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, March 24. 2021"Functional fitness"
I have been asked what use my levels of fitness are, and my reasons for pursuing fitness in the ways that I do. Probably maintaining vigor is my first item, and a vigorous attitude towards life. I like to say "yes" to doing things. About five years ago I felt tired on a hunting trip, and I hated myself for it. That was my wake-up call. Does bedroom vitality matter too, and being appealing to a spouse? Um, yeah. Duh. Second, the health issue. It is not about living longer because that is not up to us but to fate. Still, nobody wants to become overweight, frail, or rickety sooner than necessary. Third, to be honest, is looking vital and fit instead of looking older. Posture and movement matter to others. Call it vanity, but it is much more than that. People react differently, as they do to clothing and manners. Fourth (but not really fourth), I like to be able to do useful and fun things. I need to be able to hike over hill and dale for 12 miles, or scramble boulders, with Mrs. BD and friends. I need to be able to stack 2 cords of wood dumped in my courtyard (as I did this weekend) and to do all of the yard work I have time for. I need to be able to handle my chainsaw. If my right shoulder were not so damaged, I'd love to live on the tennis court. I guess I am restless and love physical activity. I need to be agile and useful on a boat too. I wish I had more sports but I have always had more enthusiasm than athletic talent. Nutrition is one of my problems. I am not underweight, but I just do not enjoy eating anymore. Some love it, but for me it just is like required fuel no matter how tasty. I have had minimal appetite since I began my intensive exercise program some years ago so I force myself. RJP keeps nagging me about strength. Fair enough, but two days of weights is all I can fit in right now. Pre-covid I was doing 2 1/2 hrs of weights/wk. Deads are the best thing for me. Regarding recovery, I may not do enough but I feel that I do. Whenever I feel unable to get out of bed at 4:30 AM after a powerlift day, I don't. I love feeling stronger but have competing goals.
Saturday, March 20. 2021Reposted: Fielding your questions about the Maggie's Fitness for Life recommendationsI'll do my best to field readers' questions about the Maggie's Fitness for Life suggestions (which readers know includes sessions of heavy weights, sessions of calisthenics, and sessions of HIIT cardio plus maybe some plain "cardio." Ask me, and I will attempt to explain the rationale. Bear in mind that exercise is not for fat loss I keep getting caught up by our own anti-spam filter, so I will post further responses to questions here: OG: Unless somebody is a well-experienced gym rat, we recommend using an experienced trainer to make personal recommendations. Injuries are avoided by correct techniques. Road-running is terrible. Treadmill or trails, not so much. Juan: Most gyms are open now. For the weight-training part of your program bands are no substitute for dumbells and barbells, but are better than nothing. Anon: That is surely better than nothing, but I tend to view my workouts as a sort of torture. Then I derive the life benefits. We recommend balanced exercise programs, so one has to hate a lot of it. It hurts. RJP asked us this question: Since you bring up calisthenics again, I'll ask the same (unanswered) question from a previous post: In your day-to-day life, where exactly are you applying all this hard-earned endurance? What makes you think you won't have enough endurance for those activities if you build up more strength? Why do you think getting your squat and deadlift up will hamper your ability to do things like burpees? Our program recommendations (4-6 hrs/wk) are designed for general life functionality. That includes sports and things like hiking 15 miles. It is "general," not designed for body-building or marathon-running. Squats and deadlifts will not harm your burpees. Every category of exercise makes demands on, and builds on, different energy systems. Power, agility, and endurance are completely different. That's the reason for a mix. I will welcome more questions...
Saturday, March 6. 2021Timing of workoutsThe Maggie's Fitness for Life Program is of course somewhat controversial. All fitness programs are. Our program is 2 days/wk of heavy weights, 2 days of calisthenics, and 2 days of cardio (meaning heart stress - HIIT, jump rope, stair machine, etc). Besides plain obsessionalism, I do heavy weights twice/week with a trainer, and no need for a trainer for the other things. Right now, I need to be pushed hard with heavy and he is needed for that. Rightly or wrongly, he pushes me past my limits. We do not prefer tough calis on the day before weights because tough calis need a bit of recovery too, and for the over-40 crowd maybe a bit more than 24 hrs. Anybody with a touch of gray, I believe, needs 2 days of recovery after lifting heavy. Calis and cardio more or less count for that. What are your views?
Friday, March 5. 2021Calis for tougher legs: LungesOur readers know that the Maggie's Farm Fitness for Life Program includes two days of calisthenics, and that we view calis as valuable for toughness and athleticism, but not so much for strength-building. (It is best not to do calis on the day before a weights day.) Lunges are a basic calisthenic exercise, whether just body weight, hand weights, or the many variations.
Monday, February 22. 2021Easing into two powerlifts
To ease into, or back into, barbell squats, try sets of box squats. To make them tougher, hold a heavy ball or dumbell instead of a barbell.
