What Kind of Exercise Do You Do?

[thevegantwins]

Good job, Phoenix. It is a weird sensation but you can get a good workout.

[Gliondrach]

Just remember to keep your feet moving.

[Phoenix]

Good job, Phoenix. It is a weird sensation but you can get a good workout.

Thanks TVT. I actually want to use the weight machines but haven't been able to yet for a few reasons. But I have high hopes for tomorrow. :agree:

Just remember to keep your feet moving.

Thanks Gliondrach, I'll keep that advice in mind - should save a lot of kangaroo hopping maneuvers. :kangaroo: :rofl:

[Gliondrach]

Glad to be of help.

[Phoenix]

I did my first full workout today! (It only hurts from the eyeballs down now.) :laugh:

30 mins on the treadmill and a full weight workout. :curtsey: I was inspired by TVT and all her hard work! :woohoo: Thank you TVT. :cheer:

I got a pretty good endorphin rush by the end though. I ended up laying face down on the floor (doing stretches) and laughing like a maniac. :crazy: Thankfully I was alone in the room! :o

I got some good news from the physical too. :D Apparently my bone density is really good - the instructor thinks it's due to my previous history of exercise - and my abdominal fat level is just under the danger level for diabetes and heart disease etc. She also said that I have a pretty good musculature beneath the fat. (I choose to see the glass as half-full regarding that comment.) :agree: And overall she was very sweet and encouraging. I told her how much weight I've lost and she said that was impressive :D and that with hard work there is no reason why I can't get back to close to my previous fitness level. (I was a gym-junkie in those days so I'll never be that lean again. 20% body fat in those days. She suggested I aim for 30% now.)

[Gliondrach]

Well done, Phoenix! Keep up the good work.

[thevegantwins]

Great, Phoenix! Of course, I skipped the gym today. Wanted the extra hour sleep and my wrist is killing me (carpal tunnel again) but I'll be back tomorrow!

[Phoenix]

Well done, Phoenix! Keep up the good work.

Thanks. :D When I woke up this morning, I quickly found out that I couldn't raise my elbows above shoulder level. :p I thought I was using ridiculously light weights yesterday :o but the instructor kept telling me to wait and see how I'd feel the next day before I put my weights up. Thank god for her sense. I've been moaning and groaning all day ... but back to the gym tomorrow. ;)

Great, Phoenix! Of course, I skipped the gym today. Wanted the extra hour sleep and my wrist is killing me (carpal tunnel again) but I'll be back tomorrow!

Thanks. :D Hope your wrist improves. :comfort: Is there any treatment apart from rest?

[thevegantwins]

Is there any treatment apart from rest?

I'm using an herbal rollon treatment plus I put my hands/wrists/elbows into a patch of stinging nettle every Friday. It :flame: burns like anything but makes it feel better for days.

[Gliondrach]

plus I put my hands/wrists/elbows into a patch of stinging nettle every Friday. It :flame: burns like anything but makes it feel better for days.

How did you learn about that? I wonder how it works? Perhaps the healing process around the stings also helps the other pain.

[thevegantwins]

Farmer Sue (from the organic farm we visit)had told me about it. She has friends who have chronic arthritis and will run through the stinging nettle patch in a bathing suit so they get stung all over. It is horrible pain at first but then tingles after a few hours and remains tingling for about 24 hours. The actual carpal tunnel/tendinitis pain disappears within an hour and has been remaining subdued for weeks unless I do something to aggravate it (like I did this week). Stinging nettle is also a liver detoxifier and good for the kidneys but for those purposes, you need to eat or drink the plant. Once it is cooked, the sting disappears.

[Phoenix]

I'm using an herbal rollon treatment plus I put my hands/wrists/elbows into a patch of stinging nettle every Friday. It :flame: burns like anything but makes it feel better for days.

:speechless: As long as it works in the long run. :comfort:

[Gliondrach]

Good luck with it.

[thevegantwins]

The YMCA is closed this week for cleaning, they reopen on Sept. 2nd but we leave for our beach trip on the 1st so that means 2 weeks without the gym. This morning, I got up at 5:30 and walked for 50 minutes from our apartment complex to the waterfront. It was dark and part of the road does not have sidewalks but by the time I got to the waterfront, the sun had just come up and I had a glorious view of Raritan Bay, Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. (not my photo)

[dreamer]

I'm so glad that you get such a beautiful view during your exercise:uhuh: I know a few times I went 2 weeks w/o doing any exercise (because I was sick or started my period after being sick) and it was hard to get myself back into my normal pattern. I'm still only doing weight machines about twice a week right now. I was better about doing it 3X a week, but being off on Fridays seems to have killed the motivation to exercise on Fridays--especially when I go down to my parents' house then.

[thevegantwins]

I plan on doing that walk again tomorrow and Friday morning then the usual busy weekend activity level with the kids. I really want to get up early Tuesday-Friday next week to walk on the beach for an hour by myself. That will help erase at least 6 months of built up stress. :meditate:

[Gliondrach]

Walking on soft sand is good exercise.

[Gliondrach]

High Intensity Strength Training: More Aerobic Than “Aerobics”

Saturday, June 28th, 2008
The following article is by Greg Anderson, owner of Seattle’s home for high intensity training, Ideal Exercise.

The most common question asked by our new personal training clients at Ideal Exercise is: “Where are the treadmills and stationary bicycles?”. Most have never heard that great benefits to the cardiovascular system, commonly referred to as “aerobic fitness”, can be had through a program of high intensity strength training with no additional steady-state activity. And while I do certainly spend a great deal of my time explaining why such benefits are certainly possible (and more desirable as it is much more efficient to achieve muscular and cardiovascular benefits in a single program) it usually takes a few workouts before the client understands the depth and magnitude of cardiovascular involvement possible from strength training. As one of my trainees remarked recently (after a set of squats to complete failure followed by 20 seconds of effort against the bar in the bottom position): “My God! (gasp, gasp…) this is more aerobic than aerobics…”

Although (as I shall explain) the statement that high intensity strength training is “more aerobic than aerobics” is not entirely correct, such an observation on the trainee’s part does underscore the profound effect of intense muscular contractions on the cardiovascular system. The current mania for “aerobics” in the fitness industry stems from a misunderstanding of two factors: The function of the cardiovascular system, and the identification of skeletal muscle as the window through which optimum loading of the entire metabolic system(s) - including the cardiovascular system - takes place.

A great deal of the misunderstanding of the function of the cardiovascular system arises from the use of the word “aerobics” to describe a particular exercise protocol. The term aerobic denotes a metabolic pathway within the body which yields energy through the oxidation of fat and carbohydrate. Literally, aerobic means: “with oxygen”. Most of us have been taught that to exercise aerobically is to perform long duration steady-state activities which produce an elevated heart rate. Note that said participation of the heart and lungs is entirely dependent on muscular activity. Such low intensity activity is said to primarily stress the aerobic metabolic pathway and allow the body to use primarily fat as a fuel source. Additionally, “aerobics” is thought to provide an increase in endurance and provide a protective effect against coronary artery disease. While I will certainly agree that there are some marginal benefits to the cardiovascular system from a program of such activity, the reality is simply that these effects could be achieved in a safer and more efficient manner through the use of high-intensity strength training.

Many bodybuilders that I have spoken to believe that the inclusion of some type of “aerobic” activity in their program is necessary to achieve optimum leanness. I point out to them that from a bodybuilding standpoint, the issues at hand are both the amount of fat that you don’t have and the amount of muscle that you do. Since it is very easy to overtrain by including too many exercises or too much additional activity, it seems that any slight fat loss achieved through steady state activity could be more than offset by compromising the ability to build (or even maintain) muscle as a result of overtraining. In fact, research on fat loss performed by Ellington Darden Ph.D. (and duplicated by Ideal Exercise) showed best results with the combination of high-intensity strength training with a reduced calorie diet and the total exclusion of steady state activities. As Mike Mentzer has pointed out, the body only has a limited amount of adaptation energy. It is not as if you have 100 units of adaptation energy for building muscle and 100 units available for increasing endurance; you have 100 units, period!

The following is a reprint of an article which we hand out to all of our new clients at Ideal Exercise…

Why not aerobics…?

“Aerobic” activity is not the most effective form of exercise for fat-loss. Steady state activities such as running, cycling, dancing, etc. do not burn a significant number of calories! One pound of fat can fuel the body for up to 10 hours of continuous activity. “Aerobic” activity is simply inefficient for this purpose!

The most important contribution that exercise makes to a fat-loss program is the maintenance of muscle tissue while fat is lost. Strength training is the only reliable method of maintaining muscle tissue. Aerobics can actually cause you to lose muscle tissue!

Some supposed “experts” have suggested that the important effect of aerobics is that of increasing metabolic rate. Our question is this: If “aerobic” activities burn few calories while you are doing them, then how many calories will they burn (calories burned = metabolic rate) when you are not doing them? The answer to that question is: very few…

On the subject of metabolic rate: Every pound of muscle added to the body of an adult female will require an additional 75-100 calories per day just to keep it alive. The average person, through a program of proper strength training can add enough muscle to burn an additional 3500 calories per week (1 lb. of fat = 3500 calories). The amount of strength training required to effect such a change is less than one hour per week.

“Aerobic” activities are dangerous! Running is an extremely high-force activity that is damaging to knees, hips, and back. Aerobic dance is probably worse. And so-called “low impact” classes or activities like stationary cycling are not necessarily low-force. Don’t be fooled by the genetic exceptions who protest that they have never been injured– overuse injuries are cumulative and we are often not aware that we have them until it is too late. In time, the enthusiastic aerobic-dance participant or jogger will probably pay the price for all that “healthy” activity. If that price is a decrease or loss of mobility in one’s later years, then “aerobics” have effectively shortened the individual’s life-span. Loss of mobility is often the first step toward loss of all biological competence.

