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Advanced Fitness Newsletter
Information for a Healthy Life
December 1, 2K
Issue 17
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Secrets of Successful Strength Training
- Ready to Roll - Treadmill Workout
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Secrets of Successful Strength Training
By IDEA
Are you getting bored with your strength training program,
or not getting the same results you did when you started? It's easy
to fall into a weight training rut, doing the same old routine of favorite
exercises day in, day out. Unfortunately, too much "same old, same old"
can be the enemy of effective physical conditioning. The key to successful
training lies in varying the training stimuli, says William J. Kraemer,
PhD, professor of applied physiology at the Pennsylvania State University's
Laboratory for Sports Medicine.
The most effective way to add variety to your workouts
is through periodization, which means making systematic changes to your
training at regular intervals. Periodizing your strength workouts can
help you avoid plateaus; prevent injury; and make greater gains in strength,
power, muscular size and endurance, and athletic performance.
The Right Kinds of Changes
A qualified personal trainer can design a periodized
strength training program specifically for your needs, so, if at all
possible, enlist the services of a professional when developing your
program. Kraemer offers the following additional tips to help you succeed:
1. List Your Goals and Plan to Achieve Them Over Time.
A typical way to plan your program is to set goals for
one year and goals to achieve approximately every three months. Fitness
assessment tests can help you determine these goals. If you have a variety
of goals, you and your trainer will need to decide which to prioritize.
2. Don't Try Too Much Too Soon.
Before you begin a periodized program, complete four
to 12 weeks of basic training. Use this training to develop general
conditioning and practice proper form and technique.
3. Change Your Exercises.
Many fitness experts believe you should change your
program at least every four to six weeks for maximum effectiveness.
The muscle groups to be trained (based on your goals) should determine
the type of exercises you perform.
4. Change the Exercise Order.
Plan the order in which you do your exercises as seriously
as you plan the exercises themselves. Try alternating between muscle
groups--e.g., doing elbow curls (arms) followed by knee extensions (legs)-or
"stacking" all the exercises for one muscle group (i.e., performing
them consecutively). A third possibility is to start with the exercises
of greatest priority to you and follow them with exercises of lesser
importance.
5. Change the Number of Sets.
Not all exercises require the same number of sets. Prioritizing
your goals will help you determine which muscle groups or exercises
need the most attention, and which need simply to be maintained.
6. Vary the Recovery Time.
Your greatest physical gains are made during recovery,
when your body makes the adaptations needed to support further physical
development. The length of your rest periods should be based on your
training goals, not on how long it takes to talk to a friend or get
a drink of water, says Kraemer. Short rest periods (less than a minute)
are normally used when the goal is to build local muscular endurance;
long rest periods (more than three minutes) are used when the primary
goal is to increase strength and power.
7. Change the Resistance Load.
There is no consensus on what combination of reps and
weights will yield the best raining results. However, popular combinations
include pyramid training (decreasing the number of reps per set as the
weight increases, and then increasing the number of reps per set as
the weight decreases); half-ascending pyramid training (just the first
half of pyramid training); and half-descending pyramid training (just
the second half of pyramid training). Note that your genetic makeup
plays a large part in determining your ability to lift heavy weights.
8. Evaluate Your Progress Every Four to Eight Weeks.
Keep a detailed record of your workouts, noting exercises
performed, number of reps and sets, amount of resistance and length
of rest periods. Monitor your results.
9. Be Flexible With Your Training.
Remember, be prepared to change your workouts to accommodate
personal circumstances such as illness, mood, soreness, etc.
10. Give Purpose to Every Workout.
The more carefully you plan your weight training program,
the more meaningful, exciting and effective each session will be.
Reproduced with permission of IDEA (http://www.ideafit.com/),
The Health and Fitness Source, (800) 999-IDEA or (619) 535-8979.
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Ready to Roll
By Runner's World Magazine
>From Manitoba to Maui and Seattle to St. Pete, more
and more runners are training on treadmills. And why not? There's simply
no other way to guarantee you get the workout you want in the conditions
you want at the time you want. Convenience-it's a major factor in all
our time-pressed lives.
So major that surveys indicate close to 40 million Americans
run on treadmills. And according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers
Association, treadmills have become the biggest-selling item in the
home-fitness category-ahead of bicycles, rowing machines, stairclimbers
and cross-country ski machines.
Recently we asked ourselves and a group of Runner's
World readers why treadmill training has grown so popular. We got dozens
of different responses, but the following 12 were mentioned most often
by runners who have made the treadmill a regular and important part
of their running programs.
1. Comfort and safety.
No extreme heat or cold. No rain, wind, snow or ice.
No darkness. No traffic. No mean dogs, wild animals or weirdos. If you
say treadmill training removes the spirit of adventure that outdoor
running provides, well, yes, it can. However, in the name of safety
and comfort, it often pays to heed the call of the great indoors. Even
in Canada's remote Yukon Territory, where people have to be as hardy
as the native northern vegetation to survive, Cheryl Klippert runs on
a treadmill. "I'm afraid to venture too far on the roads because of
bears, but I can still enjoy the view by setting up my treadmill outdoors,"
says Klippert. Suburbia presents other safety issues. "When snow piles
up on the sides of streets after a snowfall, I don't think it's fair
for drivers to have to share the road with a runner," says Greg Dunston
of Rockville, Md. "I run inside on my treadmill." Fact: With safety
being an especially big concern for women, it's not surprising that
a survey conducted by research firm American Sports Data found that
more than 70 percent of new home-treadmill buyers in the United States
are female.
