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Exercise–Free Weights & Aerobic

Everyone knows that people should walk outside, hike, ride a bike, swim, or even use a treadmill. We all know to do “aerobic” exercise. But weight lifting or resistance training is the “recent” darling of the wellness world. Exercise is not just beneficial, it is essential!

Biologically and historically, you can imagine early human beings exercising huge amounts by living on the plains, in caves, enduring the seasonal hardships, and being very physical as we humans did no more than gather our daily food, drinking water, firewood, or built our shelter in order to just survive. Much of that work was not just “aerobic” but required weight lifting such as lifting stones or logs, carrying buckets of water, climbing trees as well as the aerobics of running, pulling, and jumping. That is, we are “designed” to do great amounts of both aerobic and resistance (weight lifting) exercise. Another way to look at it, at least for the past 20,000 years, is that we were sun up to sun down sod busting farmers walking (aerobic exercise) behind a horse-driven plow, which we guided with our tensed (weight training) muscles. When we came across the many heavy stones in the field, we had to literally pick them up or roll them a significant distance, which translates as more weight lifting or resistance training.

The biochemical aspects of weight lifting, also called resistance training, and aerobics are multiple including: Improved immunity, avoidance of gall stones, osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, incoordination leading to falls and fractures, heart disease, cancer and enlarged prostate. Exercise makes us simply be physiologically better as a part of the whole picture of health to feel and look our best. The ideal is to be “cut,” so our muscles are clearly visible under the skin. This is called “lines of definition,” due to developed muscles showing through our skin in combination with a low % body fat (15% or less in men and 20% or less in women).

Walking outside, push-ups, and sit-ups are the best exercises you can do on your own. But people frequently think in terms of “machines” and “weights” and therefore I offer you the following guidance. Using the Nordic Track with 1-pound wrist weights is probably the best aerobic machine, but I find it a bit noisy. I really loved my super smooth and quiet Aerobic Rider, but both my secretary and I developed carpal tunnel syndrome using it. We were the only 2 people that I ever heard of who developed carpal tunnel using the Aerobic Rider. A treadmill is wonderful and has a high continued-use rate. My current recommendation is the Landice (brand) treadmill because it is neat, unbelievably quiet, and solid, although not inexpensive. It has excellent guarantees as well as a cushioned belt for joint and bone safety.

How to get started with weight lifting? Most women usually begin with 3, 5, and 7 pound 1 hand dumbbells that are beveled/hexagonal (not the round type). This is so that they don’t roll around when you set them down, and then you end up putting them away because they become such as nuisance. Most men begin with 5, 10, & 15 pound beveled hexagonal dumbbells. The goal for women is 5/10/15 pound weights, and the goal for men is 10/15/20-25 pound one hand dumbbell weights. Women can use a 30-pound “Olympic bar” and men should use the 40-pound Olympic bar. Try the Denise Austin tapes.

“Perfect Form” is essential in resistance (weight) training, or you may hurt yourself and you won’t develop the muscles you could. Have a personal trainer show you perfect form, buy a videotape, or read a good weight training book in order to avoid hurting yourself. Each exercise is done smoothly and slowly as either 1 set of “super” slow exhausting 6-8 repetitions, or more traditionally in 3 sets of 10 repetitions (“reps”).

In either case, there are 5 recommended exercises:

1. The first exercise is with your arms locked against your chest “not beside the chest” called the biceps.
2. The second exercise I call the “ears”. Put the weight beside the ears and lift it nearly straight up to the ceiling with the arms in full extension.
3. The third exercise is “side to side”. Keep your eyes straight ahead so you could read a note on the wall in front of you and bend only at the waist, going from one side to the other.
4. The fourth exercise is “toes to shoulders”. Lower the weights to your toes keeping your eyes fixed on the back of your hands, bend at the knees if you have to, and then lift the weights straight up to your shoulder level with your elbows out to the side looking a little bit like wings.
5. The fifth and last exercise is “the cowboy”. Point the toes and knees outward with your legs spread apart about 2 feet as if you were on a horse or riding a barrel. Keep your eyes straight ahead–lower the weights down behind your legs bending at the knees, and then bring them up to your armpits.

• On Monday do the biceps, Tuesday the ears, Wednesday is side to side, Thursday is toes to shoulders and Friday is the cowboy.
• If you choose to do the 3 sets of 10, start with the light weight, do 10, rest 1 minute and next move from your lightest weights to your middle weights.
• Then do the second set of 10 “reps” (repetitions).
• Rest 1 minute.
• Finally, move to the heaviest weights, do the same muscle group in the same fashion slowly and smoothly, and you are through. (10 light-rest 1 min., 10 middle-rest 1 min., 10 heavy-done).

You should exercise with weights only once or twice a week for each muscle group. As an alternative to the 5 listed exercises above, there are “2 or 3" parts to the body. “Uppers” (arms and chest) can be done on Mondays, “the back” can be done on Wednesdays, and “lowers” (below the waist) can be done on Fridays. Some people prefer to do weight lifting twice a week with back and uppers on Mondays, lowers on Thursdays. You need 4-5 days to recover from your weight lifting. Some disagree with this approach/philosophy, but it is “just another” effective approach and it is what I recommend for you. If you need a trainer to teach you “perfect form” or have any problems, please call.

To recap, you should exercise specific muscle groups as 1 set of super slow 6-8 repetitions or in 3 sets of 10 repetitions or “reps” with a 1-minute rest between each set. Each exercise is done slowly with “perfect form.” If, in the 3rd set, you cannot use the heaviest weight (15 lb in women, 20 lb in men), then do the 3rd set with your middle weight (women=10 pounds, men=15 pounds).

These published in 2007!
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