Don’t I need some form of aerobics to insure good health? What about my heart?

Remember: The function of the cardiovascular system is to support the muscular system - not the other way around. If the human body is logical (and we assume that it is) then increases in muscular strength (from a proper strength-training program) will correlate to improvements in cardiovascular function.

You will notice that the word “aerobic” has been set off in quotation marks when it refers to an activity performed for exercise. There is a good reason for this emphasis: There is no such thing as aerobic exercise! We have all heard that activities such as jogging and cycling are “aerobic” while those such as weight training and sprinting are “anaerobic”. These distinctions are not 100% correct. The words aerobic and anaerobic refer to metabolic pathways which operate continuously at all times and in all activities. You cannot “turn off” either of these pathways by merely increasing or decreasing the intensity of an activity.

A word on intensity: Few of the “experts” who promote aerobics will debate our last statement. What they do say, however, is that gentle low-intensity activities use the aerobic pathway to a greater degree than they use the anaerobic pathway. We agree with this statement completely and feel that it should be taken to its logical conclusion: The most “aerobic” activity that a human being can engage in is sleeping!

Consider this: Dr. Kenneth Cooper (author of Aerobics, The New Aerobics, Aerobics for Women), the US. Air Force Cardiologist who coined the term “aerobics” (meaning a form of exercise) and has promoted their use for over 25 years now admits that he was wrong! According to Dr. Cooper, further research has shown that there is no correlation between aerobic endurance performance and health, longevity, or protection against heart-disease. He will admit, however, that such activities do carry with them a great risk of injury. Further, he admits that gross-overuse activities such as running may be so damaging to the body as to be considered carcinogenic.

Irving Dardik, MD, former vascular surgeon, contends that: “The basic concept of aerobics conditioning is wrong.” He also contends that the best way to train the vascular system is to build flexibility into its response by using short bouts of elevation followed by sudden recovery, then demanding activity again.

Elevated heart rate is not an indicator of exercise intensity, exercise effect, or exercise value. It is quite possible to experience an elevated pulse, labored breathing, and profuse sweating without achieving valuable exercise. Intense emotional experiences commonly cause these symptoms without a shred of exercise benefit.

Even if an elevated pulse is necessary for cardiovascular conditioning (we do not doubt that pulse elevation may be necessary, but we do not believe that it should be the emphasis of a conditioning program) remember that some of the highest heart-rates on record were achieved during Nautilus research performed at West Point. The West Point cadets commonly experienced heart rates in excess of 220 beats per minute during Nautilus exercise. These pulse rates were maintained for periods of 20-35 minutes.

What about endurance? Won’t my athletic performance suffer if I don’t do aerobics?

Endurance for athletics and recreational activities is primarily a result of three factors: skill, muscular strength, and genetics. Heritable factors (genetics) are considered to be non-trainable or, in other words, you cannot do much about them. Increasing one’s skill in an activity is a result of practicing that activity. For long-distance runners skills such as stride length and efficiency can be trained through practice (practice on a treadmill doesn’t serve this purpose as it is not the same as road-running). Muscular strength is the single most trainable factor in endurance performance. It is the muscles that actually perform work. When strength increases, the relative intensity of any given task decreases.

Athletes often talk about training their “wind”. Actually our bodies’ ability to use oxygen is not as trainable as once believed. Consider that in a resting state the lungs can saturate with oxygen the blood moving through them during the first one-third of the total transit time. At maximal exertion, saturation speed might slow to one-half of the total transit time. Even with some compromise of pulmonary function (illness, injury, etc.) the lungs can usually perform their job quite adequately. It is the muscle’s ability to use the nutrients delivered to it that needs training. This is most efficiently addressed by strength-training.

More on the subject of “wind”: Most exercise physiologists refer to the phenomenon of “wind” as maximal oxygen uptake. One Canadian researcher has determined that maximal oxygen uptake is 95.9% genetically determined.

A 1991 study at the University of Maryland showed that strength training produced improvements in cycling endurance performance independent of changes in oxygen consumption.

Covert Bailey, author of Fit or Fat and advocate of “gentle aerobic exercise” now recommends wind sprints to those seeking to become maximally fit. Why wind sprints? Because sprinting is a much more intense muscular activity than jogging. Why not wind sprints? Because as with other running, the risk of injury is just too great! Pulled hamstrings, sprained ankles, and damaged knees are too high of a price for a marginal increase in fitness. Strength training greatly increases the intensity of muscular activity (much more so than sprinting) and greatly reduces the risk of injury!

Ideal Exercise possesses signed testimonials from members who have improved their endurance performance for running, skiing, and other activities while following a program of high intensity strength training and following this policy:
baye.com/high-intensity-strength-training-more-aerobic-than-aerobics/

----------------------------

[Gliondrach]

Your heart has no idea what you’re using your muscles for, whether it is running, cycling, swimming, strength training, etc. If the muscles are working harder, the cardiovascular system must also work harder to supply the working muscles with oxygen and remove the metabolic-by products of intense muscular work.

Aerobics does not burn enough calories to be worth performing for that purpose. If a person does something for the sole purpose of burning calories, their time is not worth much. A 150-pound man running at a 7mph pace will burn, at most, about 8 kcals per minute, or 480 calories per hour. He would probably burn about 100 of those kcals if he sat and did nothing for an hour, so the actual extra kcals expended as a result of the activity would amount to only 400 or so. If he did this every night for a week, he wouldn’t burn enough calories to equal the amount stored in one pound of fat. Such a high volume and frequency of running probably would cause a significant loss of muscle though. Since a muscle yields only 600 kcals, compared to the 3,500 kcals in a pound of fat, it would be possible to lose over 4 pounds of week in such a manner if one was losing muscle weight. Note that most habitual joggers, marathon and ultra-distance runners, and other obsessive/compulsive aerobics addicts often have the sickly skeletal appearance of Nazi death-camp refugees and AIDS victims. This is hardly a healthy appearance.

The only effective way to create a negative net-calorie balance is to follow a reduced calorie diet. It’s much easier and far more time efficient to simply eat less, than to spend hours a day, several days a week pounding your joints on the pavement or slaving away on some oversized hamster-wheel. And when you’re not wasting hours a week on the stepper or treadmill, you’re going to get much better results from your strength training. If one truly desires to increase their caloric expenditure, then it is strength training they should focus on.

Aerobics only burns calories while you’re doing it, and damn few at that. Some people will point out that the metabolism is also elevated for several hours afterwards, but this increase is negligible, and hardly worth it. Aerobics can cause you to burn fewer calories the rest of the time though, since when taken too far it can cause a loss of muscle, and can prevent your body from producing the increases in muscular strength and size stimulated during strength training.

Strength training, on the other hand, increases the amount of calories your body burns all the time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Research from Tufts has indicated that every pound of muscle added to the body of an adult human increases caloric expenditure by an average of 50 calories per day. If one gains 5 pounds of muscle, which most previously untrained subjects can achieve in a matter of weeks, one’s average daily caloric expenditure is increased by 250, for an increase in weekly caloric expenditure of 1750, the amount of calories in half a pound of body fat.

More importantly though, is that proper strength training is absolutely necessary to ensure discriminate weight loss while dieting. If one diets, or does aerobics, or both, but does no strength training, the weight lost will come from a combination of fat, muscle, and organ tissue. Muscle is a very highly metabolically active tissue, and when your body perceives a reduction in caloric intake, it’s going to try to adapt by reducing its caloric expenditure. One of the most effective means of accomplishing this is to decrease the amount of metabolically expensive tissue, one of the most expensive being muscle. Strength training is necessary to ensure that the body maintains, and hopefully increases muscle mass while fat is lost.

baye.com/high-intensity-strength-training-for-cardiovascular-conditioning-and-fat-loss/#more-60

[Pob]

Badminton once a week. I do feel fatter if I miss it for any reason.

I'd like to play twice a week ideally.

We've been really bad about getting out on the bikes this year, partly cos my hayfever has been especially bad. And partly cos we couldn't be arsed. :sorry:

[Oracl]

We do a bit of cycling at weekends. This area is good for bike riding, pretty flat with plenty of cycle paths.
:bicycle: :bicycle:

[Gliondrach]

Badminton, eh? I was my school's doubles champion. Not just me. I had some help.

[Pob]

Cool. Still play? I had visions of you there with a bat in each hand.

I like to think I play a half decent game. We have a 72 year old that'll still give you a hard one.

People do seem to think it's a bit of an relaxed game, but it's just as energetic as squash, really.

[Gliondrach]

No, I haven't played since I left school. I retired undefeated and that's the way I like it.

[Pob]

Well I won my first 6 games last night. It was doubles and we switched around partners. Lost the final one of the night, though.

We still play the old fashioned way of up to 15 and only scoring points when serving. They changed it recently to up to 21 with points scored every rally.

[Gliondrach]

I don't recall the rules but I think we had to win by at least two clear points. So it couldn't be 15-14. It would have to be 16-14. Unless the gym teacher just made that up.

[Gliondrach]

This is a good site. You can click on the pictures to see exactly what a particular muscle does. You can click on the blue words, such as 'action' or 'insertion'.

getbodysmart.com/ap/muscularsystem/menu/menu.html

[Gliondrach]

Wrong thread. I've now posted this (what I've just deleted) in the exercise blog thread.

[Gliondrach]

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL
Media release
Exercise could help ward off cancer

Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Prize-winning Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK, will highlight the role of exercise in preventing cancer and helping patients recover from the disease at a special press briefing in Bristol today (October 18).

