If you are considering adding strength exercise to your exercise program, your workout will have better results if you do the exercises in the most effective way.
Number One Rule when you strength train: if it hurts, don't do it..
If any exercise causes pain, stop immediately.
Modify the exercise or do another exercise that works the same body parts but is not painful.
If you are just learning the exercise, reread the instructions to make sure you're doing it correctly.
Pain is your body's signal that it is not happy, so listen to it.
You should be able to tell the difference between soreness and a pain that signals injury.
Drink up.
Unless your doctor has asked you to limit fluids, be sure to drink plenty of water when you are doing exercise that makes you perspire.
Many older people tend to be low on fluid much of the time, even when not exercising.
The experts tell us that we lose our sense of thirst as we get older, so we need to drink even when we don't feel thirsty.
Will my muscles get really big? Ladies, don't worry that you will bulk up like Arnold Swartzenegger--it won't happen.
You would have to take steroids and other drugs in order to get really big muscles.
However your muscles will become more toned and you'll be able to see their outlines.
Friends may ask if you've lost weight, but you haven't; you've lost fat and gained muscle.
Men will develop larger muscles because their bodies contain more testosterone.
But they also would have to take steroids and work out harder than we do in order to look like Arnold Swartzenegger.
Please warm up.
Make sure you warm up your body before you work out.
You risk injury if you don't.
In my strength training workout, we do a two- to three-minute warm-up with mild stretching before we do the strength training exercises.
You need to move your body to loosen up joints and warm up muscles.
You can warm up by walking or moving about for several minutes or you can do resistance exercises without weights to warm up.
Dance or march around the house--anything that feels good--but please do not neglect to warm up before beginning your workout.
A suggested warm-up is included in my book.
How often should I work out? You should work out two or three times a week--not on consecutive days--because it takes at least 48 hours for your body to recover after a workout.
When you lift weights, the muscles are damaged because you ask them to work harder than they ordinarily do.
The strain of exercise creates tiny tears in muscle tissue and your body produces proteins to repair them.
Over time, the proteins accumulate which makes the muscle fibers larger and stronger.
In fact, your muscles rebuild themselves stronger than they were--just in case you ask them to lift heavy weights again.
This process takes a minimum of 48 hours; therefore workouts should be at least two days apart.
If you want to lift weights every day, you can do exercises for the upper body one day and the lower body the next.
Be sure to do cardiovascular exercise in addition to strength training.
Alternate your workouts with cardiovascular exercise such as brisk walking or get involved in a sport you enjoy, such as tennis or golf.
The experts disagree on the amount of cardiovascular work you should do, but I suggest that at the very least, you go for a brisk 30-minute walk at least five times a week.
Notice I said "brisk" walking.
Moseying is better than nothing, but actually the faster, the better.
You need to get your heart rate up and your lungs cleaned out.
You'll be tired after your first workout.
The first few workouts you do when you begin a new strengthening program will leave you feeling exhausted because you've used muscles that have not been working.
After a few weeks, your workouts should leave you feeling invigorated.
If you're still tired a couple of days after your workout, you may be over stressing your body and you should reduce the intensity of your workout--probably by reducing the amount of weight or by reducing the number of repetitions or sets.
When muscles become sore.
Sometimes students tell me they could hardly walk for a couple of days after their first workout.
Upper body muscles may also be sore.
If this happens the day after your first workout, it's because you have used muscles that were not used to working and you slightly damaged the microscopic-sized muscle fibers and connective tissue.
It's called "delayed onset muscle soreness" when you wake up the next morning and find that your body is sore.
Soreness usually disappears within 48 hours.
As your body repairs the damage, it will make the sore muscles stronger than they were before.
It's like your body says, "Mary really worked me.
It was hard.
I guess when I repair this muscle, I'd better make it stronger just in case I'm asked to lift that much weight again.
" And that is exactly what it does! You don't have to do anything--your body knows how to make itself stronger without you even thinking about it.
Except maybe to complain about how sore you are.
And the best news is that you won't be that sore again--the most intense soreness occurs only after the first time you stress those particular muscles.
I want to emphasize this.
Sometimes weight lifters are so sore the first time they work out that they are afraid to work out again.
Usually there is very little if any soreness after the second workout.
I tell students if they are sore, they should give thanks that they are getting stronger because that's what soreness means.
How many repetitions of each exercise should I do? My workout uses the protocol recommended by the researchers at Tufts University which states that you do eight repetitions of each exercise, using a weight heavy enough so that you can barely do the eight repetitions on the second set.
When you can easily do two sets of eight reps, it's time to move up to the next heavier weight.
