascular activities such as swimming, running, aerobics, or
Spinning? Is stamina the missing link?
Activity is not always exercise. Popularity is not always productivity.
So...
what qualifies an activity as a quantified exercise? From a scientific
viewpoint, exercise should be defined by what your body needs to
possess progressively less disease and better health. True exercise
reduces risk factors for disease. True exercise enhances the
health-related components of physical fitness. If your workout is not
doing both, perhaps it is not truly exercise.
So what activity
best regulates the major controllable risk factors of disease... blood
pressure, cholesterol, sugars, and obesity? What activity most
improves cardiovascular power, muscular strength and endurance, joint
flexibility, and body composition (fat to lean ratio)? Is any single
activity as good as you think? Probably not.
Swimming, though
great for cardiovascular conditioning, does little for strength or
burning body fat. Yoga may be great for flexibility but does little
for circulo-respiratory power. Running alone can actually decrease
muscle mass and strength. "Core" work does not burn fat directly off
the midsection.
 This
is precisely the problem with routine routines. Most individuals tend
to gravitate to one activity... the one that they enjoy (or do not mind
doing too much), whether or not it truly qualifies as a healthy and
well-rounded exercise.
The
closest thing to a one-stop shop for health and fitness is strength
training. Yes, believe it or not, training the muscles with resistance
(free weights, machines, calisthenics) is the most well-rounded and
beneficial form of exercise available, in my humble - and accurate -
opinion. Strength training reduces blood pressure, positively changes
cholesterol and other blood lipids, and stabilizes blood sugar levels.
It also dramatically improves muscular strength and endurance and
favorably changes body composition (increasing lean and decrease fat).
Strength training can also favorably influence cardiovascular fitness
and joint flexibility. While separate cardiovascular and flexibility
training is also valuable, properly performed muscular exercise is
invaluable.
Nonetheless, even with the true panacea of fitness,
strength training is typically ineffective due to improper technique.
Although many individuals spend hours per week (or per day) involved in
strength training activities, if performed correctly, resistance
training can effectively produce optimal benefits in literally minutes
per muscle per week.
Because this topic is far beyond the scope of this one 700-word article, I encourage you to officially "Join the Club"
and learn all of the secrets solutions to strength. In the meantime,
here are some key principles that can help you get started:
Work every major muscle through a full range of motion. One set of each exercise, if properly performed, is often just as effective as multiple sets. Train each muscle group at least once, but not more than twice, per week. Lowering weights slowly is the secret to successful strength training. Slower speeds are safer and actually produce more force within the muscles. Use a variety of equipment: free weights, machines, and body weight exercises. Change exercises very often, perhaps even for each and every workout. Avoid the 3 sets of 12 routine. Use variety... from 6-15+ (sometimes even 100) repetitions. Warm up with cardio first. Cool down with stretching in between or at the end.
For more information about The Best Way to Exercise... CLICK HERE |