Cancer Research UK scientists at the University of Bristol have reviewed the scientific literature and found evidence that physical activity could significantly reduce the risk of bowel cancer and may also help prevent breast, prostate, lung and endometrial cancer.

They also found evidence that physical activity could help patients who are recovering from cancer and are launching their own study, funded by the charity, into the benefits of exercise for people undergoing cancer treatment.

Researchers from the Department of Exercise and Health Sciences at the University of Bristol have reported that according to data from 14 studies on physical activity and cancer prevention, people taking part in occupational or leisure activity could substantially reduce their risk of dying from cancer.

Lead researcher, Professor Ken Fox from the Department of Exercise and Health Sciences at the University of Bristol, says: "Physical activity is a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle and we have found a growing body of evidence that indicates it's importance in keeping cancer at bay."

The researchers also reviewed data on specific cancer types and found that exercise could help prevent bowel, lung, breast, endometrial and prostate cancer.

They found compelling evidence from 35 of the 48 studies reviewed on bowel cancer that regular exercise could cut the risk of developing the disease by 40-50 per cent. The protective effect appeared to be confined to cancer of the colon, however, with no relationship demonstrated for rectal cancer.

Professor Fox says: "The evidence of the beneficial effects of exercise is the strongest for colon cancer. The data suggests that lack of physical activity alone could be a major risk factor for the disease."

From over forty studies on exercise and breast cancer incidence, a protective effect was demonstrated in the majority with there being typically a 30 per cent reduction in the risk of the disease in women who exercised on a regular basis. Generally, the benefits of exercise were stronger for post-menopausal women than pre-menopausal women. There was some evidence that physical activity in puberty could reduce the risk of developing the disease in adulthood but women exercising throughout their lifetime had a greater reduced risk.

Six out of eleven studies on lung cancer and exercise reviewed indicated a protective effect. The most recent of the studies found moderate intensity activity, after lifestyle factors were taken into account, could reduce the risk of developing lung cancer by as much as 40 per cent.

The review also pointed to there being a possible small protective effect of activity on endometrial and prostate cancer.

Professor Fox says: "Looking at the evidence to date, to help reduce their risk of cancer, people should aim to engage in physical activity of at least moderate intensity, for approximately 30 minutes on three or more days a week throughout their lifetime."

Researchers also concluded from 36 studies that physical activity could enhance the quality of life for cancer patients and survivors across a range of cancers including leukaemia, breast, bowel and prostate cancer.

Study co-ordinator Clare Stevinson, also from the University of Bristol, says: " Cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy have various negative side-effects such as loss of physical function, fatigue, nausea, depression and anxiety. Exercise has been shown to enhance aerobic fitness and muscular strength as well as body composition, self-perceptions, and mood so could help improve a patient's quality of life.

"Although rest is commonly recommended for patients experiencing fatigue, a number of patient trials suggest that moderate exercise during and following cancer treatment is associated with less fatigue and increased energy."

She adds: "It's an area that needs more research in the UK. We will shortly be starting our own
trial to find out whether exercise is a valuable and acceptable form of therapy for recovering
cancer patients."

Speaking at the conference, Sir Paul will give his support to the ongoing work being carried out by scientists at the University of Bristol. He will also publicly thank the charity's thousands of supporters in the South West who have enabled Cancer Research UK to fund the study and will host a lunch reception for local volunteers after the press conference.

Sir Paul Nurse says: "Cancer Research UK is delighted to be funding this work which concentrates on two very important areas for the charity; prevention of cancer and improvement in patients' quality of life.

He adds: "It is credit to our supporters who have worked hard to raise funds to enable innovative work like this to be carried out."
bris.ac.uk/news/2002/foxcancer.htm

[Gliondrach]

Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. 2009 Jan;18(1):306-13.

Randomized controlled trial of aerobic exercise on insulin and insulin-like growth factors in breast cancer survivors: the Yale Exercise and Survivorship study.

Irwin ML, Varma K, Alvarez-Reeves M, Cadmus L, Wiley A, Chung GG, Dipietro L, Mayne ST, Yu H.
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, P.O. Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520-8034, USA. melinda.irwin at yale.edu

BACKGROUND: High insulin and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) levels may be associated with an increased breast cancer risk and/or death. Given the need to identify modifiable factors that decrease insulin, IGF-I, and breast cancer risk and death, we investigated the effects of a 6-month randomized controlled aerobic exercise intervention versus usual care on fasting insulin, IGF-I, and its binding protein (IGFBP-3) in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Seventy-five postmenopausal breast cancer survivors were identified from the Yale-New Haven Hospital Tumor Registry and randomly assigned to an exercise (n = 37) or usual care (n = 38) group. The exercise group participated in 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. The usual care group was instructed to maintain their current physical activity level. A fasting blood sample was collected on each study participant at baseline and 6 months. Blood levels of insulin and IGF were measured with ELISA. RESULTS: On average, exercisers increased aerobic exercise by 129 minutes per week compared with 45 minutes per week among usual care participants (P < 0.001). Women randomized to exercise experienced decreases in insulin, IGF-I, and IGFBP-3, whereas women randomized to usual care had increases in these hormones. Between-group differences in insulin, IGF-I, and IGFBP-3 were 20.7% (P = 0.089), 8.9% (P = 0.026), and 7.9% (P = 0.006), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking, decreases IGF-I and IGFBP-3. The exercise-induced decreases in IGF may mediate the observed association between higher levels of physical activity and improved survival in women diagnosed with breast cancer.
PMID: 19124513 [PubMed - in process]

[Gliondrach]

Vigorous Activity Protects Against Breast Cancer, Study Shows

ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2008) — Normal-weight women who carry out lots of vigorous exercise are approximately 30% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who don't exercise vigorously. A study of more than thirty thousand postmenopausal American women has revealed that a sedentary lifestyle can be a risk factor for the disease – even in women who are not overweight.

SEE BELOW FOR INFO ABOUT OVERWEIGHT WOMEN AND HOW VIGOROUS EXERCISE COULD HELP THEM, TOO.

While an Investigator at the National Cancer Institute of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Michael F. Leitzmann led a team of researchers who followed the 32,269 women for eleven years and found that vigorous activity may protect against breast cancer, independent of body weight control. Vigorous activity was judged to include things like heavy housework (scrubbing floors, washing windows, heavy yard-work, digging, chopping wood) and strenuous sports or exercise (running, fast jogging, competitive tennis; aerobics, bicycling on hills, and fast dancing).

Leitzmann said, "Notable strengths of our study include its large sample size, prospective design, high follow-up rate, and availability of relevant known or suspected breast cancer risk factors. These features enabled us to minimize any effects from other factors apart from exercise."

Interestingly, the authors found that non-vigorous activity, such as light housework (vacuuming, washing clothes, painting, general gardening) and light sports or exercise (walking, hiking, light jogging, recreational tennis, bowling) was not protective. Furthermore, vigorous activity was only protective in lean women and not those who were overweight or obese. According to Leitzmann, "Possible mechanisms through which physical activity may protect against breast cancer that are independent of body mass include reduced exposure to growth factors, enhanced immune function, and decreased chronic inflammation, variables that are related both to greater physical activity and to lower breast cancer risk".

The authors added, "An alternative explanation for the stronger apparent effect of vigorous activity among lean over heavy women is that heavier women may misreport non-vigorous activities as vigorous ones".

sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081030203239.htm

AS IT SAYS IN THE 'DISCUSSION' SECTION OF THE FULL STUDY:
'A non-causal explanation for a stronger inverse relation of vigorous activity among lean women compared with overweight women is that heavier women may not exercise as intensely as lean women. Moreover, non-vigorous activities performed by overweight women, such as light housework, general gardening and light sports, may be misreported as vigorous activities among overweight individuals.'
WHICH SUGGESTS THAT OVERWEIGHT WOMEN WOULD GET THE SAME PROTECTION FROM VIGOROUS ACTIVITY.
FULL STUDY:
breast-cancer-research.com/content/10/5/R92

[Gliondrach]

Good advice about the dangers of some exercises:
performanceu.net/article02.html

And he mentions Mike Boyle's article, which is on t-nation. In that, Boyle talks about the dangers of doing rotational exercises for the lumbar spine.

[Gliondrach]

This is part of a long article by Rachel Cosgrove about her exeriences training for an ironman competion.

The Final Nail In The Cardio Coffin by Rachel Cosgrove

374 Hours of Training = 5 Pounds Lost

In seven months of training, I calculated that I worked out for 374 hours — that's an average of over thirteen hours a week! If I burned just ten calories a minute, it adds up to 224,400 calories. Doing the math (at 3,500 calories per pound), 224,400 calories should equal sixty four pounds lost!

Needless to say, I did not lose 64 pounds. Over those seven months, training an average thirteen to fourteen hours a week, I lost all of five pounds. That... was... it.

Now, we've heard many of the fitness experts tell us that, "steady-state aerobics is not effective for fat loss," and we've read about it in articles, and we've heard the scientific research that interval training is more effective.

But, still, I thought it would've been more effective than this! A lousy five pounds after doing 374 hours of training, while keeping tabs on what I'm eating! It's enough to make a girl give up the gym and take refuge in a box of Krispy Kremes.

Well, almost.


What more could we ask for? Maybe some common sense?

Fortunately, I now have first-hand experience that steady-state aerobics is absolutely, completely, utterly ineffective for fat loss. After working my way up to twenty training hours a week, I can tell you that long, steady-state endurance is not the answer for a defined, lean physique and it's a waste of time if your goal is fat loss.

It's only the answer if your goal is to complete an endurance event.


