Fit Communications

Well, comrades, two of this week’s workouts were derailed by a nasty cold. Nonetheless, on today’s schedule was my very first "body pump" class, and as I believed I was no longer infectious, I went–shored up with Mucinex, Sudafed, grapefruit juice, and coffee.

I don’t do much in the way of high reps in my typical workouts, although for a time I subscribed to a 20-rep-per-set squat routine. (That was a long time ago.) Usually my sets consist of 7 or 8 reps minimum and 12 to 15 maximum.

The body pump concept seems to be this: using light weights, during an hourlong class, do about 100 reps total for most of the major muscle groups. High reps like this build muscular endurance–something I probably need.

I’m not about to give up my strength workouts, but I felt this would be a nice addition, and it probably will be.

That said, this workout alone isn’t a good substitute for what I usually do, because in 90 minutes I usually do a 10-minute treadmill warmup, 35 to 40 minutes of weight training, and 35 minutes on the elliptical trainer for cardio fitness. That leaves 5 to 10 minutes for fooling around, dressing, etc.

Body pump wouldn’t improve cardio fitness. I don’t think I breathed hard at any stage, I didn’t sweat much, and my heart rate was fairly low.

Here’s the (to me) interesting part: when we were doing upper-body work (bench press, curls, shoulder press, tricep extension), I felt as though I could go all day. Some of that is because I started cautiously, using very little weight on the bar.

During the squatting and lunging phase, though, I was really pushed, particularly during lunges. That tells me my legs are comparatively weak. I haven’t squatted with any kind of weight in years, mainly because it aggravates my lower back, and that makes me a wuss on the subject. I’ve been using machines for legs, with a few walking lunges thrown in, and obviously my legs are not keeping pace with my upper body.

When I work chest and back, I go all-out and enjoy doing it. Looks like I need to re-focus my attention on legs.

Would you believe weather.com offers a number of fitness-related articles?

Here you’ll find a “walking calculator” that figures up calories burned, based on the duration of your walk and your pace and bodyweight.

The same page offers links to calculators for BMI (body mass index), “hydration needs,” “calorie burn,” and desired exercise heart rate.

Features, including “Fitness 101,“ start here.

The current issue of Newsweek, supposedly on the stands today, Monday, Jan. 10, offers a slew of articles on nutrition’s role in health.

Check out the magazine’s health section on MSNBC.com for articles on olive oil’s cancer-fighting properties, diet and aging, and more.

I’ve gotten quite fond of doing drop-sets, especially when I’m short on time or don’t feel I have the energy for a long, drawn-out session in the gym.

To perform a drop-set, begin a movement with the heaviest weight you plan to use for that session. (If you’re using a lot of weight or are prone to injuring the body part in question, warm up first with a couple of lighter sets.)

Perform as many reps as you can while maintaining good form. When you reach failure, immediately reduce the weight and again do as many reps as possible without sacrificing form. When you fail, reduce the weight again, and continue till you’ve failed with the lightest weights you plan to use.

It’s easy to do drop-sets with machines that have a weight stack–all you have to do is move the pin up a notch–or with dumbbells.

One of my favorite dumbbell movements is standing lateral raises, for deltoids (shoulders). I’ll start with 15s, drop to 12s, drop to 10s, drop to 8s, drop to 5s, and finish with tiny 2.5-pound dumbbells. By the time I’m done, those small bells feel awfully heavy.

Lately I’ve been using drop-sets during my leg workouts, for seated knee flexion (leg curls), hip abduction, hip adduction, and knee extensions. One drop-set per movement is all I need to exhaust whatever muscles I’m working, and although the intensity is high, I can give it all I’ve got because I know I just need to get through one set, albeit a long one.

The point is that even if you have only 20 minutes to work out with weights, you can accomplish a lot.

Glory be–could women’s bodybuilding come back from near extinction?

On Dec. 6 the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness) released an advisory memo as follows:

"For aesthetics and health reasons, the IFBB Professional Division requests that female athletes in Bodybuilding, Fitness and Figure decrease the amount of muscularity by a factor of 20 percent.

"This request for a 20 percent decrease in the amount of muscularity applies to those female athletes whose physiques require the decrease regardless of whether they compete in Bodybuilding, Fitness, or Figure.

"All professional judges have been advised of the proper criteria for assessing female physiques."

For women taking steroids, this is a mixed blessing. If a female competitor would really prefer to compete au naturel, the change–if enforced by judges (and that’s a very big if)–provides hope that such physiques could once again win contests. For those competitors who want to be as big and gnarly as possible and aren’t perturbed by the fact that male hormones are necessary, it’s a big problem.

Well, we’ll see what the judges do.

