Tag Archives: Muscle

Hill Work – Why Run Up When You Can Cruise Flat?

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Running

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Ever since I have lived in my house, over 10 years now, I have basically run the same course. Out my door, up my driveway, and off I go on a plotted course throughout my area. It’s a route filled with beautiful wooded scenery, uninterested horses, grazing cows, and the forever watchful dogs who always announce my coming and going. I have many stories of running by undetected skunks, crossing the paths of bucks, and trying to outrun approaching thunderstorms.

The course I take is mainly hill work. There are a few spots where the run is flat, but the great majority is hard hill work at high crescendos. The run can be made even more challenging when caught by the sun’s rays on a hot summer day. On these occasions, you can find me playing hopscotch with the spots of shade and sprinting through the areas were the sun shines bright.

Not too far from my house, about a 10 minute drive away, is a beautiful paved running path through the handsome woods that follows alongside of a glistening river. Struble Trail is a multi-use rail trail marked by the mile and often filled with other runners, cyclists, and skaters. There are fishermen standing in the water trying for a catch or two and walkers, many with dogs, out for a good brisk stride. Ah, company as I cruise along! Best of all, it’s completely FLAT and smooth! Or is it better?

There is no debate that running is an excellent cardio workout, benefiting your lungs and skeleton system. Both types improve your cardiovascular health, burn calories toward weight loss, and increase your lean muscle mass. There are also the endorphins that kick in that wonderful mental high and the reduction of stress and troubles as one plots along their course of choice.

But while both are intense physical workouts, hill running nudges out as the winning answer as being better for you. For starters, it challenges all of your major muscles further, especially working your upper leg muscles and backside as you push upward, while strengthening and toning your calves, quads, hamstrings, and glutes along the way. As one trainer once said to me, “running up hill lifts your butt and reduces any sag.” That’s an enough of a motivator for me!

Those who run on an incline also gain a more powerful stance and improved stride in almost all of the eight lower-body muscle groups, equating to a quicker running time when on flat surfaces. You will strengthen your hip flexors and Achilles tendons, develop more power in your calf muscles and quads, and increase your lower half strength and overall endurance.

Since running up also requires more energy, you will additionally increase your muscle elasticity and burn even more calories. How much more? Two hundred calories an hour more that running on level ground! For a 150-pound person, that is 1,000 calories per hour running uphill versus 800 on the flat. Increase your speed or add weight to your run, in your backpack or with ankle or wrist weights, and burn even more calories.

Enough said to keep me going on my hilly route! It’s nice knowing I’m working by body harder and I do love the results I see on my body. On the weekends, I may break the hills for the nearby flat trail for an easy five miles. Change up is good and gives my body the break of a lighter workout.

Either way, flat or uphill, you can’t go wrong with either running surface. It’s a win-win situation with the benefits of the cardio workout. So lace up, apply sunscreen, and get out there to reap the rewards of a good run.

Be fit. Be strong. Be well.
Adriana

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The Change Up

05 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by in Exercising, Health and Wellness

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Now that autumn is falling into place with its brisker weather and shorter days, what better time than now to restructure your workouts to not only to accommodate the cooler days and shorter daylight, but to jolt your muscles into getting even stronger and fitter.

In order for your body to keep developing and becoming more fit, your workout program has to keep changing. When you continue to repeat the same workout over and over again without altering it, you prevent your body from evolving and making any gains. Your mile times won’t approve. Your bench press won’t make an impact. Your exercises won’t be effective. All because you forced your body to hit a plateau. You muscles have become accustomed to what you are doing and are no longer responding at the level they once did.

Muscles react to change. They actually thrive on it by growing stronger, bigger, firmer, and toner. Change is their fuel. Fat also reacts to change. If you change up the exercise routine, not only will your body be continually challenged, but it will also burn more calories, resulting in a more successful weight loss. In addition, you avoid boredom and prevent possible injuries.