Learn to Love Intensity, Not Duration

Let's review some of the research:

• December 2006, Canadian researchers reported that just two weeks of interval training boosted women's ability to burn fat during exercise by 36%.

• In January 2007, a six-month study was published showing that adding aerobic exercise had no additional effect on body composition, over diet alone.

• In June of 2007, a twelve-month study was published which had the subjects doing six hours of aerobic exercise per week, training six days a week, for one year. The average weight loss was only three pounds for that one-year period.

• According to a British study, levels of Human Growth Hormone, which assists in building muscle and burning fat, skyrocketed 530% in subjects after just thirty seconds of sprinting as fast as they could on a stationary bike.

• Australian fitness researchers had eighteen women perform twenty minutes of interval training on a stationary bike — eight-seconds of sprinting followed by twelve seconds of recovery — throughout the workout, three days a week.

The women lost an average of five-and-a-half pounds over fifteen weeks, without dieting. Similar groups performing forty minutes of moderate cycling, three days a week, actually gained a pound of fat over the same period. Two of the heavier women who did intervals dropped eighteen pounds.

• In a side-by-side comparison, researchers at McMaster University in Ontario measured fitness gains in eight interval exercisers — using twenty to thirty minute cycling workouts that included four to six thirty-second sprints — against eight volunteers who pedaled at a lower intensity for 90 to 120 minutes.

After two weeks, the interval group was every bit as fit as those who worked out three to four times as long.


Undoing the Aerobic Damage

After completing my Ironman, I made fat loss my primary goal for eight weeks. I eliminated all steady-state endurance exercise. No running, biking, swimming, or anything else in the steady-state.

My workouts consisted of high intensity for short bursts, whether it was with weights or doing a metabolic interval session. I lifted weights three days a week, and I performed interval-training workouts on the other days.

I made sure the interval workouts weren't on a treadmill or a bike. I only used bodyweight-exercise circuits, along with kettlebell circuits, as my cardio workouts.

These metabolic cardio workouts would crank my heart rate up for two minutes, I'd recover, and then repeat. Doing these interval circuits, along with strength training, took up a total of five to six hours a week, nothing like the twenty to thirty hours of Ironman training!

What happened? Like magic, my abs came back!

I dropped fifteen pounds of fat in an eight-week period and my body returned to being strong, defined, and lean. I no longer looked like a flabby endurance athlete, and I did it in a quarter of the time, compared to the aerobic training.

It Works, But Why?

One reason intervals are more effective is that they target more of your muscle. During endurance exercise, you use a lot of slow-twitch muscle fibers and too few fast-twitch muscle fibers. It's those fast-twitch muscle fibers that give you firm muscles and fast-tracked results.

Now don't get me wrong, I still enjoy heading out for a run or a bike ride occasionally, but I don't do it for fat loss. I do it because I enjoy it. Think about it. If you do a thirty minute walk at a steady-state, moderate pace, you'll shed about 150 calories.

If you mixed in eight thirty-second sprints, you'll burn closer to 200 calories. But the biggest factor is that after an interval session, your metabolism can stay elevated for a full day and you'll end up burning two to three times the total calories you'd expect to burn from lower intensity exercise.

Like that's not enough, intervals can also help to reverse the aging process. Fast-twitch fibers are the first to go when we age, largely because neurons stop communicating with them. Research has shown that you can increase neuron firing rates after just one week of training. With more muscles firing, you have more energy for life.
enhancedfp.com/training/final-nail-cardio-coffin-rachel-cosgrove
----------------------------
And here's part of a longer article taken from a book co-authored by her husband (I think he is):

Killer Calories

If you compare the number of calories burned during endurance exercise to the number burned during strength training, endurance wins pretty easily. Let's say you weigh 140 pounds. If you ran six miles in an hour — a 12-minute-mile pace — you'd burn an estimated 512 calories. (That's including the 100 or so calories you'd burn in that hour if you didn't go running, but that's the same no matter what type of exercise we're looking at.) An hour of serious strength training would burn an estimated 384 calories, or 25 percent fewer. If you're a talented runner clocking eight-minute miles, you'd burn 800 calories, or more than twice as many as you'd burn in the weight room for that same hour.

At first glance, it's easy to see why strength training doesn't slay calories the way endurance exercise does. You spend more time resting in between sets than you do actually lifting, and you certainly aren't burning fat while you're pushing and pulling weights. If you're challenging yourself at all, you're shifting from your fat-using aerobic energy system to your anaerobic systems, which by design run on glycogen.

However, there is more going on.

First is the afterburn — the calories your body continues to burn after the workout is over. Intensity is the most important factor determining post-workout metabolism, so the harder you work in the weight room, the more calories your body will burn afterwards. Let's say that afterburn accounts for an additional 50 calories.

Calories aren't the only consideration. Serious strength training also signals your body to burn a higher percentage of fat calories for many hours after you leave the gym. A really intriguing University of Colorado study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2003, measured post-workout fat oxidation. ("Fat oxidation" is what happens when your body uses oxygen to turn fat into energy, as it does when you're using your aerobic energy system.) The researchers had a group of men and women do a weight workout one day and an aerobic workout another, with each workout burning about 400 calories.

Fifteen hours after the weight workout, the men and women were burning 22 percent more fat than they did 15 hours after their aerobic workout. The researchers concluded that the exercisers would've needed to burn twice as many calories during their aerobic workout — 800, instead of 400 — to reach the level of post-workout fat oxidation achieved by the lifters.

THIS ARTICLE ENDS WITH:
Now, if you actually enjoy endurance exercise, and would miss it if you couldn't do any, we don't want to discourage you from that. But Alwyn has come up with a unique way of making it more effective.

Do intervals first, to work off some of the glycogen in your muscles. Then step off the track or treadmill or get off the bike or out of the pool. That is, stop altogether for five minutes. Then get back on or in and do some steady-speed exercise at an easy pace.

Why bother? Because after you stop exercising, your body will immediately flood your bloodstream with triglycerides. Women's muscles use more of these fat molecules for energy than do men's. When you start exercising again, you'll have more fat readily available for energy, which means you'll burn more of it than you would if you'd done nothing but steady-pace work.

Does it work? Alwyn says the female clients he trains typically lose two pounds of fat in a week, and six to 10 pounds in a month.
figureathlete.com/readArticle.do?id=1881918
------------------

And this has some good info about interval training:
enhancedfp.com/training/interval-training-mike-boyle

[Gliondrach]

Cave-Bear Squat Thrusts.

When I do squat thrusts, I do them in such a way that they give the abdominal muscles a lot of work. These are called cave-bear squat thrusts. They also warm my knees up in preparation for doing one-legged squats (OLS). I have never bothered much with warming up before exercise but for the OLS I feel I need to.

Doing them the usual way, with your hands directly below your shoulders, is much easier than the way I do them. In the usual way, most of your weight is supported by your hands, and your feet can move very fast - hardly touching the floor. Not much stress on the abs, either. I can do 15 sets of 40 in about 13 minutes doing squat thrusts the usual way. Now that I do them the cave bear way it takes me 13 or 14 minutes to do just 10 sets of 40. The fastest I've been able to do them is 12 minutes. Because you have your hands stretched so far out your feet take quite a bit of the weight. It takes more effort to move the feet because you have to kick off quite hard and transfer some weight to your hands. Your abdominal/core area has to work really hard to stop you from collapsing on the floor and to bring your knees near your chest with each repetition. The picture below shows the starting position for the more difficult way to do the exercise - the cave-bear squat thrusts. Give it a try. Perhaps start off with just 20 reps in each set and work your way up. Great for high intensity interval training.

[Gliondrach]

TVT, this shows yoga video things for carpal tunnel wotsit:
ehow.com/video_4400781_half-downward-dog-pose-carpal.html

[Gliondrach]

Because I have discovered that I have a slight spondylolisthesis in one of my lumbar vertebrae I have decided not to do any heavy dead lifts or squats. The compression on the spine would not be good for it.

About a year ago I started training to do the planche. I am going to incorporate them into my training again. And I might also do the front lever. Here are a couple of videos of what I should be able to do within the next two or three weeks. The first one takes about 35 seconds before he starts properly.

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[Gliondrach]

But I won't be doing this. She is lucky to have survived.

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[Bowwowmeow]

Because I have discovered that I have a slight spondylolisthesis in one of my lumbar vertebrae I have decided not to do any heavy dead lifts or squats. The compression on the spine would not be good for it.

About a year ago I started training to do the planche. I am going to incorporate them into my training again. And I might also do the front lever. Here are a couple of videos of what I should be able to do within the next two or three weeks. The first one takes about 35 seconds before he starts properly.


You are training to do this? That's amazing. I wish I could do that.

Do you suppose one of those gravity boards, or whatever they are called, that you strap your self onto and then turn upside down would help stretch out the compression in your spine?

[Gliondrach]

It might do. But dangling from a chin up bar helps. I don't like to be strapped in anywhere. I need to be on the alert and ready to respond to assassination attempts at any moment.

[vavaving]

:007: Really?

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I had a dream that I was doing these "muscle ups" effortlessly, before I even knew what they were, so I went and tried them, and concluded that my dream was taking place in the distant future... :sleeping:

[Gliondrach]

I can't even attempt those because my chin up bar is the type that you put in a doorway. No room to go high.

That's my excuse.

[Gliondrach]

If you think you are safe from ill health because you do a bit of exercise, think again:

http://www.thesaucyvegan.com/showthread.php?t=45&page=10

[Stormy]

Well the exercise I do, is walking most places because I do not drive, walking my beautiful dog kai, and just started getting back into using my computerised exercise bike at home again!!