Most people that weight train for muscular tone and strength achieve less than 50 percent of the results that could be achieved because the muscles are not sufficiently challenged.
You should use a weight that makes the last few reps of each set very difficult to perform while maintaining good technique.
Many of those in my classes refuse to move up to heavier weights.
Some of them have valid reasons.
For instance their doctor might have told them not to lift more than three pounds because of heart trouble.
But the majority are simply afraid to do anything that is difficult.
If your doctor has given you permission to lift weights, I recommend that you use the rule which states that when you can easily do two sets of eight repetitions of an exercise, you should move up to the next size of dumbbell the next time you work out.
Go ahead.
Take the risk! I promise you'll like the results.
If you choose not to move up to heavier weights as you are able, you will experience no increases in strength; your strength will remain the same.
How long should each repetition take? The longer you keep muscles under tension, the more muscle strength you gain.
The Tufts University protocol states that each repetition should take six seconds.
They recommend that you take two seconds to raise the weight and four seconds to lower it.
The lifting phase is called "concentric" and the lowering phase of an exercise is called "eccentric.
" It is during the eccentric phase that your muscles become stronger even though this may seem to be the easier portion of an exercise.
Either at the gym or on TV you have probably seen men and women zipping through exercises quickly.
They would receive more benefit if they worked slowly, especially on the eccentric (lowering)phase.
I believe that my strength training workout is so effective because we stress the eccentric phase of each exercise.
You do not need to rest between sets of exercises.
A set is repetitions done without stopping, for instance, a set of eight overhead presses.
You do not need to rest between sets--just move from an upper body exercise to a lower body exercise.
For instance, in my workout you start out by doing squats, a lower body exercise.
Then you do overhead presses for the upper body.
This way, your upper body recovers while you work the lower body.
You will burn more fat by exercising this way than if you rest between sets.
Don't forget to breathe.
During weight lifting exercises, you should exhale upon exertion (called the "concentric" phase) and inhale during the release ("eccentric" phase).
I suggest that you learn to exhale forcefully with your mouth open on the concentric portion of each exercise.
In other words, blow out like you are blowing out the candles on a birthday cake.
For instance, exhale on the lifting portion of an overhead press and inhale on the lowering portion.
You can inhale with your mouth closed if you prefer.
This method of breathing helps keep your blood pressure from increasing as you lift weights.
New exercisers frequently tell me that this seems backward to them.
They want to inhale on the lift and exhale on the lowering phase.
But it's worth it to take time to learn to breathe correctly and will soon become second nature.
Don't lock your knees.
While doing standing exercises, be sure to keep your knees soft (slightly bent).
Straightening your legs completely so your knees are locked in the straight position is hard on your knees, but the biggest danger is that your lower back can be affected.
Your back does not like to be arched and that is what can happen when you lock your knees.
When you move up to a heavier weight, sometimes it makes the weight easier to lift by locking your knees and arching your back so you are leaning back.
Be careful not to do this.
Be careful of your lower back--tighten your tummy.
Almost every exercise involves the lower back, so you need to be very careful while strength training that your lower back is not arched.
Always tighten your abdominal muscles and slightly bend your knees before any standing exercise.
If you put your hand over your navel and then pull it in and away from your hand, this will help prevent arching your back.
That's why I always say before each exercise, "Knee(s) should be soft, tummy tight.
" When you bend your knees slightly and pull your abs in, you'll find that your back is properly aligned.
For some people it's easier to tuck their pelvis under--called a pelvic tilt--which accomplishes the same thing.
Be sure to stretch after working out.
Always stretch after doing resistance training while muscles are still warm.
Your body needs it.
Regular stretching can help improve range of motion in your joints which in turn will help you maintain proper body mechanics.
This means that you'll be able to do your daily activities with less difficulty.
It helps with sports such as tennis and golf plus exercise such as walking and hiking.
Don't use momentum as you lift.
If you jerk or swing the weight to enable you to lift a heavier weight, you're not building muscle; you are risking an injury.
Sometimes when exercisers move up to a heavier weight, it makes the exercise easier if you use momentum by swinging the weight.
Try to keep your body correctly lined up, particularly your lower back, when you move up in weight.
The weight workout I recommend for older bodies is described in my book, "Over 40 & Gettin' Stronger.
" You can order the book at http://www.
StrongOver40.
com or at Amazon.
com See your doctor before beginning an exercise program.
If any exercise causes pain, stop immediately.
Modify the exercise so it does not cause pain or find another exercise to work the same body part.
Any exercise program carries risks of injury.
Phyllis Rogers and/or Senior Fitness, Inc.
are not responsible for any injuries incurred during or after doing the exercises described in this article.