You should switch up your exercises about every four to twelve weeks or whenever you feel like you aren’t improving anymore. Typically, I change my workout routine four times a year, often coinciding with the change of the seasons. So now that autumn is falling into place with its brisker weather and shorter days, what better time to restructure my workouts to accommodate the cooler days and shorter daylight. Now my workouts occur mainly indoors, starting with a 6:00 am fitness class three days a week for one hour. This is following by a run on the treadmill and then abs. Alternating days I continue my runs and abs but add weight training and Pilates. Plus two days a week I swim and one I bike. I will also be starting with a new trainer to continue with the change up and help me target particular areas.

But a changeup shouldn’t be just for your workout routine. When it’s time to change your exercises, you should also take the opportunity to re-evaluate your diet. Is it as healthy as it should be? Is there any way you can improve your eating lifestyle? Have you been slipping back to past bad eating habits?

For me when it’s just me by myself, I often fall into the rut of eating almost the same foods for at least breakfast and lunch. So with the changing of my gym workout in combination of less availability of fresh seasonal fruits at the supermarket, I have also changed up my daily diet. Breakfast is now oatmeal with unsweetened applesauce, walnuts, cinnamon, blueberries and strawberries while lunch is a boneless chicken breast and a green vegetable. Snacks are nuts, banana or carrots. Dinner is usually on the run and may be as simple as organic peanut butter on 100% whole wheat bread or a fresh fish dish at a favorite restaurant.

The bottom line is that with dedication and determination, your fitness goals are achievable. Stay discipline and remember to change up your exercise routine regularly. Get creative and explore new and exciting fitness routines. If you feel you are at a loss as to how to change your workout, seek the advice of a trainer from your gym who may provide wonderful new moves for you to try. Any way you change it up, it’s the change that’s the key to your fitness success.

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana

High Intensity Training (HIT) – Not for the Meek and Mild

19 Tuesday Jul 2011

Posted by in Exercising, Muscles, Weight Training

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Since my son Michael has come home for the summer from college, he has been especially dedicated to his workouts and diet. He hits the gym faithfully, follows a healthy muscle building diet and even frequents GNC for supplements. His dedication reminds me of when I was his age. But now the tables have turned slightly as Michael has introduced me to something, HIT; a workout regimen that became widespread in the 1970’s, decades before he was even born.

High Intensity Training (HIT) is a method of strength training first made popular by inventor Arthur Jones, the founder of Nautilus and MedX. Everyone who has ever worked out is knows of Nautilus equipment. The latter company manufactures both spinal rehabilitation and premium exercise equipment. I was first made aware of Jones and his commitment to the fitness world with his creation of the portable Bowflex. My oldest brother, also named Michael, took that apparatus with him everywhere, including family vacations. Yes, you can see that discipline and a dedication to fitness runs in the family.

The basic principles of HIT are that the exercises are brief, infrequent, and intense.  The participant works harder for briefer amounts of time and less frequently than the typical high volume approach that trainers often encourage. It stresses intensity over repetition and focuses on performing quality weightlifting repetitions to the point of momentary muscular failure. The training takes into account the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the amount of time the muscle is exposed to tension in order to maximize the amount of muscle fiber recruitment. Many bodybuilders used this training technique as it’s an excellent means to build muscle mass which is my son’s goal.

A HIT workout targets one body part at a time with one or two exercises, a single set of 6 to 10 reps for your upper body and either 8 to 15 reps or more commonly 12 to 20 reps for your lower, performed until the exerciser is spent. Dead lifts usually have a rep range of 5 to 8 reps, and calves are sometimes trained with 1 to 2 sets of failure. Be certain to choose a weight that allows you to complete your reps to exhaustion. When you are able to do 10 or more reps, increase the weight for your next workout.