I have put on weight in recent years - well up and down really (so no not all vegans are skinny as is the myth) because of having children and a bit of comforting eating through hard times in recent years... so I am aiming to get fit and more healthy again :)

I used to do a bit of weight training and ride my bike more...so OK I might not go back to weight training but I am going to get back on my bike to get out and about again

[vavaving]

Godspeed, Stormy :highfive:

[Gliondrach]

This is interesting. Oh yes it is!

Myth: Sweating on a treadmill is just as good as sweating outside.

Mythbuster: Alwyn Cosgrove

Walking a mile is about two thousand reps in the sagittal plane at about one and a half to two times your bodyweight. Jogging would be around fifteen hundred total reps at about two to three times your bodyweight.

And since the treadmill switches your hamstring and glutes off — your foot hits the belt and the belt pulls you through — it's mainly a quad exercise.

So let's say a client does three miles three times per week for one year (and I'm being conservative).

That's 6000 reps x 3 days per week x 52 weeks, which equals 936,000 reps of knee extension work. Or 468,000 reps per leg.

Let's say the load going through with the knee was a measly 100 pounds. That's 4.6 million pounds of work for the quad with absolutely no hamstring work.

Think of it this way: if you did 400,000 reps of triceps extensions with 100 pounds you'd get four million pounds of volume. If you didn't balance that out with biceps curls you'd expect the elbow joint to hurt, right? You're damn straight it would!

So long term walking or running on the treadmill is almost guaranteeing knee pain. And that's not even the worst part. Since the hamstring is switched off you're actually burning even less calories than you would if you were to walk on the ground!

This study (SEE BELOW FOR ABSTRACT) showed that hip flexion angle increases on the treadmill as opposed to the ground and that stance time was reduced. Basically, the whole hip extensor mechanism is affected; hip and knee flexion angles have to increase to bring the hip through on the stride. So hip flexor fatigue plus substitution patterns equals severe knee pain.

Ten or twenty years ago we'd get away with this because our clients ran outside and did other activities. The contribution of treadmill time to total exercise time was much lower. It's hardly the case today.

One of the problems with low intensity steady-state aerobics for fat loss in the deconditioned population is the sheer amount of reps needed. I can do a bodyweight circuit and spread the "reps" over the whole body and get a similar metabolic effect.

At my gym we've always done interval training as we felt the results were superior, but over time we've moved to a "metabolic resistance training" model.

For example, one mile on the treadmill would be 1500 reps and burn around 100 calories. If you did a circuit of kettlebell swings, undulating ropes, inverted rows, sled pushes, and burpees for four rounds with 10 to 15 reps each, you'd burn 100 calories in less time with less load, and the reps would be spread over the entire body instead of on the ankles, knees, and hips. It's just a superior model.
tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/mythbusters_vol_6


Clinical Biomechanics. Volume 13, Issue 6, September 1998, Pages 434-440

A kinematic comparison of overground and treadmill walking

F. Alton , L. Baldey , S. Caplan and M. C. Morrissey

Human Motion and Performance Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, University of East London, London E15 4LZ, UK


Abstract
Objective. To compare overground and treadmill ambulation for possible differences in gait temporal variables and leg joint kinematics.

Design. A human subject trial of walking in two conditions.

Background. The treadmill is frequently used to simulate overground ambulation; however, the literature shows a wide difference of opinion as to whether the treadmill replicates the overground environment.

Methods. A total of 17 uninjured subjects walked overground at their preferred velocity. The treadmill was then set at the average velocity obtained in overground walking. Gait temporal variables and leg joint kinematics were analysed using the three dimensional (3D) Kinemetrix Motion Analysis System. The data were analysed separately for the two gender groups and for the groups combined.

Results. In the females, only the maximum hip flexion angle was significantly different in the two conditions with greater flexion occurring on the treadmill. For males, significant differences were noted between the two conditions for cadence and maximum knee flexion angle with greater values in the treadmill walking. When all subjects were compared, significant increases were seen during treadmill walking in hip range of motion, maximum hip flexion joint angle and cadence, while a significant decrease was observed in stance time.

Conclusions. Statistically significant differences exist between overground and treadmill walking in healthy subjects for some joint kinematic and temporal variables.

[Gliondrach]

I decided to try a handstand press up last night. Normally when I do handstands, I face the wall, put my hands on the floor and then flip over so that I am doing a handstand and facing away from the wall. I tried a different way last night. I crouched down facing away from the wall, put my hands on the floor and put my feet up against the door. Then I walked my feet up until I was doing a handstand. I wore socks so my feet slid up the door. I dipped down and managed a handstand press up easily. But my hands were about 2 feet from the door. I moved them closer and tried again but I couldn't press back up and my back began to hurt. I had to slide down onto my chest. My left sacro-iliac joint was very sore and I had a pain in my lower abdomen.

When I do handstands the 'normal' way - facing away from the wall - I have to arch my back so that my feet reach the wall. This causes pain. I think I am on to the right approach with the way I did it last night. I am due, overdue, for my upper body training and will try it tonight. But only partial presses - not going all the way down - until my back is more up to it.

Strange how I can do these things but was in agony yesterday when I went to town. My right leg at first was very painful and then became semi-numb and painful at the same time. And sitting down for too long can be painful.

It's also strange that I woke up yesterday without any pain. For the past few weeks I've woken up with at least slight pain in the lower back. I had hoped that it was a sign that I wouldn't have any pain when I went out.

[gabbles]

Great information here. Are there any sites anyone can recommend that specialise in vegan exercising?

[Gliondrach]

Thinking of lifting some iron, Gabbs? This is a good site with lots of info on weight training especially:

Link temporarily removed during difficulties.

[gabbles]

Thanks for that. :thumbsup:

[Gliondrach]

I've been practising handstands for about 10 weeks. I kicked up into a handstand about an hour ago and held it for 6 seconds. I had only managed 3 or 4 seconds before that. Ten minutes later I kicked up again but only held it for 4 seconds before my feet fell back to the ground. I kicked up again but went too far and my feet hit the wall. So I pushed off from the wall and balanced. For 9 seconds! :rock:

I'm really chuffed.

I'll be able to get a job in the circus next year.

[gabbles]

:yea:



I'll be able to get a job in the circus next year.

What as? A clown? :rofl:

[Gliondrach]

What as? A clown? :rofl:

:slappy:

[Gliondrach]

I did a 10-second handstand today. When I did the 9 second one a couple of days ago I kicked up but overbalanced and my feet hit the wall. I pushed off from the wall and balanced for the 9 seconds. Today, I kicked up and held it without touching the wall first. Then I tried it again and only managed 3 seconds before losing my balance. It's coming along nicely. By the 21st December I want to be able to hold it for 20 seconds at least.

By next March I want to be able to hold a one-hand handstand, unsupported, for at least 2 seconds. :book:

[Gliondrach]

I held a handstand for 12 seconds today! :rock: Although when I kicked up into it my feet hit the wall first and I pushed off but then held it steady without my feet touching the wall again. I think I must have been inspired by having just watched the gymnastics championships.

[Gliondrach]

Damn! This handstand lark is not getting any easier. I haven't managed to increase my free (unsupported by the wall) handstand - still only manage a few seconds. Admittedly, I'm not practising as much as I was. I am doing too many other things, including draining board hopping. Something tells me I might not be able to do a one-handed, unsuported handstand next month. But one day I will. I will start doing more handstands.

[Gliondrach]

I can still only hold an unsupported handstand for a few seconds but I can now easily kick up to one without overbalancing and hitting the wall first with my feet. I just kick up and hold the handstand for a while and then my feet fall back down again. And the rest of me follows.

I am not progressing with the tuck planche. I know why. My wrists aren't flexible enough. To balance, you need to be leaning forwards with the arms at quite an angle. I can only manage about a 90 degree angle between my hand and arm. That is not enough. In fact, it is not quite 90 degrees. I don't want to start increasing the flexibility of my wrists because that might lead to damage. Most people of my age have arthritis somewhere or other. I have avoided it. I don't want to start forcing my wrists into positions they have never been in before.

The only way for me to do a planche will be to put wedges under my hands to raise the heels of my hands or to do them on an incline board with my fingers lower than the heels of my hands. I will be able to get the proper angle for my arms then.

I think this wrist inflexiblity is also hampering my handstands because I can't lean over enough to stop my underbalancing.

[Gliondrach]

I kicked up into a handstand this afternoon, my feet didn't touch the wall, and I held it for about 10 seconds. I might have been counting a bit fast but I tried not to. I remember thinking, as I was counting, that I should concentrate on balancing.

The tuck planches have been quite good today and yesterday but I still need a bit more flexibility in the wrists.

[Gliondrach]

I'm not sure now that my wrists are inflexible. I did a tuck planche this evening and the heels of my hands seemed to come off the floor slightly so that I was putting more weight on my fingers. I was in a much better tuck planche position. It only lasted for about 2 seconds before I lost my balance.

I feel that the handstands are improving. I still can't hold them for long before I lose my balance but they feel better and I can more often recover my balance once it begins to go.

[Gliondrach]

I didn't do any handstands, tuck planches or draining board hopping for more than two weeks. The heel of my left hand was sore. I started doing handstands again two days ago. My balance is much better but I still can't hold it for long before losing balance. But I feel more controlled when I kick up into it.

My hand was probably sore because most of my weight goes on the heels of my hands. You are supposed to put most of the weight on the pads at the base of the fingers. But my wrists are not flexible enough for me to do that. It's a bit like standing with most of your weight on your heels - you won't be as well balanced as when the weight is mostly on the balls of your feet. If most of the weight was on your heels the slightest push would send you rocking backwards.

