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November 18, 2004 |
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In This Issue...
MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME Time is precious to all of us The study that caused alarm among would-be strength trainers was published in Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Researchers from Grand Valley State University in Michigan evaluated 30 novice weight lifters and discovered that not one of them lifted anything close to the minimum weight necessary to create benefits -- which is 60% of the maximum weight they could lift. The study author, physiology professor Stephen Glass, suggested that this is probably because lifting heavy weights is an uncommon experience for most people, so even a moderately heavy weight may feel more substantial than it actually is. It's depressing to think about people working hard for no benefit, so I decided to call fitness expert Wayne Westcott, PhD, to discuss a better way. I asked him what people can do to maximize the benefits of both weight training and aerobic exercise. Dr. Westcott, an exercise physiologist, is fitness research director at South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, and author of numerous books on the subject, including Strength Training Past 50 (Human Kinetics). WEIGHT-LIFTING GUIDELINES Dr. Westcott said that the guidelines for weight lifting call for using 60% to 90% of maximum resistance -- maximum being the heaviest you can lift or resist in one attempt. Here's how to translate those percentages into a useful figure at the gym... At 90%, you can do only four repetitions... 80%, eight reps... 70%, 12 reps... and at the minimum, 60%, about 16 reps. You'll know when you've reached your max because you simply won't be able to do one more rep -- your muscles will be too fatigued to work anymore, whether you are lifting a free weight or pushing against a resistance machine. Of course, the idea of strength training is to build muscle continuously until you reach a plateau, what Dr. Westcott calls your strength potential. (Unless you're hoping to compete in bodybuilding contests, there is no reason to go past this point, he says.) Start with a weight that allows you to do about eight reps. This will challenge your muscles, but it is in a range that will protect them from injury. You will know you're ready when you can reach 16 reps with the resistance you are currently using... or when you can do 12 reps at this level for two consecutive workouts. At that point, increase resistance by 5% to 10%. (Some older gym equipment and free weights don't allow for such small increases, in which case you'll have to go to the next weight available. Dr. Westcott recommends that you then wait until you can get to 20 reps before increasing.) If you are training the recommended two to three times a week, you should be able to increase the amount of resistance every few weeks or so. Bonus: By pushing yourself to fatigue level in this way, you won't need to do more than one set of reps per exercise, a real time-saver. MAXIMUM AEROBIC OUTPUT To determine if you are working at optimum level in your aerobic or cardio workouts -- whether fast walking, jogging or on machines, such as the treadmill, the elliptical trainer, bicycle or others -- Dr. Westcott advises three different methods...
To ratchet up your cardio workout, Dr. Westcott recommends interval training. Start with five minutes at a warming-up pace, followed by five minutes of a slower, cooling-down pace. For the next 20 minutes, alternate five minutes at a high pace (intensity at level nine of perceived exertion) with five minutes at a slower pace (level six or seven). If five minutes at each level is too much for you, scale it back to just two minutes at each one. He also likes to cross train to relieve boredom and work the muscles in different ways -- 10 minutes on one machine, 10 on another and 10 on a third. Dr. Westcott says that the reason for building your strength gradually is not to protect just your muscles, but also your tendons, ligaments and fascia (tissue between the skin, muscles and bone). These supporting structures don't get much blood, so it is important to warm them up for three to five minutes before you start any exercise. Brisk walking is sufficient for this, as is swinging your arms in a circle like a windmill if you want additional upper-body warm-ups. Cooling down in the same way will prevent the blood from pooling in the extremity of your legs and bring your heart back to its normal pace. To increase the level of your aerobic training, the 10% rule holds -- increase either the intensity or the amount of time of your workout 10% every week or two until you reach the fitness level you want. Faster than that, says Dr. Westcott, will make you vulnerable to overuse injuries. And as he points out, fitness is a lifetime investment -- get there efficiently, and in such a way that you don't hurt yourself. "PERFECT CURE" FOR HEART DISEASE
A "dream team" including many of today's most famous names in alternative medicine unveiled the results of new clinical studies that, they said, shocked even them. In repeated tests, one astonishing herb wiped out five of today's deadliest heart and artery problems. Not only that http://www.agora-inc.com/reports/HSI/W6HSEB01/ MORE BENEFITS OF MODERATION Alcohol's role in health intrigues many medical researchers. There are those who say one or two drinks a day is good for your heart. Yet alcohol's negative impact on the liver is well known. Through the years, there have been numerous studies attempting to understand the real impact of alcohol on our health. The latest one finds a link between alcohol consumption and colorectal cancer... and it's not good. Eunyoung Cho, ScD, Harvard Medical School instructor and epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, gathered information from eight studies that followed subjects for up to 16 years in North America and Europe. From this, she developed a database to evaluate certain behaviors and health risk factors. Dr. Cho found that drinking two alcoholic beverages a day was only slightly associated with an increased risk for colorectal cancer, but people who drank more than three alcoholic beverages a day had a 40% higher risk compared with people who did not drink alcohol at all. This was true for both men and women in the study and for all types of alcohol. The findings are especially significant, since colorectal cancer is second only to lung cancer in the number of people who die from it each year. I talked with Dr. Cho to discuss her findings. Because it's not unusual for heavy drinkers to have a poor diet, I asked about the people in her database. Dr. Cho says she adjusted for dietary habits in determining results of the study, as well as for smoking, age and any other factors that had been identified as potentially impacting the findings. According to Dr. Cho, there are several theories about why alcohol is associated with colorectal cancer, but many researchers think it concerns something called acetaldehyde. The liver converts the ethyl alcohol to acetaldehyde, which is then further converted into harmless acetic acid. But acetaldehyde's presence can reach oversaturation in the liver and spill out into the bloodstream. Acetaldehyde is not harmless. In fact, it is more toxic than alcohol and is responsible for the unpleasant effects of hangovers, says Dr. Cho While this study can't answer all questions about alcohol and health, it is an important building block in better understanding the dangers of excess... and the importance of moderation in all areas. Be well,
DO AS THEY DO, NOT AS THEY SAY While many doctors are reluctant to "prescribe" herbal remedies and other alternative measures, did you know that they secretly are using them to protect themselves from the germfest they are faced with each day in their offices and hospitals? In fact, doctors use these remedies to keep from catching infections. They use them to lower their cholesterol and protect their heart. They use them to get rid of aches, pains and stiffness. And they use them to prevent strokes, Alzheimer's and cancer. Read on... Sources... Making the Most of Your Time
More Benefits of Moderation
Required Disclaimer: The information provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis, treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The information is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well-being other than to suggest that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The information and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on information in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions. |
