Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights_ - Alex Hutchinson [39]
Compared to a group of matched controls, the stair-climbers increased their aerobic fitness by 17 percent and reduced harmful LDL cholesterol by 8 percent, results that compare favorably to taking a half-hour daily walk. The researchers are now investigating whether the protocol can be transferred to older adults, using a stepping machine rather than staircases. “Because it’s at such a high intensity, it accomplishes health adaptations in a shorter period,” Boreham says, “which is handy if you like your exercise in short bites.”
Standard exercise guidelines suggest that bouts of exercise should last at least 10 minutes in order to produce meaningful gains, although recent research into “high-intensity interval training” (see Chapter 1) supports the idea that you can get by with short bursts if they’re intense enough. The gains in Boreham’s study are modest enough that you shouldn’t view taking the stairs as the only thing needed to stay fit. But they offer encouraging evidence that simple decisions to be more active in your daily life can add up to measurable health benefits—even if you don’t climb the Empire State Building.
CHEAT SHEET: AEROBIC EXERCISE
• No matter what your exercise goals are, aerobic exercise is crucial for your health—and it also plays a key role in sports performance, even in “relaxed” sports like golf.
• Use the “Talk Test” to divide your effort between the aerobic, threshold, and anaerobic effort zones. Spend about 70 percent of your time in the aerobic zone.
• The old “220 minus age” formula for finding your maximum heart rate is highly inaccurate, especially for older adults. (208-0.7 x age) is better, but the only way to get an accurate reading is with a max HR test.
• Altering your breathing to fit a certain pattern or rhythm generally makes you less efficient. If you’re panting uncontrollably, you’re probably pushing too hard.
• The smooth, unchanging surface of roads and sidewalks may be more of a problem for our legs than hardness. Running on a variety of surfaces minimizes injury risk.
• It is possible, with a lot of hard work, to alter your running form. However, there’s no current evidence that doing so will reduce injuries or make you faster.
• Most runners push too hard on uphills and slow down more than they need to on downhills. Practice the mechanics of running downhill to gradually increase your speed.
• The muscles in your arms play very little role in running, but swinging your arms may help keep your legs going through “neural coupling.”
• Some riders manage to exceed their “maximum” intensity during spinning classes; researchers believe that motivational instructors and the group setting provide an extra boost.
• Climbing stairs for just two minutes at a time, five times a day, can produce significant fitness gains without even going to the gym.
Chapter 5
Strength and Power
IN THE EARLY 1900s, ASPIRING WEIGHTLIFTERS visited their local branches of the Institute of Physical Culture, where they attempted to sculpt their bodies into the “perfect” proportions represented in ancient Greek and Roman statues. Among the judges at the first major bodybuilding contest associated with this fad, held at London’s Royal Albert Hall in 1901, was Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. To the uninitiated, it may appear that not much has changed since then—that the weight room is an intimidating place filled