A rule of HIT is, as the exerciser get stronger, the stress is greater and more rest more is needed between workouts. So HIT workouts should be scheduled from 4 days a week to only one workout every 10 days. A sample HITs workout on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays or Tuesdays and Thursdays would include: barbell squats, leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises, chin ups or lat pull downs, barbell rows, bench presses, dumbbell flies or pec decks, shoulder presses, dumbbell lateral raises, barbell curls, and tricep extensions.

Not every strength training or exercise program is for everyone. I do not do High Intensity Training as I do not want my muscles any larger than they are already. But for those who would like be more well-built, like my son, than I suggest giving HIT a try. It’s been proven to be very effective and accomplishing increased strength and muscle mass.

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana

Slow Versus Fast Twitch Muscle Fibers

13 Friday May 2011

Posted by in Muscles, Setting Goals, Training, Weight Training

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When my 19-year-old son came home from college, he shared with me his attempts to build muscle on his lean body build. Most of us would want the days back again when our metabolism was churning ever so high and we could literally eat whatever was put before us and remain thin. But for my son, he was hoping he would be more muscular through his workouts and diet/nutrition intake. He was surprised through all his efforts, he hadn’t built up and out.

I then began to share with him the differences between fast and slow twitch muscle fiber and how they respond differently to training and physical pursuits. While I have the norm 50-50 combo of the two fibers, my son has mostly slow. I told him recognizing the differences, realizing your own muscle makeup and knowing the ideal training for your type will lead to the best results when trying to build up or slim down. He had never heard of the different muscle fiber types and suggested I write about it to inform others.

I stumbled onto the different types of muscle fiber in my own pursuit to try to understand why my lower half would build up from what seemed to be just looking at a weight while, on the opposite end, I could lift free weights until the cows came home and my upper body would never ever get bulky. With my own trial and error, I found out what exercises are best for muscle definition in my legs and butt, and what works ideal for my core, arms and shoulders. I must admit it gets challenging at times with my lower body; I can’t participate in step classes, cycling activities, and lower weight training on a regular basis without bulking up in what seems to be in a heartbeat to me.

Muscle fiber composition is already built into your genetics. The fibers are divided down into two main types and you can think of them as exact opposites. Type I, slow twitch, is for long endurance activities while Type II, fast twitch, is for short fast bursts.

Type I Fibers – Slow Twitch
The slow twitch muscle fibers are more efficient at using oxygen to generate more fuel for continuous, extended muscle contractions over a long period of time. They fire up more slowly than fast twitch fibers and can go for a long time before they fatigue. This fiber type is great for paced exercises and endurance activities, such as marathons and triathlons. When weight training, perform sets of high-rep lifts. Aim for 12 to 20 lifts per set at a comfortable weight, which builds strength without forcing your body to exert itself too strenuously.

Type II Fibers – Fast Twitch
The fast twitch muscle fibers do not need oxygen to create fuel and are excellent at generating quick, powerful bursts of speed and strength. These fibers fire up more quickly, but also fatigue easily. They are not effective in longer-term training, but are very useful in brief, high-intensity training, such as gymnastics, bodybuilding or powerlifting. When weight training, perform sets of low-rep lifts. Use heavy weights to make yourself stronger and to build up your fast twitch fibers.

Fast twitch can be further subdivided into Type IIa and Type IIb. Type IIa are known as intermediate fast-twitch fibers. They are a combination of Type I and Type II muscle fibers, using both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism almost equally to create energy. Type IIb are known as the classic fast twitch muscle fibers, using just anaerobic metabolism to create energy.

The distribution of muscle fiber differs in each individual. As mentioned earlier, examine your type and decide on your goals so that you can create an exercising program specific to your needs. Remember a person with more fast-twitch will do best with low reps and high sets and heavier weights. A person who with more slow-twitch will gain from high reps and low sets with sub-maximal weights. Read up and discuss a plan with a trainer at your gym as to what’s best for your own individual success.

Be Fit. Be Strong. Be Well.
Adriana