Maggie's FarmWe are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for. |
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Wednesday, June 1. 2022Squats vs. Deadifts
Each one is useful for general studiness, and especially for women. Saturday, May 28. 2022Walking and Hiking
When does walking become a form of endurance (light-moderate "cardio") exercise? That depends on speed and incline. However challenging hiking might be (hills, rocks, etc.) it is still mostly a recreational and visual experience. Even for mountain hiking, most of us need to slow down. As a rule of thumb, walking is not exercise unless there is sweat and a little shortness of breath. Some people say that if you can have a conversation, it is not exercise. Makes sense. Here's a good synopsis about walking as exercise.
Thursday, May 26. 2022A Nutritional Diary for weight gain and weight loss, reposted
Weight-gain is important for scrawny or physically-undeveloped people who are looking to gain muscle and physical power. The classic 150-lb weakling male who wants to develop might need to gain 10 lbs with a balanced exercise program including weights and a robust diet. Same goes for a weakling stringbean gal. Whether part of a fitness goal is weight gain or weight loss, a nutritional diary, I believe, is the essential, basic aid. If you record everything you put in your oatmeal-hole, including portion size, while weighing yourself every month, you will get a good idea of how you're moving towards your goals. For weight gain goals with a 5-6-day per week exercise program including weights, I'd like to see about a 1 lb gain per month for a while. Unless you want to gain fat, a pound/month is plenty. If you can't do that, you need to up your intake. That can be difficult for some people who have to force themselves to eat more than they really want. For getting rid of excess fat, a reasonable goal is 2 lbs/month with or without exercise. I can't tell you what percentage of American medical problems are related to being overweight, but it could be half of it, from arthritis to breast cancer. Hard exercise doesn't do much for weight loss but it's a good thing for life anyway. In either case, a detailed diary can help you navigate towards your goal. People are often surprised by how much, or how little, they consume in a day. This is not a recommendation for an obsessive lifetime plan, just to try for a few months.
Wednesday, May 25. 2022Metcon workouts"Metcon" workouts (metabolic conditioning) are not about strength-building or weight loss. They are about building vigor and endurance. A combination of HIIT Cardio and calisthenics, usually. They are far better, and more fun, done in a group in a gym. Not 20 minutes, more like an hour with a 5-minute warm-up and 5 minutes stretching at the end. Metcon Workout: Is It for You?
Friday, May 13. 2022High-intensity Cardio
It requires intensity to properly stress the heart muscle. Like weight-lifting, the intensity is what demands muscle strengthening and improved vasculature. This does not take much time out of your workout schedule. Heart rate is a good measure of exercise intensity. Here's how to know your cardio stress level. (It might not exactly apply if you are taking blood pressure meds that limit heart rate.) Or you can go by how you feel - if you are winded by a one-minute sprint and need 30-60 seconds to catch your breath, you probably got your heart rate up. Here's a good 10-minute cardio workout, with jump rope. He calls it Beginner but it is pretty good:
Sunday, May 8. 2022CalisthenicsThursday, May 5. 2022More on CalisthenicsAt Maggie's Farm, perhaps we discuss weight training more than the other aspects of fitness. That might be because weight training requires more technique to get it right. However, it seems to me that daily Calisthenics would be the thing to do if you had to pick one thing. Why is that? A cali routine puts every muscle to work. It doesn't build big strength much, but that's another topic. A cali routine involves lots of HIIT cardio. A calis routine works on balance, and general athleticism. And, unlike heavy weights, an hour of calis does not require any special recovery time so it can be done daily. It is more fun to do these in groups or couples, and it is more fun to rotate from one thing to another. It doesn't matter what level you work as long as you push it. One hour goes by fast. Here are some of the things we do: Warm-up (5-7 minutes): Jumping jacks, jump rope, high-knee running in place, etc. Push-ups (any sort) If not heavily sweating, nothing is happening. Add on a 10-minute treadmill walk to cool down. You do not want to put a horse up wet...