I’ve been following women’s bodybuilding since 1983 and competed in a very small way in the mid-’80s. That was a pivotal time. In the early ’80s, natural competitors could–and did–win contests. By the late ’80s, everything had changed. I still have most of my old copies of Muscle & Fitness, Women’s Physique World, and some of the short-lived women’s muscle titles. Someday I should put together a slide presentation and show images of certain prominent competitors over, say, a three-year span. In some cases the changes were sudden and dramatic.

Of course, women can add muscle without drugs, and how much depends on their genetic makeup, workouts, and nutrition. I used to say that I thought women should push their limits and get as big as possible–but I meant as big as possible without ‘roids or–gak–human growth hormone. (Is there anything less aesthetically pleasing than a bodybuilder, male or female, whose facial bones have grown or who has developed a huge, sloppy abdomen from drug use?)

It’s always seemed ridiculous to me that a woman who’s developing her muscularity and strength should stoop to using male hormones in the process. Not a very liberated move, in my view.

I’m not disparaging the hard work or dedication of steroid-enhanced athletes–but I do deplore the aethetic result and the incongruity of combining bodybuilding (a pursuit that’s supposed to enhance health) and drugs.

Okay, enough ranting on my part.

I’ll be watching future contests to see what happens.

A Newsweek article presents a Q&A interview with Lisa Tartamella one of the authors of a new book, Generation Extra Large: Rescuing Our Children From an Epidemic of Obesity.

Here are the blurb and a link to the article:

Generation XL
In a new book, researchers probe the reasons behind increasing child obesity and lay out recommendations for reversing the troubling trend.

I’ve asked my local library to get the book, as I think the information could be very helpful to plenty of parents, including those who can’t afford to buy a copy.

I’m on a crusade to get my kitchen counters and table cleared of books, papers, and magazines. I’m off work, so I hope to accomplish the deed today.

Cooking will be a lot easier when I have space to maneuver.

That got me thinking about the kitchen tools and appliances I find most helpful:

rice steamer–which makes cooking perfect rice extremely easy. Dump rice, water, and a little kosher salt into the pot, plug the thing in, and forget about it. When the rice is done, the steamer switches to "warming" mode and keeps the rice hot and moist until you need it.

All-Clad dutch oven–expensive but wonderful for preparing soup, stew, or chili or for sauteeing large amounts of vegetables

V-slicer–the poor man’s mandoline, which makes short work of slicing vegetables. I use it to slice onions very thin when making my favorite green salad (recipe to come one of these days).

Crockpot–handy for preparing soups, stews, and roasts when time is limited. Toss in the ingredients, plug in the slow cooker, and go off to work.

Bread machine–Loaves baked in the machine are somewhat ill-shaped, so I use it to prepare dough for bread, pizza, and rolls. Once the dough is ready, I remove it, shape it, let it rise under a dish towel, then bake it. Machines prepare excellent dough and save the cook both mess and time. They’re also great for people whose hand strength has diminished. Using my bread machine and a recipe from Cook’s Illustrated (absolutely the best cooking magazine for "foodies"), I can prepare pizza dough and sauce in about 90 minutes.

chef’s knife–Until I got one for Christmas several years ago, I had no idea how much difference a good chef’s knife makes. Now I can bash away rapidly, without fear of cutting myself.

On the fitness front: this afternoon I’ll work upper body at the gym, followed by a session on the elliptical trainer.

Also: I’m going to sign up for a "body pump" class at my gym, starting mid-month. I’ve never, repeat, never, taken an aerobics class of any kind, so this should be interesting. I’m strong and my cardiovascular fitness is good, but I tend to be a bit, well, uncoordinated. So we’ll see how I do.

I just thought adding something new to the mix might be a good thing and could perhaps help move me off the plateau I’ve been on for the past several months.

Mom was right–you need to eat your veggies!

Here’s the first paragraph from an article on the American Institute for Cancer Research website:

Increasing the Amount of Vegetables, Fruit in Diet Remains the Leading Weight-Loss Strategy in U.S.

WASHINGTON–According to a new survey of dietary behavior commissioned by the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), 4 in 5 weight-conscious Americans turn to salads, vegetables and fruits when trying to shed a few pounds.  The fact that a clear majority of Americans are still adopting this old-fashioned, common-sense approach, even amid a low-carb marketing craze, is encouraging news to health experts concerned about the state of nutrition in the U.S.

If you’re interested, you can also download from the same site an Adobe Acrobat (pdf) backgrounder titled "Plant foods and weight management: the science behind energy density" (see my Jan. 5 post "red, green, and blue food").

Here’s an MSNBC.com article on an American Council on Exercise survey:

Excuses, excuses
Why do so few Americans exercise? A new survey by the American Council on Exercise offers some interesting insights on our coach-potato culture.