Hot answers tagged training
38
Evidence shows that more than 5 days a week training increases your risk of musculoskeletal injury.
Rest is physically necessary so that the muscles can repair, rebuild and strengthen -- continuous training can actually weaken it. Without sufficient time to repair, the body will continue to breakdown from intensive exercise.
Overtraining often occurs from ...
14
Without rest, you will build muscle mass quicker than your supporting organs can build and adjust to enable their proper use. At that point, you will hit a plateau which you will be unable to cross. However, this does not hold true for aerobic exercise, where the Mayo Clinic suggests 30 minutes daily. This is more for muscle building and strength training.
13
I assume your workout consist of weightlifting or other strength training. This mostly consist of short, high intensity exercises, which are likely mostly done anaerobic.
Running before this workout, means your body is warmed up, the activity of your cardiovascular and pulmonary systems are increased and your body has started to make sure you have enough ...
12
This is absolutely a good approach. You get to build up some muscle, and you don't damage your metabolism the way you would with severe calorie restriction.
I think it is worth doing a little myth-busting. A pound of muscle will burn more calories per day, but only about 6 more calories and you'll likely eat a little more to compensate. However, the ...
10
Using machines is vastly different than free weights for a number of reasons:
Machines typically move the weight over a fixed path. Free weights require you to balance the weight yourself. This means the same exercise with free weights engages more muscles, but even more importantly, it allows you to develop neuro-muscular coordination. This coordination ...
10
2 weeks is not a lot of time to 'train' - based on the need to give your body a rest. Typically you want to plan a 10-12 week cycle of training prior to any event....given this is 'carrying furniture out' and not a major league event I would focus on technique more than anything else since the time needed to build strength or stamina is not available.
I ...
10
Here are some of the things I worked on when I tried to get into parkour in college. These are some foundations that you can start with.
Roll on the ground.
This is a move that will help carry you forward and get you back on your feet. It also helps to absorb and lessen the impact on your body (and risk of injury) when hitting the ground.
Start from a ...
10
The short answer to your question, “What is different in my body from a year ago?" Just about everything!
More mitochondria? - Yes, esp. if your training includes aerobic or endurance exercise. According to Dudley's research,
"an increase in the intensity of training brings about the greatest adaptive response in the mitochondria."
Are they more ...
10
Start at your head, and go to your feet. That's the muscles involved. :p
Seriously, a good punch will involve most of the muscles in the body. The primary single movers in a punch are going to be
Pecs (Chest)
Triceps (Arm)
Deltoids (Shoulder)
You could throw a punch just using those muscles, but it won't be a hugely powerful punch (Think a jab in ...
10
Optimal Jump Training Without Restrictions
"Arioch" recommends squats, plyometrics, and speed work with submaximal weights to improve jumping height:
An athlete wishing to improve his vertical jump should not only squat, but perform a variety of assistance work specific to both improving squatting strength as well as specifically improving jumping ...
9
I've asked this implicitly of two qualified personal trainers. (One of the two usually trains Olympic athletes, so I trust his judgement.) Each time I said that I was interested in weight training to balance out the extra workout that my quads get (not just in the lower body, but to bring up my upper body strength too). Both of them said it was a reasonable ...
8
Basically, 50% is the transition point between resting and the first zone and every next zone is a 10% increase. Your max is 90%+.
Here's the chart:
Note: Image is from the wikimedia commons and released under CC-SA
But look at the charts as an approximate baseline average for most people they also don't paint a very realistic picture. Your VO2 MAX will ...
8
The article you site refers to the Bulgarian method, which produces world class lifters who can handle the high intensity, constant training, and become very strong because of it. But propenents tend to not mention all of the people who are spit out the back of the Bulgarian system because their bodies can not handle the strain.
It is the people that can ...
8
Sorry to disappoint you, but having lots of time is not necessary at all for getting your body in top shape, and it won't contribute to your gains. For better or worse, the program I recommend (based on current scientific research) simply doesn't take very long:
Strength training with standard compound exercises, which are bench press, squat, deadlift and ...
7
The two programs that are best suited for beginners are Starting Strength and StrongLifts. See this article for some more information to help choose the program.