Monday, May 2. 2022Accessory Weight Exercises
(A reminder about Powerlifts: These are mostly full-body, or multi-muscle group/compound exertions: Bench Press, Deadlifts, Barbell Squats, Rows (dumbell, TRX, seated, barbell - whatever), Military Press, and pull-ups or pulldowns.) Depending on general health and taking into account past injuries, these are sturdiness basics regardless of age or sex. Ordinary people should not push their powerlifts two or three days in a row because recovery is needed. For a good discussion about powerlifts. So-called Accessory Weight Exercises are good time- fillers, and do not need the sorts of recovery that the powerlifts do. Here's a partial list: Curls of any sort Do any of our readers do Accessory Weights and, if so, what?
Wednesday, April 20. 2022Growing kids should lift weights
My husband loaded trucks at a lumber yard for three years in his teens. Sports too, of course, but he is sure that that labor made him a sturdier adult. Hard manual labor is what growing boys are made for. This might not apply to women, though. In adulthood, however, if women want to avoid osteopenia the simplest and most natural approach is to lift heavy. Cardio does nothing for bone maintenance.
Monday, April 18. 2022A case of DOMSEver had DOMS (Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness)? It's not a disease, just a normally-abnormal thing that gets better in a few days. Stiffness, soreness, mild swelling beginning about 24-30 hrs. after the exertions. I've only had it several times over the years, and I know why I have it right now in my calves and quads. It's because I requested 30 minutes of our hour for calisthenics from my trainer on Saturday morning, and he had me doing things I've rarely done. It was hard, but a great workout. As an experiment, I tried stretching and walking it off for 50 minutes this morning. It didn't seem to do much, but better than sitting, maybe. Our D-Day post yesterday described 8-hour/day calisthenics for Airborne training (including running). "I thought I was in good shape, but I wasn't." Good grief, that's always the case.
Thursday, March 24. 2022Leg Tucks
Woke army introduces new easier combat fitness test that swaps tough leg tucks for planks and lowers standards across the board to be more inclusive for women Here's how the US Army does Leg Tuck exercises.
Tuesday, March 15. 2022Why Am I So Tired After Deadlifts?
In my current program, I only do deads once weekly and barbell squats once weekly. Plus all of the other strength stuff of course. It's not advice, but for my deads I do a 15-rep warm-up and then 5 sets increasing weight and lowering reps to 4. It is feeling more to me like maintenance. Why Am I So Tired After Deadlifts? Here’s 7 Reasons Why
Wednesday, March 9. 2022Big muscles?
Rippetoe speaks mainly to men, but I think his strength-training advice applies just as well to women. His focus on strong=big, however, is only for guys who want to get "big." Most guys who pursue general fitness have no major desire to look conspicuously jacked, and women can't do it if they try. When it comes to appearance alone, it seems to me as if men and women want to look athletic. When it comes to general fitness for life, muscle hypertrophy is unimportant although some amount of muscle growth will occur with any balanced fitness program. (As our readers know, our recommendations are 1/3 HIIT cardio, 1/3 mixed calisthenics, and 1/3 stressful weights for strength. This is a recipe for looking, and being, in athletic shape.) Two pieces from Rippetoe: The Biggest Training Fallacy of All
Monday, March 7. 2022Fat loss
That loss is almost entirely about nutrition. The reason to include exercise, or fitness training, is to minimize muscle loss while getting rid of the fat burden.
Wednesday, March 2. 2022Why Muscle Recovery Worsens With AgeThursday, February 24. 2022Eccentric motions with weightsThe study is not great, but it does help to highlight the importance of eccentric motion with weights. That is the with-gravity motion that follows the lift or push. It can be almost an isometric stress and, with weight, stress is good so resisting gravity both ways makes better use of your time. Slower is better. Build strength with only three seconds of weight lifting per day? Get stronger in only three seconds per day? New research shows that it is possible. I don't buy it, but eccentric motion matters. Wednesday, January 19. 2022Exercise follow-upWe have been skimpy about fresh workout posts because I think we have said it all. I think many of our readers have taken it to heart, at various levels of intensity. We think 5-6 hrs/week is good. Will re-post old ones sometimes, and anything new that comes up. I stand by our Maggie's Fitness for Life program of a combination of HIIT Cardio, heavy weights, and calisthenics. Approx. 1/3 each. Weights only with proper training. Plus appropriate nutrition to meet fitness goals. Plus recreational things like walking, hiking, sports, etc. Those are the rewards of the program. Yes, Deadlifts are the best single exercise to maintain vigor.
