Everyday Fitness

Ah, the age old question. You can't spend a day at a gym without overhearing this. Hell, I used to wonder what the golden number of sets and reps was. Truth be told, I should have spent less time worrying, and just lifted them weights. Still, it was nice to find some analysis on the subject. When looking at increase in muscle size, here's the conclusions of several compiled studies:

• 2-3 sets give a significant increase in size over 1 set
  
• 4-6 sets give a significant increase in size over 1 set, and may give a larger size increase than 2-3 sets
  
• Working out for 1 hour three times a week typically gives better results than working out for 2 hours twice a week
  

I should note, these studies were done with 7-10 reps per set. According to this, it looks like the benefits of an exercise start to plateau after 6 sets. That's something to keep in mind before doing bench press, then decline bench press, then incline bench press.. or 300 sit-ups. The third and final point in that list is nice in that, I think it shows how fitting exercise into your day can be easy; squeezing in 1 hour chunks of time here and there could be more manageable than scheduling a 2 hour workout session for yourself.

Here's another segment of current research I came across on my train ride, and it has to do with deadlift mechanics. A group from the University of Illinois found a link between a person's knee and back strength, and how this changes the way a person would lift a heavy box/crate. Laying it out plain and simple; if a person's back is stronger than their knees, they lift more with their back. If the person's knees are stronger with their back, they lift more with their knees. 

Imagine there was a heavy box/crate in front of you; how would you approach lifting it? At some point you were probably instructed to bend at the knees and lift with your legs. Let me stop and say, I think it's garbage to assume our legs need to do all the lifting. Of course you need to engage your back to stabilize the lift as well! The old saying "lift with your legs" has good intentions though; you don't want to bend the back too much and muck up your spine. Anyways, there's one less obvious point I want to take away from this research:

We're too comfortable using the strong parts of our bodies and ignoring the parts that need improvement

Sure, in certain aspects of life it makes sense to stick to our talents. I'm good with the sciences, so I'll make a career out of research. I won't try making a living by painting, for example, because I'll end up living on the streets (So much for a gym membership then!) But when it comes to our bodies, it's a "you're only as strong as your weakest link" scenario. Varying the sorts of exercises you expose yourself to will lead to an optimal full body fitness, and prevent injury down the road.

While on an 8 hour train ride, I had some time to look at recent research in exercise. I found one article that vindicates a personal bias of mine, so I thought I'd share.

A group from California State University found there's no difference in muscle activation between using a standard bench and using a Swiss ball. Every time I see someone rolling around on one of these Swiss balls, I shake my head. Now I have real reason to be against them. To me Swiss balls are one of those fads people buy into, with the advertised notion that the ball is somehow "better" than a real bench. In my mind Swiss balls are on the same level Shake Weights. Speak of the devil, it seems fitting to leave you with this:

With any new undertaking, it's one thing to read about and prepare for what you're about to do. It's another thing to do it. In actually carrying out a new task, trial and error finds what works, what doesn't, and what the whole experience means to you. Now when I say "any new undertaking" I mean anything; not just fitness related. Take a relationship for example: dating advice from your friends is no where near as valuable as what you learn from the date itself.

But I digress, let's get back to exercising. I guess you could say by now, I'm a gym veteran myself. It's been about 2 years of consistent working out. And if I had to sit a keen novice down and share my wisdom, here's some of the most important things my experience has taught me:

1. To both gain and lose weight, diet is more important than anything else. Eating whole/natural foods makes counting calories almost unnecessary; it's high sugar and fatty processed foods that tend to make you go overboard on calories.
   
2. We should be getting less carbs in our diets, and a lot more fat. The low-fat scare shifted everyone to eating more carbs and guess what; people got fatter.
   
3. Don't bother meticulously timing your meals; eat when you're hungry, drink when you're thirsty. Listen to your body.
   
4. Eating 6 meals a day is no better than eating 3 a day either. In the end, net calories is what matters.
   
5. You can gain or lose 10 lbs a week in water; don't mistake this for incredible fat loss when starting a new diet.
   
6. There is no such thing as spot reducing fat; your body burns fat evenly.
   
7. Health supplements are a business just the same as any other product. Their claims are exaggerated or outright fabricated to get your money. Coffee is and probably always will be the best (legal) performance enhancer there is.
   
8. If you want to get better at a particular activity or exercise, do that particular activity or exercise.
   
9. It's better to prevent poor health in the first place than try to reverse it. There's never a bad time to start working out though, no matter what physical condition or age. Muscle and fitness are easier to maintain once you have them; the road to get there may be more trying on your willpower.
   
10. Size does not equal strength.
    
11. Working out more often does not mean more results. Exercising less often can give better results; you need to lift heavy to get stronger, not necessarily daily. Plus you'll save time.
    
12. Gyms may have some useful tools you don't but a gym or equipment aren't required to be fit.
    
13. It takes a weekend to become a personal trainer; experience is what makes someone qualified to train, not a certificate.
    
14. It's important to be realistic with your abilities and leave your ego at the door; lifting heavier is worthless if you aren't exercising properly.
    
15. One of the best things you can do for your health is try new things, and see how your body adapts. Variability is what leads to growth.