Welcome to the July 2012 issue of our newsletter. In this issue we continue our discussion of resistance training and we dive into the murky and confusing world of multi vitamins.
Our July picture shows Janet demonstrating the ELDOA for T8/T9. When done correctly and DAILY, this exercise can be very helpful in correcting poor posture. Hold the pose for 60s and work HARD!
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Getting Started With Resistance Training Part 2
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Before you start randomly lifting heavy weights and doing all sorts of crazy exercises just because you saw the gym gorilla doing them...ask yourself "What are my resistance training goals? Do I need power, strength or muscular endurance?"
Power is the ability to generate force quickly, so if you need more power you must move QUICKLY when doing resistance training. If you're not sure what this actually looks like then watch a 100m sprinter in the gym...almost all their gym training is done VERY FAST with EXPLOSIVE movements. For many of you this type of explosive tempo work will NOT be appropriate right away...a period of "training to train" is required if you want to avoid injury.
Strength is the ability to generate force with no regard for time. For example, testing grip strength with a hand dynamometer tests strength NOT power. There is no need to develop maximum force very quickly when you squeeze the dynamometer...if it takes 2s-3s to get "peak force" that is fine.
Strength training does not require that you move very quickly...body builders tend to use 101 or 202 tempos...these movement speeds are effective for building strength but far too slow for developing power.
If you have not done any resistance training in over 6 months it's a good idea to start with strength training i.e. slower tempos as these create far smaller peak forces in your joints. After 4-8 weeks you can then progress to truly explosive tempos in order to translate your strength into power.
Why bother with power at all? Why can't you just stick with strength training at slower tempos? Simple...if you'd like your legs to have the type of "spring" in them that you had as a teenager, you need POWER. If you cannot bound up 30 stairs two at a time without your legs turning to rubber then your leg power is very deficient. If you cannot do 10 hand clap push ups then your upper body is woefully "powerless". Build strength first then start working on power development by using EXPLOSIVE movements. It is ultimately power that makes your body feel younger again.
Now let's talk about muscular endurance, this is developed when you do many reps. For example, if you do 4 sets of 50 front squats with a 101 tempo and 30s rest between each set you are going to develop muscular endurance...to be more accurate you are going to develop strength in your slow twitch (type 1) fibres. In contrast, doing 4 sets of 8 reps with a 101 tempo and 60s rest between sets, targets fast twitch (type 2) fibres. Therefore muscular endurance training could more accurately be called "strength training for type 1 fibres". It's a good idea to periodically change your repetition parameters to ensure that you don't "forget" about your type 1 fibres...this is a common mistake. For example you might do 2 weeks at 6-10 reps then two weeks at 30-40 reps.
Next month we will discuss how many days a week you need to do resistance training and what type of equipment you need. |
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Multi Vitamins...How To Choose A Good One
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Many of us buy multi vitamins but most of us have no idea how to choose between all the various brands and options. There are 4 things to look for when choosing a multivitamin. David Getoff ND compiled this check list many years ago and we have found it to be very helpful. Over 90% of what you see in the shops will fail this simple inspection.
1. Does it contain selenium? Many cheap multivitamins contain no selenium because it is expensive to put this element in a multivitamin. There is a growing body of evidence pointing to the role of selenium in cancer prevention. You want a multi that contains 150-250mcg of selenium in the daily dose. 2. Does it contain Vitamin D? You need a daily dose of at least 400 IUs of the natural form of Vitamin D (D3 or cholecalciferol). Many of you will need MUCH MORE vitamin D than this. Get a blood test for 25 hydroxy vitamin D to find out how low in vitamin D you really are. 3. Does the daily dose contain at least 400IUs of Vitamin E in the form of d-alpha tocopherol? D-alpha tocopherol is the only totally active form of Vitamin E that is allowed to be referenced as an antioxidant. Do not buy products that contain dl-alpha tocopherol. This is a racemic mixture of the d (dextro) form and l (laevo) form. Your body has no use for the laevo form. This type of vitamin E has been synthesised in a lab. Avoid anything ending in tocopheryl. The YL means the product has been esterified to make it stable so it wont go rancid. The problem is that esterification turns the molecule into something that is not an antioxidant. 4. Does it contain "mixed tocopherols"? Vitamin E is a complex of molecules and your body needs the entire complex not just one single molecule. The label should say "mixed tocopherols". |