2. The best place to work on improved running form.
Combine the steady roll of the treadmill belt with the
controlled indoor environment, and you've got the perfect setting to
work on your running form. By observing her treadmill reflection in
a mirror, Andrea Gardenhire of La Mesa, Calif., has corrected flaws
in her foot placement, arm swing and breathing patterns. "The small
adjustments I make on the treadmill help me later on the road," she
says. Tip: If you've got access to a VCR, pop in a videotape from the
Boston Marathon or New York City Marathon, and emulate the fluid running
styles of the fast runners.
3. Guilt-free TV time.
Okay, so you can't match the Kenyans. You can still
use the TV to improve your running. Pick whatever show you just can't
bear to miss-from a sports event to Oprah to Ally McBeal-and let it
transport you through a mindless training run. Remember: Every workout
is a good workout, even if it doesn't move you any closer to the Olympics.
Best of all, if you log 30 or 60 minutes of treadmill time, you don't
have to feel guilty about turning on the tube.
4. A smooth transition to running.
Exercising on a treadmill may be the easiest, most natural
way to make the transition from walking to running. Why? Because as
you walk faster and faster (and see the calorie-burning number increase
on your display console), you begin to realize that you'll burn even
more calories if you go faster. "I'd been a walker for years, and never
intended to become a runner," says Kathy Boyce. Then the Elizabeth City,
N.C., woman bought a treadmill and was up to 4 miles of running after
three months on the treadmill. "Now I can hardly break a sweat when
I walk. It's not the same as running."
5. A range of customized workouts.
Advanced treadmills come with built-in training programs
that, with the push of a few buttons, operate on automatic pilot during
a workout. Many "mills" also come with additional computer capacity
to allow you to set up several customized workouts. "I think of my treadmill
not as a machine, but as a personal coach," says Paul Stofko of Schereville,
Ind. "By programming it, I force myself to run a certain speed, time
and distance, even when I don't feel up to it." Tip: Have your treadmill
dealer instruct you and then thoroughly read your owner's manual before
you plunge into the fascinating but technical world of custom workouts.
6. Excellent heart-rate monitoring.
Built-in heart-rate functions are standard equipment
on many high-quality home treadmills, and they can make your training
more scientific and more effective. Particularly useful: a function
by which the treadmill speeds up or slows down in response to your heart
rate. "With the help of my pulse meter, I'm able to regulate my workouts
precisely," notes Eric Tobias of Warminster, Pa.
7. Top-notch injury prevention.
Good treadmills provide a firm but forgiving ride. That
is, they're easier on the legs than concrete and asphalt. Indeed, some
makers of low-impact treadmills claim a shock reduction of 40 percent
compared to running on roads. The treadmill belts themselves are more
"giving" than road surfaces, and the treadmill's underpinnings work
effectively to disperse shock waves, known as "ground reaction forces,"
that occur when your foot strikes a surface. "A low-impact treadmill
can actually absorb some of the ground reaction forces that would otherwise
be directed back into the body," says Seattle-based exercise physiologist
Marnie Snyder.
8. Simplified marathon training.
We know a world-class marathoner who has logged 30 miles
in a single treadmill run and a beginning marathoner who trained for
her first marathon with 3-hour run/walk sessions. In between these two
extremes are thousands of runners who sometimes find a treadmill safer,
friendlier and more motivational than outside running. Johanna Rees
of Coronado, Calif., used a treadmill to begin her running program and,
just one year later, finished a marathon in 3:43, after doing 95 percent
of her training on a treadmill. Tip: If you're planning for a marathon
or another race with some daunting hills on the course, you can use
your treadmill's incline function to simulate those hills.
9. The ability to quantify workouts.
Want to know how many calories you've burned? Your heart
rate? How fast you're running? The distance you've run to the hundredth
of a mile? Only a treadmill can provide this precise data, and sometimes
much more. A treadmill's "feedback" functions provide important training
information, as well as motivation and entertainment during workouts.
"I am a beginner, and the displays on the treadmill give me 'proof'
of how far I've run," notes Heather Seymour of Stamford, Conn.
10. Musical motivation.
When you're on a treadmill, you don't have to worry
about safety concerns or anyone else's musical tastes. Put on your portable
tape or CD player and turn up the volume as high as you like. "Whatever
type of music motivates you, let it blast away," suggests Bruce Kushner
of Laurys Station, Pa. "As your heartbeat creeps up during a workout,
it's easier to concentrate on music than on a passive medium like TV."
11. Incredible workout variety.
No road, track or trail has it all. Each is either too
flat or too hilly, too hard or too soft. The treadmill has exactly what
you want, when you want it. "With a little imagination, you can design
treadmill workouts that are more variable and yet more precise than
those you do on the road or track," says Owen Anderson, Ph.D., Runner's
World's "Fast Lane" columnist.
12. The Zen of treadmill running.
Because a treadmill does so much for you, you can relax
during your workout and not worry about traffic, potholes, ice, dogs
or people yelling at you. Patrick McAndless of Richmond, B.C., says
he can put himself into a meditative state by listening to his breathing
and focusing on key body parts, from his head to his toes. "Before you
know it, you've completed your workout," he notes. Wally Perez is more
quantitative about his quiet time. "I exercise before work and use the
time on the treadmill to organize my thoughts for the day, personally
and professionally," says the Austin, Tex., runner.
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