I saw the highlights of the European gymnastic championships on telly on Monday. They can do handstands on the pommel horse and spin round and round whilst doing it. I will be able to do that soon. Probably before the end of May.

[Gliondrach]

Still having difficulty keeping a handstand for more than a few seconds. I know I'm supposed to keep everything tight - as there is then less chance of flopping about. But it's not easy tightening all your muscles a split second after turning yourself upside down. It's been likened to how easier it is to balance a broomstick on your hand than it is to balance a chain. The fewer loose links or joints there are, the easier something is to balance.

[serifstarling]

I currently do a free weights workout from a book by Joyce L. Vedral called Toning for Teens three days a week at home and doing light cardio 3 other days a week after work.
have been doing this for 2 weeks now after trying Pilates and other things. I really needed to get in better shape and this workout has worked for me in the past, so it should work for me now. My butt already feels tighter and my waist is starting come back. So I am satisfied. This is one of my many lifestyle changes that took place recently, including choosing a vegan diet.:whistle:

[Bowwowmeow]

Welcome to the forum serifstarling! :wave:

[Gliondrach]

Welcome, Serifstarling. :wave:

You've made some great choices - weight training, a bit of cardio and a vegan diet. :yea:

[Catfriend]

I am dedicated to exercise. I get 72 minutes of cario and about 25 minutes of weight training 5 days a week. If my destination is within 1.5-2 miles I will generally walk rather than take public transit. I am perhaps a little compulsive about it, for I can get antsy and down when I miss workouts!

[Gliondrach]

I feel lethargic and lazy if I have miss exercising for too long. Even when I've been in terrible pain I've managed to find some exercise to do. An unused hinge seizes up.

What are your training goals, Catfriend - strength, endurance, body shaping?

[Catfriend]

I feel lethargic and lazy if I have miss exercising for too long. Even when I've been in terrible pain I've managed to find some exercise to do. An unused hinge seizes up.

What are your training goals, Catfriend - strength, endurance, body shaping?

I don't know that I have goals, as such, other than to maintain my health and weight. Perhaps I should say, "all of the above". :rolleyes:

[Gliondrach]

As the great Nitram Nagev is fond of saying:

Those who have goals will score in the game of life.

[Gliondrach]

I've been neglecting my handstand practice. Mainly because my left hand was hurting some time ago and the sittingroom floor creaks at the slightest movement. I don't want to bother the people downstairs. That's the sort of considerate person I am - always thinking of others before myself.

But, my handstand feels more solid. And, I did one for 13 seconds just a few minutes ago!!! :rock:

When I felt myself falling over backwards I pressed down with my fingers. When I felt myself falling the other way I bent my arms a bit. I will be able to hold one unsupported for a minute before the end of the year. You mark my words.

I think that my new habit of standing on one leg at odd moments has helped. I don't know how but I think it has. I can balance on one leg very easily now.

[Gliondrach]

I'd like to be able to do some of these things. This chap is a beginner-ish but he is very impressive.

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[cornwallcats]

I've just taken up running ... ok, jogging for short distances as I try to build up to running. Ideally I want to do a 10k or half marathon next year.

[Gliondrach]

Good luck in your plans to run 6 miles or 13 miles. I've never liked running - except when I'm being chased.

[Gliondrach]

My handstands are coming along nicely. I can still only hold an unsupported one for 5 or 6 seconds but I am doing it consistently. I rarely underbalance or overbalance when I kick up into one. And I have learned how to prevent myself from falling flat on my back if I overbalance too much. I now have the confidence to do the hand shifting technique to prevent it. :updn:

[Bowwowmeow]

I don't have any sort of regular exercise. Just the work I do around here. I need something though. I feel so stiff lately. :sigh:

[Gliondrach]

Well start something and post it on the exercise blog thread. So we can all laugh at you - I mean so we can all offer encouragement.

[rotary phone]

i've always been pretty inconsistent with my exercise. my work does have a fitness center and a pool there that i could really make use of though. once i'm used to my new diet, i look forward to having some kind of daily routine. ;)

[Gliondrach]

We'll hold you to that. And we'll scold you if you backslide. I look forward to seeing your routine in the exercise blog thread.

[Bowwowmeow]

Well start something and post it on the exercise blog thread. So we can all laugh at you - I mean so we can all offer encouragement.
I bent over and touched the floor without bending my knees. :p

[Gliondrach]

I can put my palms on the ground without bending my knees. It's not the best thing for someone with a dodgy back to do, though.

[KRITER]

I havnt been able to do wut I use to befor I hurt my shoulders.My arms hav got smaller over the year.But I been doing xsersizes the therpist been shoing me.Razing my arm as high as I can in the front and side.Laying on my back and razing a wood pole over my hed.The therapist is shoing me how we hav got away from good posture.Shoulders are supose to stay back.Civilized folks hav got into the habit of having shoulders forward,like wen we driv or sit in front of a computer.Aboridganees all over the world hav beter posture then non aboridgnees.They hold stuff,like babys and baskets, more to the side and thair backs are straiter.Im not sure Im xplaining it very good but its reel interesting.Im trying to be more awair.

[Gliondrach]

Yes, most of us have bad posture. In this video the bloke shows some stretches done lying down. As he says, if you do them standing or sitting up you put strain on the muscles you are trying to stretch. He explains why having the shoulders forwards causes problems. He spends the first half just talking about it before showing the stretches. Might not be good for you, Kriter, as you've just had surgery.

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[KRITER]

Yeah,I beleev itll be a littl while befor I can do those xcersizes.I was also told keeping your shoulders back wood be good for your back.Keep it from hurting.Iv hurt my back befor becuz I do alot of heavy lifting on the job and at home.Like lifting furniture,tvs,boxs full of books or geting logs out the road or big rocks out the creek for borders or picking up my 65 lb dog who somtimes gets to feeling to lazy to jump in the truck on his own.So thats a big deel.

[Gliondrach]

Iv hurt my back befor becuz I do alot of heavy lifting on the job and at home.Like lifting furniture,tvs,boxs full of books or geting logs out the road or big rocks out the creek for borders or picking up my 65 lb dog who somtimes gets to feeling to lazy to jump in the truck on his own.So thats a big deel.

You have to be careful to protect your back. Once it's injured it takes a long time to heal.

[Gliondrach]

I've just taken a bit of time off doing some work and to make a cuppa. I did my first handstands of the day. I wasn't trying to hold them too long - I was just seeing what happened when I moved my head from looking straight ahead to looking straight down. On the seventh handstand I found myself balancing easily. I counted to 10 or 11 seconds and then my feet hit the wall. But if I'd been 3 or 4 inches further away from the wall my feet wouldn't have touched it. For all I know, I might have held it for 20 or 30 seconds.

[Gliondrach]

I stopped trying to do tuck planches. I just couldn't do them. I used to be able to do them. For the past few weeks I have been doing pseudo-planche press up static holds. I do these four or five times a day, three or four days a week. I get into the lowest position of the press up and hold it for nine seconds. I lean as far forwards as I can until I am nealy overbalancing. Most of the pressure on my hands is on the pads at the base of my fingers. That area became very painful when I first started doing them but there's no pain now. I held a static hold for twenty-four seconds yesterday and there was a bit of pain but not much. I knew I had to strengthen this part of my hands and had to increase the flexibility of my wrists so I could do tuck planches.

I tried a tuck planche a couple of days ago and did one easily. I only held it for six seconds but my feet were higher and my back was straighter than when I used to hold them for over thirty seconds. All those static holds must have helped. I did four or five more tuck planches that day and about the same yesterday but only held them for four seconds each so as not to overdo it. I even managed to extend my legs ever so slightly but overbalanced when I did so. I even managed to do some partial press ups in the tuck planche position but again overbalanced after doing three or four.

I am now more confident than ever that I will master the planche. I'll continue to do the static holds of the pseudo-planche press up and will gradually increase the time I hold it and lean more and more further forwards.

I've also been doing static holds in the single-leg squat a few times most days of the week. I go down into almost the full squatting position, hold it for nine seconds and then straighten up. I think it has helped my single leg squat because there wasn't any real loss of strength when I had to stop doing them for a couple of weeks due to a sore back.

[vrabbit]

I do contemporary & jazz dance one per week, bellydance once per week. By myself, I self-teach burlesque dance (one or two sessions a week, whenever I feel like it!), I long distance run (won't be able to do that once I move house in a few months, I live at the back of some beautiful fields, probably wouldn't do it if it wasn't for the convenience), along with some basic stretches and circuit training once a day. :)

[Blueshark]

I went swimming last week but I have been a bit under the weather. When I feel better I hope to swim more regularly. Nothing serious - just some laps, and relaxation time! :)

[Gliondrach]

Are there any lidos near you? I've always wanted to swim in one. It would be nice on a sunny day.

[Blueshark]

Havent found one...havent been in lido for years.. Going swimming this morning - really need to get back in shape. I feel fit - but need more stamina. I used to be able to swim laps and laps - but need to get back to that level. Makes life more fun!

[Gliondrach]

Not long after writing what I wrote in post 334, my right index finger became very sore. The base of the finger was very tender and the finger was painful to bend and often stuck in one position. I must have damaged the tendon. It is still sore in the mornings but is a lot better. When I eventually return to planche training I will have to do it on a padded surface. Even now I have to do chin ups with my right index finger pointing straight up and not gripping the bar.

[Blueshark]

Did a good workout this morning:

Worked out on the resistance machines; chest, arms, back and legs.
Did 20 laps swimming.
Relaxed in spa.

(Working up to my normal 40 laps - but will give it a few weeks)

[Gliondrach]

Did 20 laps swimming.

(Working up to my normal 40 laps - but will give it a few weeks)

Will you be ready for the Olympics?

