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WebAerobics How many times per week is it best to lift weights, and for how long? Denise Howard For a given muscle group, 1-2 times a week is plenty as long as you are using enough weight to achieve failure in 8-12 repetitions. A weight training workout is not measured by time but by reps and sets. 2-3 sets is appropriate. WebAerobics Why do people ignore the harm of a sedentary lifestyle? Denise Howard I think there are many possible reasons for this. Some folks don't like to sweat. Some don't like the way their body feels under exertion. Some are afraid they'll hurt themselves. Some believe that as long as they don't look overweight, that's all that matters. Some don't realize how much more energy they would have to get through each day if they were in better condition. Some think it's appropriate to "go to seed" once they're in a comfortable relationship. Some just don't know where to start. The list goes on.... WebAerobics During step class, some people place three (3) risers under a step and exceed the 90-degrees recommendation for height. Are they at more risk for injury? Denise Howard I haven't seen anyone do this in years. The stratospheric tempos now used in many step classes has forced many people to cut back down to just one set of risers in order to keep up. But to answer your question, AFAA step guidelines allow up to 90 degrees of knee flexion, however many sets of risers that means for a given participant. At 60 degrees of flexion a force approximately equal to one's body weight is applied to the knee as one steps up; at 90 degrees approximately three times one's body weight is applied. Flexion beyond 90 degrees applies forces as much as eight times one's body weight, dramatically increasing the chance of injury. WebAerobics Is water better than sports drinks, and why? Denise Howard Sports drinks are totally unnecessary for most workouts of 60 minutes or less, and only somewhat valuable for workouts of 90 minutes. The main thing your body loses when it sweats is water, so water is what your body needs first and foremost. Only after you've sweat a lot for a long while have you lost enough electrolytes to merit replacing them via a sport drink. WebAerobics What does anaerobic mean and which exercises can be done in an anaerobic state? Denise Howard Anaerobic literally means "without oxygen". I'm glad you worded this question as you did, rather than asking "what are some anaerobic exercises"--too many people are confused thinking that there is such a thing as "anaerobic exercise". There is an anaerobic energy system, but it is only one energy system that is in use by one's body at all times, in a continuum. The anaerobic energy system does not need oxygen to produce energy for one to meet a demand. It is used for short, intense bursts, such as sprinting or heavy weightlifting. The body only has enough fuel to do an all-out sprint for 60-90 seconds before collapsing in a heap. This is why the 880-meter run is considered one of the toughest track events--it's just long enough to run sprinters out of gas. WebAerobics How much flexiblity training time is recommended per week and why is flexibility important? Denise Howard I know of no specific recommendations on flexibility training time per week. It's important to maintain flexibility in all the muscles one uses regularly to avoid injury. A too-tight muscle cannot move through much of a range before sustaining a pull or tear, and it also impedes mobility in the opposing muscles--sometimes so far as to alter one's posture. For example, too-tight hip flexors tilt the pelvis forward, which changes the curve of the spine and makes the belly protrude; lower-back pain can result. WebAerobics How should exercises be modified during the summer months when weather is hot and humid? (And why is it that some instructors don't modify their routines?) Denise Howard Folks should be willing to drop the intensity and the duration of their workout a few notches to allow for the fact that heat and humidity are major stressors all by themselves. They should also drink more water, more frequently. The above advice applies to outdoor workouts. Instructors in indoor classes don't need to modify their routines for summer months as long as the facility's air conditioning is working! 8. Should a person limit his/her sodium (salt)-intake during the summer months if on a regular exercise program? I don't understand this question--it sounds like three separate issues rolled into one. 9. WebAerobics What is an approximate safe/effective weight loss rate? (For example, how many pound(s) per week/month?) Denise Howard The ACSM recommends 1-2 pounds per week as a healthy weight-loss goal. If one tries to lose much faster than this, there is a risk that the body's ancient survival mechanisms will assume that a famine has begun, and it will dramatically slow metabolism and hang onto those precious fat stores at the expense of muscle tissue for long-term survival. You end up with less muscle and a higher total body fat percentage than before! WebAerobics Now that health/fitness message boards are part of internet forums, what would you consider to be the "craziest" advice you have seen posted? Denise Howard Ohboy, how can I pick just one? :-O Okay, perhaps not the "craziest" but one of the most mistaken ideas I see a lot is that to "burn fat" you have to exercise below a certain level of intensity and if you exceed that level you "burn muscle" instead. Or that you have to exercise for a certain amount of time before "fat-burning" kicks in. There is no magic on/off switch in the body for "fat-burning"! The body burns stored fat as one of its sources of energy _all_ the time, even when you are sound asleep. In fact when you are asleep is when the highest _percentage_ of your total energy comes from fat. If your goal is to lose fat, forget about the minute-to-minute fluctuations in which energy sources are being used and concentrate on burning as many calories as possible in the workout time you have. It's the total calorie burn that will help you toward your goal. We would like to thank Denise for taking time to answer our questions. We will have the second part of our interview next month. Denise's helpful answers and comments can be found on the misc.fitness.aerobics newsgroup. |
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