Friday, February 19. 2021Only 82
I remember doing that, back before I concluded that road-running was a bad idea. It truly is more fun to run in weather. So he is 82 and out running, and I am much younger and doing HIIT on a stupid treadmill. Wednesday, February 10. 2021Dietary supplements for people who work out hard with weights, repostedMoving heavy weights is extremely difficult and frequently impossible - or feels impossible. When you move up a notch, it requires as much will power as muscle power. You have to make a loud noise to do it and my place allows those necessary ejaculations. Farts also can occur with intense exertion. I believe in will power, and believe it can be trained in a willing trainee. Physical training is 50% mental training, learning to do what you can't do. It takes a trusted trainer or gym partner to help you past your limit. Just words like "You can do it" or "Gimme one more" or "C'mon, you got it" have a powerful effect - which is the power of a positive relationship. Psychotherapy. Does a little magic help, if only for placebo effect? Most dietary supplements are pure scam. However, we use some of them. - For example, I take a multivit once in a while, when I remember. Maybe only little brats with terrible eating habits need them. I take them for the magic. - Mrs. BD and I make whey protein shakes with berries for after heavy lifting mornings, or use overpriced commercial protein shakes. It's quicker and easier than cooking food. Otherwise, I'll have a hard-boiled egg or two if I can get them down. We keep a bunch of them in the fridge. Supposed to get a protein blast after ripping up muscles with weights. Probably magic, but who knows? If underweight is a problem, add some carbs to breakfast. I should, but I don't want them. - Creatine? Why not? It can't hurt, and probably can add some power to bursts of heavy lifting - full power- lifting and pushing. Application of more power means more muscle damage which leads to more strength. Alternative is to eat lots of steak. For other sorts of exercise it does nothing. - Caffeine? It is one of the basic necessary food groups along with nicotine and beer, so I try to meet my minimum daily requirements as determined by Expert Government Scientists. When you miss a few weeks, or months, of working out
Them's the breaks, I guess. What you mostly lose from those times away is endurance. At least for me, physical endurance declines before muscle strength does. I can pretty much manage the same weights, but fewer reps. And my cardio and calisthenics things are kind of sad compared to a year ago. Use it or lose it is correct. I am back daily for my gym workouts, and it feels harder than before. I think working back gradually might be best, taking a couple of months to get there. What about you?
Wednesday, February 3. 2021Dumbbell workoutsA good thing about dumbbell resistance exercises is that you don't need a spotter. In addition, you can have them at home if you are still gym-phobic. For strength maintenance, you have to go heavy. Hand weights with high reps are calisthenics, not strength. Thursday, January 14. 2021Burpees: Maybe the ultimate calisthenic
As I have not really discussed in the past, there are plenty of gray zones between the three, and few exertions are purely in one category (excepting sprints which are real cardio). Burpees might be the ultimate calisthenic. SEALS do a lot of them. The more you can do, the better overall shape you are probably in. My personal trainer/Boss wants us to do Birthday Burpees, meaning our age in burpee reps. As they say in New York, fugettaboutit. I do sets of ten (with the pushups) in between weights sets on weights days. Might not be ideal to do that, but it is my routine, and I like routine.
Wednesday, January 13. 2021Rowing machines, etc.
Among the machine options, the rower and the stair machines are most designed to help build some strength along with the heart stress. The advantage of the rower is that it is pretty much total body, and when you up the resistance, it's some strength along with the cardio. To beat a dead horse, cardio is meant to be about heart fitness, so if your heart rate is not where you want it then all it is about is physical endurance (which is not a bad thing in itself). The Maggie's protocol advises sprints for cardiac fitness, not long-slow. Long-slow, like walking or swimming laps, is fine for ordinary endurance and maintenance. It all depends on one's goals. I like mixing up my cardio days with variety to avoid boredom. Treadmill sprints, rower, stair machine, ski machine. Usually only 30 minutes, then I finish my hour with accessory weights. Reminder for January fitness people: unless you are a unicorn, do not use exercise to lose weight. That's not what it is for, and it only works for the rare unicorn. Exercise can be good for muscle weight gain, though, especially weight training. Losing fat is about nutrition. Tuesday, December 1. 2020Fitify
It is a free app. People use it at the gym, or at home.
Sunday, November 29. 2020Fitness bands for Christmas
I tend to think of bands as ways to intensify the calisthenics part of the fitness triad. Many people are not very disciplined with home exercise (including me), but anything stressful is good. - Resistance bands with handles - Resistance bands without handles
Tuesday, October 13. 2020How does the brain respond to a single bout of exercise?A single "bout" doesn't mean very much, since most of us who pursue fitness spend 5 or 6 hours per week. Still, the brain effects are interesting. I have experienced some mood improvements, but mostly physical. Wednesday, September 30. 2020Your Posterior Chain, with shirts
Deads strengthen the "posterior chain," from neck to the soles of your feet. We tend to view deads as a legs exertion, but no, not only. That's why they are an invaluable totaly body exertion. That posterior chain of muscles is what it makes it possible to be bipedal and to stand up straight instead of slouching. It's counterbalanced by various anterior muscle groups, expecially the abs.