[Blueshark]

I am really enjoying the gym, I think maybe...just maybe I can do bodybuilding. Would be a really cool hobby, and good for my body too!!!

[Blueshark]

I am going to try walking to work - its good exercise and it costs nothing!!

[Gliondrach]

How far is it?

[Blueshark]

Its only 2 miles...so not far at all.

[Blueshark]

Walked today - good so far. felt tired at work, but figure this will improve over time.

[Gliondrach]

I used to do chin ups (palms facing towards me) but they often made my elbows painful. I probably need to stretch the tendons of my biceps a bit. Then I started doing them with a neutral grip (palms facing towards each other) and this seemed to be all right. But my elbows started hurting again, especially the left one. I have recently started dong pull ups (palms facing away from me). No pain.

[Catfriend]

Sometimes I worry I exercise too much. I cut back for a while and then the time creeps back on. Right now I do 75-80 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and about 30 minutes off weight training four days a week. On my "off" days I may walk a couple of miles. I feel alright and look alright, but I know I feel guilty if I miss a day.

[Gliondrach]

Have you tried interval training instead of ordinary cardio? Instead of going slowly or moderately non-stop for an hour, you could go all out for a certain time, then slowly, then all out, then slowly, etc. You could get more work done in 20 minutes than you do in an hour. That's what I do and it's a great way to exercise. There's also the Tabata method, which is similar. Haven't tried that.

[Gliondrach]

I saw a film about the female gymnasts who were picked to represent the UK in the 2008 Peking Olympics. One, who was aged 15 at the time, did 30 hours training a week and also spent 10 hours travelling to and from training. And she was studying for her GCSEs at the same time. That's real dedication.

[Gliondrach]

In post 339 I said that I'd hurt my finger. It is only now beginning to get better. It's not so sore in the mornings and doesn't feel so stiff when I bend it. I'm looking forward to practising the planche again but I will wait for a few more months to make sure the finger is healed.

[Pantera]

I do a ton of walking each day, and recently started doing some additionaly exercising as a have about 40-50 pounds I need to lose. I've been focusing on strengthening my core and legs by doing squats, bicycle crunches, yoga poses and doing exercises with resistance bands. I'm also doing pushups and other arm exercises using the resistance bands. I've lost 8 pounds so far and have another 40ish to go, depending on how much muscle I have in the end.

[Gliondrach]

Good work losing 8 pounds. With that attitude and commitment the other pounds should come off fairly easily.

[Pantera]

Good work losing 8 pounds. With that attitude and commitment the other pounds should come off fairly easily.

:colors: Thanks. I was having a hard time for a while, so now I'm trying to decrease my carb intake a bit, especially at the end of the day. I bought some Vega protein powder and it's really good in a fruit smoothie. The taste took some getting used to (and the green colour!) but I find the berry flavour is the best.

[Gliondrach]

I am going to start doing handstand press ups again. I tried some earlier and I felt all right. I think I stopped doing them because I injured my shoulder and also had an injured finger. I am due to do weight training tomorrow so will do a few sets then.

I am still looking forward to starting planche training again. I was looking at some videos today and I am raring to go. I think I will start next month - with a padded surface under my hands. I have been doing a bit of draining-board hopping and my hands felt all right.

[Bowwowmeow]

Wow.

[Gliondrach]

Ow.

No, it doesn't hurt.

[Gliondrach]

I did a tuck planche today. Easy! I had my hands pointing out to the sides to take pressure off my injured finger. Then I tried a tuck planche with the hands pointing straight ahead. I managed that easily as well. But I will do them with the hands pointing outwards from now on. I'll do them in the 'greasing the groove' style a few times a day, three or four days a week. The idea of GTG is to train without fatigue. You usually only do half your maximum reps or hold a position for half the maximum time you can hold it.

[Gliondrach]

As well as wanting to be able to do a full planche I also want to do an iron cross, front and back levers and a solid freestanding handstand.

This is a good video of the iron cross progressions:

O-CnkkUZg-M

Video 3 is of the planche progressions.

[Gliondrach]

I reckon that I'll be able to do a straddle planche in a few weeks from now - barring injuries. I might only be able to hold it for a second or two and it might not be in the best form but I'll do it. And then I'll work towards a full, straight-leg planche. :rock:

[Gliondrach]

Before doing a straddle planche I'll need to sort out my balance. In recent attempts I've had to quickly drop to my knees to save myself from nose diving into the floor. I injured my leg just below the left knee last week doing this.
----------

I have started doing exercises to rehabilitate my shoulders. My left one often hurts and I have a winged left scapula. I sometimes have pain in the right acromio-clavicular joint - where the shoulder blade and collar bone meet. So, I am doing exercises that target the rotator cuff muscles:

Cuban rotations - each source for it gives different starting positions. The one where you start with the hands down near the hips makes my right shoulder make cracking noises. I will start with my hands in the middle positition until I get used to it.
4zKn1qnnSlo

Shoulder dislocates
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Scapular press ups
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Wall slides - there's a discussion about these at the gymnastic bodies forum:
ht--tp://gymnasticbodies.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1191
d6V2Exzb324
You should keep the whole of your back pressed against the wall and your arms also pressed into the wall. I can really feel the strain at the back of my left shoulder when I do them.

There are other exercises for shoulder problems but these are what I am doing at the mo. I do them at odd times during the day, most days of the week. The one with dumbbells should only be done with light weights otherwise other muscles will take over and it will defeat the object of the exercise.

[Gliondrach]

I'm using a stick that's 54.75 inches long to do the shoulder dislocates. And I can't get my arms all the way back. They just go a few inches past my head.

Another thing I can't do - reach over my shoulder with one hand and reach behind my back with the other and clasp each hand together. I could do that three or four years ago. These new exercises might let me do that again.

[Gliondrach]

I've just done full shoulder dislocates with that stick! :rock: It was easy. I will now work to bring my hands closer together on the stick.

And I can put my left hand over my shoulder to hold the fingers of my right hand behind my back. But I can't hold my left hand behind my back with my right arm over my shoulder. My left shoulder is too stiff for that. I will do it by holding a towel in both hands and then pulling my left hand up my back.

[Gliondrach]

After just a few days of doing these exercises - mostly scapula press ups and shoulder dislocates - I have noticed that my left shoulder doesn't hurt when I move my arm or put weight on it. I can also now touch my fingers together behind my back by putting my right hand over my right shoulder and putting my left hand behind me. Well, I could a couple of hours ago after doing those two exercises. My left shoulder seems to have stiffened up again and I couldn't do it a second ago. But trying to do it is not painful. It would have been painful if I'd tried it a few days ago. Just tried again. I managed to touch the fingers of each hand together. Better not overdo it. In a week or two I'll be able to do it with ease.

I also do other exercises during the day for my shoulders. I raise my shoulders to near my ears, and then circle them back and down and then forwards to start again. I try to be aware of my shoulder blades moving. And I raise my arms to the sides above my head. I also bend at the waist and raise my arms out to the sides. Then forwards and backwards, whilst still bent forwards. I do 12 reps for each movement. This is just to get some circulation going and to use the muscles. I don't move my shoulders much in daily life.

[veganbasket]

swimming is very therapeutic for me. it's not harsh on my joints and time passes by so fast. it doesn't even feel like exercise.

the only downside is the chlorine!

[Gliondrach]

I found a couple of good planche videos. One led to a video that I find incredible. It shows an 11-year-old girl doing 21 pull ups! There's another one of her doing 16 chin ups - which are easier than pull ups. I could do 16 chin ups if my elbows didn't get sore doing them but I can't do 21 pull ups. It would be a bit easier for me if I had a proper bar and if my left elbow wasn't still sore but it would take me a long time before I could do 21.

11 Year Old Girl Does 21 Pull-Ups straight
ht-tp://ww-w.youtube.com/watch?v=OA0_yfKPPw8

[Landry]

Hi dear,

Exercise is necessary for getting the fitness and improving the health.
Now a days I am doing Yoga exercise. Yoga is good for getting fitness.
I prevents from a number of diseases and control the stress and depression.

[Bladerunner]

Working up to 5 mile runs every day with the odd half marathon distance thrown in. The heart and lungs are ok but I have a 65 year old pair of knees to think about.

[Gliondrach]

You must be very fit.

I used to have trouble with my knees - torn cartilage in each - but since starting single-leg squats again they've felt much more stable. I am going to start doing quadricep stretches regularly to stop my quads getting too tight, which is not good for the knees.

[Blueshark]

Because I weigh about 110kg - running is really out of the question for me. It would be a very powerful impact on my knees and ankles. I try to focus on cycling and swimming. I have an electric bicycle which is awesome - and I swim quite often in the summer.

I don't overexercise - I just do what comes naturally -however I expect I will exercise more as time allows.

[Andy_T]

I'm a happy user of the www.hundredpushups.com site.

Seems to be a great (and easy - I mean intellectually) workout.
Only problem I see is that I am at week 4 again for the third time, having lost my dedication a few times in the past...

Best regards,
Andy

[Bladerunner]

I think I might give that a try Andy because I'm a bit of a weakling in the arms.

[Gliondrach]

I did weight training today. The first time in nine days. I used a different method in the pull ups. I did one pull up and then waited for five seconds before doing the next. I did this until I could no longer do them properly. Then I waited for two minutes and did it again. Then two minutes and did it again. I won't tell you how many (or how few I did). I need to improve my pull ups but I need to do them more often to improve them. There was a bit of an ache in my right shoulder but that was caused by something I've been practising.

I was happy with the single-leg squats. Better than last time and no aches or feelings of weakness.