Starting Strength was put together by Mark Rippetoe who is a strength training coach since the 70s. I highly recommend his book whether you use his program or not. It is some good, no-nonsense ...
7
The main factor holding one back is the fear response. Our bodies are trying to keep us safe so we should listen. This article describes the effect you speak of:
Under acute stress, the body's sympathetic nervous system prepares the body for sustained, vigorous action. The adrenal gland dumps cortisol and adrenaline into the blood stream. Blood pressure ...
7
Really, the only equipment you need to gain strength is some floor space and something to hang on. And even the "something to hang on" is, in some people's opinion, optional.
If you can't afford, or don't want to, spend the money on typical gym equipment, then look into the various bodyweight exercises and plans. Convict Conditioning, Never Gymless, You Are ...
6
If both people are looking for the same results, than the workout plan (short/long term) will probably look about the same - given everything being equal. The difference will be in the weights used, intensity, etc. expected from each. For example, if the focus is on boxing and the goal to be more explosive - then both will probably incorporate both ...
6
This is going to depend on the course you do, what gear you stay in while cycling, how severe your bursitis is, etc. It's impossible to say for sure, particularly if your bursitis was caused by injury.
All that said, my basic suggestion would be "proceed with caution". It will be important to be as light on yourself as possible. The cycling motion is ...
6
Safety first, if you want to learn to swim (as an adult), make sure you try it in a swimming pool where you can easily stand up if things go wrong and have supervision around in case of an emergency.
As someone who has learned several children to swim, I'd say its pretty hard to learn it yourself properly. Why? Because you can read the words, but that ...
6
A lot of the answer depends on your goals and the exercise you are doing. Our bodies are marvelous creations that can adapt to a wide range of stresses over time. However, there are a few principles you can use to apply to your exercise regimen:
Muscle is torn down and exhausted while you exercise
Muscle is built back up when you rest--usually ...
6
Short Answer: Sure!
You can do any schedule you want. The technical term for such a program would be YNDTP: You're Not Doing The (Starting Strength) Program. There's nothing stopping you from working out 5 times a week, but your progress will be harder and slower.
Why It's Problematic
If you add extra workouts, you'll find yourself unable to add weight ...
6
There's nothing wrong with consuming protein before or during your workout. Some studies suggest that this may lead to enhanced results. Here's one example.
Other studies, such as this one, claim that this is not the case, though, and that while your body responds differently to exercise when you load up on proteins before the workout, this difference does ...
6
Yes. Undereating, especially not eating after vigorous exercise will drive up your cortisol levels and put you in a bad mood. Without enough carbs your body will have trouble producing serotonin (the well-being neurotransmitter) and you will not feel energetic.
5% is about the minimum you should have, it is unhealthy to go that low. Do you think you ...
6
You help muscle growth all over your body by using heavy compound lifts. The two exercises that provide the biggest bang for your buck are full depth squats (to parallel) and deadlifts. These exercises target:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quadriceps
Gluteous
Upper and lower back
Abs
adductors and abductors (squats)
forearms (grip on the deadlifts)
biceps ...
6
First - I'd recommend just forgetting training for one-arm pushups and probably even nix the diamond pushups. You need to work on the primary movement first, then expand to variations.
Next, if you really want to increase the number of consecutive pushups you can do, I'd suggest doing them more frequently - maybe every other day. A few extra sets of pushups ...
6
This Scientific American article may help. It basically states that the improvements in cardio-respiratory function from exercise are due to the efficiency of the cardiac component rather than lung function:
Improvement in cardio-respiratory function does not result from changes in the lung's ability to expand, however. In general regular exercise does ...
6
First, get strong
People who haven't yet done strength training should generally avoid overly task-specific exercises. Instead, they should get strong generally. As Mark Rippetoe puts it:
Strength is the most general adaptation. It is acquired most effectively through exercises that produce the most force against external resistance, and as such is ...
6
Looking at your numbers, strength is not an issue if you are a local/regional level player, you are all set.
It looks like your biggest problem is the lack of mat time. 1 to 4 sessions a week is not enough and no amount of weight lifting is going to change that.
4 sessions a week is a minimum if you compete locally and you should be putting some serious ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