I am no body-builder guy, but after 4 years of including deads in my routine twice weekly (pushing the weights, admittedly, but gradually with high-rep days and low rep days), I can no longer button my dress shirts. 2" more. That's crazy, not what I wanted but it just happened. Brooks Brothers shirts ain't cheap, and I fairly often wear jacket and tie at work, especially for meetings when it is expected. I don't have a single dress shirt that I can button now. Deads are the single best way, and most efficient way, to stay sturdy after age 40.
Thursday, September 10. 2020A four day/week exercise program for general conditioning
If you work out, say, 4 1/2 hours weekly (on 4 days) you can maintain or improve your physical condition, so it is worth doing if you have ambition limits, time limits, or need rest days. Way better than nothing but you will probably be disappointed by the pace of your gains compared to a 6 day program. Here's what we would suggest: -2 conditioning classes/week (combo of calisthenics, cardio, and light weights). If gym-phobic, it's difficult to do on one's own. Long-time readers know what these sorts of classes involve. - 2 half-hour sessions of powerlifts (squats, bench, and rows one day; deads, pull-downs, and triceps the other) coupled with 2 half-hour sessions of HIIT cardio - no time for long slow - plus two 15-min sessions of selected auxiliary exercises - If daily walks, jogs, or some sports are also in your life, you would be doing more exertion than most people.
Monday, September 7. 2020Getting in shape for FallYour brain on barbells: Could strength training help improve your mood? Yes, mood and attitude are part of general fitness. Mens sana in corpore sano. Up here, it's hiking season, getting towards hunting season and skiing season. Carpe diem, readers. Life is short.
Wednesday, August 26. 2020Fitness in the armed forces, reposted
I think I can pass the Army test. NOT the SEAL test. Can't bang out 100 pushups right now, or carry a man on my back for five miles. Sunday, August 23. 2020Why you have to eat fats to gain strengthFat Will Help You Get In The Best Shape Of Your Life: Here's How To lose body fat, low carbs is the way to go. But the age-old notion that eating fats and oils makes people fat is nonsense. Believe it or not, there is a thing called "Rabbit Starvation." You can starve to death on a diet of rabbit meat. Best nutritional summary I've been able to come up with, applying to most active, exercising people: To lose body fat, low carbs. To gain muscle mass (heavy weights often, ie 4 hrs/wk): lots of all foods 5 times daily. To gain general Fitness for Life (with 2 days of cardio, 2 days of calis, and 2 days of heavy): 5 small meals/day - 2 of them being snacks like yoghurt and nuts, or half a sandwich), with plenty of protein. If too scrawny, hit the weights for 6 months and eat all you can. Nothing wrong with a Big Mac and Fries with a beer if that's your goal. Nutrition has to be in sync with your goals.
Thursday, August 20. 2020Ageing and ExerciseAn excellent essay or, more precisely, long excerpt from the book Exercised. One quote:
Another:
Wednesday, August 19. 2020Fun with Levers and Exercise, reposted
It's high-school physics applied to the body: Levers are classified according to the relative placement of the fulcrum, the resistance and the force. Any form of exercise can be made more interesting by thinking about the sort of lever action applied in single-joint exercises (like bicep curls or calf raises) or the multiple lever actions applied in complex, multi-joint movements like squats or running. If you are fortunate enough to use the services of a professional trainer, that trainer will not be focusing on your muscles. He or she will focus on the mechanics of your movement(s) - proper lever use - to make your motion or activity as safe and effective as possible. That's why a trainer will make frequent corrections to your technique: Palms out (or in), wider stance (or narrower), head up (or down), chest up (or down) etc. Even if you are not a fitness person, everybody knows that there is a right and wrong way to pick up something heavy, or to get out of a chair. It's all leverage. Friday, August 14. 2020Why we swim
In line with the Maggie's fitness program, I only swim twice weekly now, with HIIT laps as my pure cardio days. One sprint per 2 laps. Weights and calisthenics on other days.
Tuesday, August 11. 2020More about DOMSWe have plenty of thoughtful readers who use weight-lifting as a part of, or as the entirety, of their fitness programs. That is one of the cool things about an eclectic website. I take all of your comments on fitness topics seriously. Clearly, upping my routine after a few months of just running and calisthenics was part of my DOMS. What my genius trainer did for me this morning was to run me through ten minutes of leg stretches and light Tiger Tail rolling before we went to bench press. The pain disappeared. Go figure. He suggested a heat pad for 10 minutes, then some light Tiger Tail. And yes, he blames it on getting back to more intense work. My pre-April routine was disrupted by gym closure, road running instead of treadmill and stair machine, a week's vacation, and do-it-yourself calisthenics (sadly, not as intense as gym classes). I had been doing 3 days of weights, 1-2 days of calis, and 1-2 days of HIIT cardio. No problems. Monday, August 10. 2020Do you ever get DOMS with heavy weights?
So painful that I could hardly do my morning HIIT run this morning. I resorted to fast hill-walks because it seems to be recommended that you keep moving as best you can. Yes, I try to eat enough and to use creatine on weights days. Seems to me that barbell squats are my culprit. I never get it from Deads or anything else. It lasts 3-4 days, and makes me feel like an elderly gent hobbling around like a crip. Have any of our readers had this issue?
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