[Blueshark]

I have been doing a 5km circuit near where I live. It is just walking, however I am tempted to run. I think I should just walk.

I was the victim of chaffing on my inner thighs so I got some lube, so hopefully it will be better soon.

[Gliondrach]

What about swimming, Blueshark? You could swim for miles, live up to your name and get no chaffing. Just the risk of athlete's foot and swallowing chlorinated water.

[Blueshark]

I enjoy swimming, yes. It is my natural exercise. I like to spend times underwater, and then spurt up when I need to.

However, circumstances make it difficult for me at the moment.

[Andy_T]

regarding www.hundredpushups.com

I think I might give that a try Andy because I'm a bit of a weakling in the arms.

Bladerunner,

give it a try! As I mentioned, I lost my dedication once or twice in the past, but 4 weeks continued training of this regime have done more for my chest and arms than any amount of bench presses or similar over the last couple of years.

Best regards,
Andy

[Gliondrach]

As I said in post 6 of http://www.thesaucyvegan.com/showthread.php?p=140838&posted=1#post140838

I was watching a video of a Shaolin monk.

It reminded me of the Ancient Art Silk-Weaving Exercises I used to do. I learnt them from a book called The Kung Fu Exercise Book, by Michael Minick. I bought it in about 1975. It cost 40 new pence then.

The exercises have names like Two Hands Push the Sky, Black Tiger Straightens Waist, Pushing the Moutain.

They are said to exercise and strengthen the internal organs by the stretching and massaging effects of the movements.

I am going to start doing them again each morning.

It does feel good doing them but I was never sure that they were ancient Chinese exercises until looking at some of the other videos that were shown with the above one. Two others there show similar movements - although some are different. They are

Ba Duan Jing (8 Section Brocade)
h--ttp://w--ww.youtube.com/watch?v=71MN9sX-tWs

I've only watched a few minutes of this next one as I have to go out but it does look the same as the exercises I did.

Web learning the full version of "8-step exercise" - by Kungfu Workshop
htt--p://ww--w.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MBmIjmXLU

Copy and paste the addresses into youtube and remove the hyphens or dashes from the htp and ww parts. Or copy and paste the names of the videos.

You can't really learn them from those videos because you need to co-ordinate your breathing with the movements. Generally, you breathe out when you are pushing and breathe in when you are brining your arms closer to your body.

There are lots of videos showing various Chi Gung movements. I could teach these exercises. Hmmm! I wonder if I could hire a church hall and charge a few quid a session?

[Gliondrach]

Further to the above post.

Shaolin Monk 8 Pieces of Brocade (Baduan Jin)
Shaolin style by Master Shi De Yang

I note the similarities and differences between this and my book below.

2jSrWdGQnKw

1. The first one is Two Hands Push the Sky (Interestingly, the book says this is tradionally the first of the standing exercise and Shi De Yang does it as the first one. That is good coroboration for what the book teaches). But in the book the movement is slower, and the model in it raises up on to the toes by the end of the push. And lowers the arms after each push, then brings them above the head again by describing a circle with the arms. As the arms are pushed overhead you breathe out and continue breathing out as the hands are lowered to the head.

2. Next he does 'Riding Horse, Using Bow and Arrow to Shoot Eagle'. This is also the second one in the book. The legendary Ta Mo called it Draw the Bow and Brace the Diaphragm. As the bow is stretched you breathe out and keep breathing out until full stetch. Then bring the hands together again whilst breathing in. In the book it is done verrry slowly. I think I prefer that because it feels more meditative. In the book the model is in the horse stance all the time instead of straighening one leg. The horse stance is with your knees bent at about ninety-degrees.

3. One Arm Raising is next (as in the book, also). It is also called Push the Mountain. As you bring your hands into position you breathe in. As you push them apart - on up, on down - you breathe out. In the book the model again raises on the toes at the full stretch and also has the lower hand in front, not behind. I think having it behind will give more of a stretch. You can definitely feel something when you do this from the combination of your arms stretching in different difections and your diaphragm squeezing to expel air as you breathe out. I don't think the toe raise is necessary in this and the first one. Although it will help with balance.

4. The next one is in a different place to how they arrange them in the book. In the book some other exercises come before this one. It is called Four Body Movements. Your lungs are full when you are upright and you breathe out during the bending and circling. As you come upright again your lungs are empty. You breathe in and do the next one. In the book the model has her hands on her hips throughout and is also in the horse stance all the time. The horse stance is with your knees bent at about ninety-degrees. No, it's not the same as in the book. In the book they bend forwards and circle their head down between their knees.

Right! In the book the one after Two Hands Push the Sky is called Head and Body Swinging, or Black Tiger Straightens Waist. The bloke in the book, like the woman in Four Body Movements, supports himself with his hands but puts them on his upper thighs. He also circles round and down. He doesn't lean backwards.

Actually, that bending, circling one in the video might be Tiger Stretches His Back. This comes much later in the book. But the video is probably more accurate.

5. In the video the next one is the Punching one. In the book, there is another one before this called Bending. Confusingly, it is also sometimes called Black Tiger Straightens Waist. In the Punching exercise you breathe out as your fist goes out. In the book they punch to each side after punching forwards but I was never happy with doing that - it didn't feel right. The video must be more accurate.

6. The next one in the video is not in the book but I know that, as the monk presses down with his hands and raises on his toes he will be breathing out and then breathing in as he brings his hands up and lowers down on his toes.

7. Ah ha! He next does Head and Body Swinging!!! Out of sequence with the book.

8. Next he does something that is almost similar to what is called Bending in the book - mentioned above. Quite a bit different though. In the book the fingers are interlaced and, as you bend forwards, you keep your arms straight. You then straigten up slowly as if lifting a heavy weight in your hands. As you stand up straight you keep bending backwards and you throw you hands over your head and bend back quite a bit.

I think I will do them as they are done in the video. After all, the bloke must know what he's doing. I might do the bow and punching ones a bit more slowly.

Having been born in Singapore, and in the year of the Dragon, these movements feel quite natural to me.

It would be nice to have somewhere like to practise in the morning.

[Ladygold]

I have recently started going to Zumba classes and really enjoy the first 30 min. After that it feels like exercise and less dancing but I always finish out the hour anyway.

Walking short distances from the bus or train has been my main form of exercise but I am trying to change that.
I have a kind of "home gym" and want to make health more of a priority.

LG

[Gliondrach]

There's a programme on BBC2 in a few minutes - Horizon, 9pm - about how interval training is better than ordinary aerobic-type training.

[Bladerunner]

There's a programme on BBC2 in a few minutes - Horizon, 9pm - about how interval training is better than ordinary aerobic-type training.Best part was at the beginning when the presenter fell over with a pulled muscle after running for about 2 seconds....:rofl:

[Gliondrach]

:D

His insulin sensitivity was found to be just within the normal range after he was tested by being given 15 spoons of sugar in water to drink. After 4 weeks of interval training his insulin sensitivity had improved by 23%.

The intervals consisted of 20 seconds of all-out cycling on a stationary bike. A short rest and then another 20 seconds. Then another 20 seconds. And that was it. He did this on three days a week. A total of 3 minutes a week of intense exercise.

A bit more about interval training in post 129 of the following thread:
http://www.thesaucyvegan.com/showthread.php?p=68225&highlight=interval#post68225

[Bladerunner]

:D

His insulin sensitivity was found to be just within the normal range after he was tested by being given 15 spoons of sugar in water to drink. After 4 weeks of interval training his insulin sensitivity had improved by 23%.

The intervals consisted of 20 seconds of all-out cycling on a stationary bike. A short rest and then another 20 seconds. Then another 20 seconds. And that was it. He did this on three days a week. A total of 3 minutes a week of intense exercise.

A bit more about interval training in post 129 of the following thread:
http://www.thesaucyvegan.com/showthread.php?p=68225&highlight=interval#post68225Maybe it was the increased walking activities that improved his insulin level rather than the High-intensity Interval Training (HIT)? Nothing, including HIT improved his aerobic fitness. As that professor said of HIT "It doesn't work for everybody." I think the programme would have been more persuasive if they'd actually shown somebody whose aerobic fitness had been improved by HIT rather than one of "the minority for whom it doesn't work".

Confusing programme altogether.

[Gliondrach]

That will have added to it but I think the interval training was key. It is unfortunate that he was one of the 15% (was it 15%?) of people for whom training wouldn't increase VO2 Max. But it was only for 4 weeks. It might have improved a bit after a few months.

Intervals have been shown to give superior increases in VO2 Max when tested against more jogging-type training.

[Gliondrach]

I did the Chinese exercises a few days ago. My back felt sore the next day and so did my left shoulder. I thought the body circling exercise must have started my back off again. It was painful walking about during the next couple of days.

I did them again on the 28th Feb. I only did the first three and then stopped. Whilst doing the third one I could feel an ache in my left sacro-iliac joint and my left shoulder. The effect of the arms pushing in different directions must have been the cause.

I will wait for a few days and then try again but will modify the third movement. This will be difficult because the whole point of it is to have the arms pushing in different directions. Perhaps I will do it less vigorously or alter the angle of the arms.

[Gliondrach]

I do an exercise that I developed myself. It is called the Gliondrach Step-Back. It's like a single-leg Romanian deadlift but the back leg reaches as far back as possible and the toe touches the floor before the leg is brought back again. The working leg (the supporting one) should be kept as straight as possible but has to bend a bit. When I first started doing them - 12 with each leg - I could feel the fatigue in the abdominal muscles.

I don't do them as part of my exercise sessions. I do them at odd moments of the day.

It's very good for the hamstrings, glutes and, apparently, the abs. And it gets the heart and lungs working if you do enough reps.