The only way to get that fat off is to eat less and exercise more.
-- Jack LaLanne
I'm trying to eat less and more healthfully, but some days it seems like an uphill battle.
Physical activity is helpful in losing weight, so I've started going to the Bill Harmon Recreation Center in Sherwood.
Along with a swimming pool, meeting rooms and a basketball court, the center has an upstairs workout area with an amazing array of equipment that includes treadmills, exercise bicycles, stair steppers and elliptical machines, as well as free weights and weight machines that work just about every part of the body.
I usually do about 30 minutes of work on my cardiovascular endurance followed by the circuit of the machines, which takes another 40 minutes or so.
I was a bit self-conscious at first, but then I realized that all of us there are just human. We sweat. We grunt. And we are all working to make ourselves healthier.
SLOW OR QUICK?
A few weeks ago I was listening to the radio and heard a short interview with a man whose weight-training program involves doing individual repetitions very slowly. I didn't catch his name, but the concept intrigued me. Should I do that, too?
My contact at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences put me in touch with Natalie Cannady, the UAMS Fitness Center manager. I told her I was getting back into doing weight-bearing exercise and asked her opinion on the benefit of performing weightlifting repetitions veeeeery sloooowly.
Cannady suggested it would be smarter to keep a moderate pace. For example, on a bicep curl I could count in my head, "up, 2, 3, 4, down, 2, 3, 4" and repeat.
Repetition speed can be slow or fast for different types of training, but for someone just getting back into working out, the best thing would be to start out at a moderate pace. That way we'll get the benefit of moving joints through their whole range of motion without skimping on either the lifting or the lowering, and we can practice safe form.
If the pace of lifting and lowering a weight causes the body to sway or rock out of proper alignment, we won't get the full benefit of our workout and could be setting ourselves up for injury.
If the exercise is performed correctly, going fast and going slow can be equally beneficial.
Cannady says it's always good to warm up before weightlifting. One way is to do a little cardio on a treadmill or other piece of equipment, or we can do an active warmup like jumping jacks, body-weight squats or high knee lifts. Getting a practice set in before adding weight can be beneficial as well.
Rest between workouts. Muscles require rest because every time we work out with weights we cause micro tears in the fibers. Those tears need to heal, and when they do, the fibers grow back stronger. If there is not enough rest, the muscle can stay torn or not build back quickly or with as much strength.
Start with two to three workout days a week, separating muscle groups such as upper body, lower body and core. Most muscle groups, she says, can be worked twice a week if they have been given the 48 hours of rest they require.
Women benefit greatly from weight training for bone density, and it helps produce a feminine, shapely body. Women do not have the natural hormones to become the Incredible Hulk. Weight training helps everyone who does it burn more calories at rest because the body has to use more calories to feed and maintain muscle.
Adequate rest, hydration and proper nutrition will help us go far, too. Take one of them away and goals become harder to reach.
A good place to start safely would be a certified trainer. All the muscles in the world won't help if you are too hurt or sore to move.
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ActiveStyle on 04/10/2017