Wednesday, December 29. 2021Don't do it
All the same, my general advice to those over 35 or 40 is to start slowly. If overweight, tiny meals. If underweight, eat food of any sort. Begin with 3 hrs/wk at the gym for a month to get going. Best way to do it is with a trainer. I suggest two half-hours of light cardio, 2 half-hours of light weights/machines, and 2 half-hours of calisthenics. After that, a more demanding program. Most people can use a guide through the journey of physical fitness. It is a lifetime journey to try to avoid eventual decrepitude.
Wednesday, December 8. 2021Powerlifting at mature ages, reposted
Photo above is Edith Traina at age 97. A youthful 97 for sure due to many years of fitness pursuits. I think those are 50 lb. plates so she is lifting 145 lbs. Not bad for 97. You can join that organization AARP at age 50, so I guess that's "mature." Another measure of seriously "mature" is if you remember Jack LaLanne - the Godfather of American Fitness. Should "mature" people (50-80+) do powerlifts? Of course, and should push the weight as possible. The Maggie's General Fitness protocol calls for heavy weights only twice weekly but that's partly because it's designed to fit in all of the other aspects of fitness. However, a group of people, whether mature or youth, male, female or confused, care mostly about building or maintaining strength and physical sturdiness. Getting buff and sexy. Like people who only want to run, they are not after balanced fitness. To each his or her own although I will debate you on the value of the single road (and Mark Rippetoe and Glenn Reynolds might debate me back). For mature adults who want to focus only on strength, 3 days/week of heavy weights is right with the emphasis on powerlifts. In fact, I can see some value in myself occasionally taking two months to do heavy weights 3/wk to see if I can get past my current plateau. Especially in winter when hiking on ice is not fun or even sensible. Hmmm. I have to mention, though, that I had a pal who climbed Mt. Washington in January. Kudos to him, for sure. Tough SOB, Vietnam vet. Once was enough for him to check that off his bucket list. Powerlifting Workout for Old Guys
Tuesday, November 23. 2021When You Lift Weights Every DayWhat Really Happens to Your Body When You Lift Weights Every Day I do not do real weights daily. But I do some weights 4 days/week, if only lunges with hand weights.
Thursday, November 4. 2021Mixing up your workouts
Some examples: For legs etc, you can do deadlift one day, barbell squats another. Or leg-press. For HIIT, you can do stairmaster one day, treadmill sprints on another. For triceps, you can do press-downs one day, skullcrushers on another. For calisthenics, the list of choices is so long that you always vary what you do. Varying the things you do reduces boredom, but also keeps your neuromuscular system nimble and adjusting. Monday, November 1. 2021JumpingReaders know that we like jump rope as an intense cardio (ie real "cardio") exercise. The heavier the rope, the more challenging. I have used a 1 lb rope a few times and it is brutal. About jump ropes in general Wednesday, October 27. 2021Exertion and the brain
Tuesday, October 26. 2021Pull-upsWhether you want to view pull-ups as weight-lfting or as a calisthenic, it is a strength-builder for the entire upper body. The problem is that many middle-aged people have trouble doing reps without assistance. Does assistance really help over time? A couple of years ago we had a one-month push-up challenge, and it worked for those who kept with it daily. The goal was 100 push-ups/day by the end of the month (not 100 at once, but 100 daily). Turned out that it was quite do-able with good results even for push-up beginners - and for women. Their reps got longer, and their muscles got tougher. There are a couple of women I see in the gym doing 20 pull-up reps. They look fit, but neither muscular nor skinny. A 60-day 100 pull-up challenge might work too, but I do not know how to begin it for those who cannot do a single one. Ideas? Wednesday, October 13. 2021Do Older People Need Longer to Recover from Exercise?Here's an addendum to my past post about recovery: Do Older People Need Longer to Recover from Exercise? What is "older"? But anyway, generally the answer is no, especially once you are into a month or so of a daily fitness program. Nobody can benefit from heavy deadlifts every day, or HIIT every day. For general fitness (maybe not for master athletes in training), mixing it up for an hour or so daily works best. At any age, get your 20 gms or so of protein after a workout. It can't hurt.
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