Tips to Improve Your Workouts

[MylesBAstor]

Reserved #1

 

[MylesBAstor]

Reserved #2

 

[MylesBAstor]

Reserved #3

 

[MylesBAstor]

Reserved #4

 

[MylesBAstor]

Reserved #5

 

[MylesBAstor]

Reserved #6

 

[JackD201]

Bump

 

[Orb]

Myles,
my favourite tip you give above is post 5
Sorry
Orb

 

[flez007]

Myles - this is a simple question: results on lifting less weight but more repetitions vs the contrary?

 

[LL21]

Myles - this is a simple question: results on lifting less weight but more repetitions vs the contrary?

Strength vs endurance? Myles is the expert.

For me, I have found as I've gotten older, endurance matters more to me than hi one-rep strength...I may need to carry luggage thru a terminal or a heavy briefcase home...but I don't pick up concrete blocks onto a truck and I don't play contact sports where impact and pure speed are important. Okay...maybe the odd audio component or 2!...but even those are not that heavy....more 60-80 lbs than 200.

So my rep range is 12-20 for weights...sometimes more...as opposed to pyramids that start at 10 and finish at 4 like when I was in school.

 

[astrotoy]

Strength vs endurance? Myles is the expert.

For me, I have found as I've gotten older, endurance matters more to me than hi one-rep strength...I may need to carry luggage thru a terminal or a heavy briefcase home...but I don't pick up concrete blocks onto a truck and I don't play contact sports where impact and pure speed are important. Okay...maybe the odd audio component or 2!...but even those are not that heavy....more 60-80 lbs than 200.

I have a Velodyne DD-18 and Avantgarde Duo's. Had a problem with the DD-18 and it either was the internal amp or the speaker. Fortunately it was the internal amp - I could not have moved the speaker (I just could do it a decade ago). The Duo's I moved into the house with the fellow who sold them to me.

I found the perfect solution to my hi-fi equipment. My son-in-law! whom I have had for 6 1/2 years.

Larry

 

[LL21]

I have a Velodyne DD-18 and Avantgarde Duo's. Had a problem with the DD-18 and it either was the internal amp or the speaker. Fortunately it was the internal amp - I could not have moved the speaker (I just could do it a decade ago). The Duo's I moved into the house with the fellow who sold them to me.

I found the perfect solution to my hi-fi equipment. My son-in-law! whom I have had for 6 1/2 years.

Larry

I have a DD18 as well...had to carry it to elevator. No fun but managed to get it there. Whew!

 

[Bruce B]

I carried a Studer A80 up a flight of stairs by myself before last RMAF. The wife was spotting me. Don't want to do that again.

Now trying to lose weight (endurance) since my knee surgery. Hopefully Myles has some pointers for folks >50yo

 

[flez007]

Strength vs endurance? Myles is the expert.

For me, I have found as I've gotten older, endurance matters more to me than hi one-rep strength...I may need to carry luggage thru a terminal or a heavy briefcase home...but I don't pick up concrete blocks onto a truck and I don't play contact sports where impact and pure speed are important. Okay...maybe the odd audio component or 2!...but even those are not that heavy....more 60-80 lbs than 200.

So my rep range is 12-20 for weights...sometimes more...as opposed to pyramids that start at 10 and finish at 4 like when I was in school.

So it is my case Lloyd! - not feeling like creating additional mass but more endurance. as for cardio I rely on the elliptic cycle.

 

[LL21]

So it is my case Lloyd! - not feeling like creating additional mass but more endurance. as for cardio I rely on the elliptic cycle.

Hey Flez,

Here is my two cents, having trained with PTs for the last 20 years (PT standing for physical therapist when I've had surgery or been injured, and Personal Trainer when I am healthier...I go back and forth, trust me... )...

If you want to do both (AND) your body can take it, the best kinds of exercises are the ones which are intense circuits of medium weights (or body weight) where you are lifting/moving/stepping/etc in succession on various different things...its a blast, focuses your mind, and give you a real sense of accomplishment as you start to really improve as u get thru the circuits (without puking!). But you really really need to be careful and build up slowly. There are way too many people who start off doing these crazy circuits, and I just cringe when I see their form, and its clear they need to start way back in the beginning and not just jump to an intense circuit. you can seriously injure yourself. But if you have decent heart rate, flexibility and all around strength (core and muscle groups)...I find I prefer them to living on a running or elliptical. Plus, for everyday use, where as my PT likes to point out, you are twisting, lifting, turning all the time in life...the way these circuits (when properly designed) can build up your strength and resistance for real-life physicality... can be great.

Happy to PM if you wish. I am not a trained expert, but having worked out/endured physical therapy for over 20 years and learned very carefully how to work back up to a respectable state of fitness, I have a decent beginner's knowledge of what has worked for me.

 

[cjfrbw]

As I have gotten older, I have found that diversification is MUCH more important than intensive training in particulars. Do as many different types of exercise as possible on a moderate level without concentrating too much on one kind. Aim for endurance and range of motion rather than raw strength (which seems to fade quicker anyway as I get older).

Concentrate on form and follow through, do not do exercises that require sudden, ballistic movement.

Stand up paddle boarding has been a blessing, it has given me some balance and range of motion as well as an excellent core exercise. I also do moderate weight lifting, bike riding, machine jogging as well as yoga, motion/dance and balance/breathing. Oddly enough, it has taken months to learn how to breath properly, and I am not completely there, yet.

My previous workouts that I used to do when younger, concentrating on intensity, began to fail me as I got older, I started getting injuries and strains on little used parts of my body. Just being in good cardiovascular shape wasn't enough to get overlap benefits to weakening tendons and muscle insertions.

I found the more kinds of exercises I do in moderation, the better, and I have stopped getting injured, but still have the strength to do the occasional lifting etc.

 

[LL21]

As I have gotten older, I have found that diversification is MUCH more important than intensive training in particulars. Do as many different types of exercise as possible on a moderate level without concentrating too much on one kind. Aim for endurance and range of motion rather than raw strength (which seems to fade quicker anyway as I get older).

Concentrate on form and follow through, do not do exercises that require sudden, ballistic movement.

Stand up paddle boarding has been a blessing, it has given me some balance and range of motion as well as an excellent core exercise. I also do moderate weight lifting, bike riding, machine jogging as well as yoga, motion/dance and balance/breathing. Oddly enough, it has taken months to learn how to breath properly, and I am not completely there, yet.

My previous workouts that I used to do when younger, concentrating on intensity, began to fail me as I got older, I started getting injuries and strains on little used parts of my body. Just being in good cardiovascular shape wasn't enough to get overlap benefits to weakening tendons and muscle insertions.

I found the more kinds of exercises I do in moderation, the better, and I have stopped getting injured, but still have the strength to do the occasional lifting etc.

Wise words indeed. I have been fighting to stay in the intensive circuit arena for the last year and generally not making it. Too many injuries (all non-work out related)...but we have started to pick up the pace towards the end of the year, and hope to be able to gradually increase it back again. I fully anticipate at some point in the next several years, these intensive circuits will drop to moderate paced circuits where the varied compound movements are just as valued for the 'stretching' and 'flexibility' as for any form of 'strength'...and even 'strength' component will be more about maintaining decent endurance more than actual raw power.

In fact, I find that some of these movements are difficult to do with almost no weight.

 

[flez007]

I am swimming and free weight/cardio lifting - no visible changes so far

 

[LL21]

I am swimming and free weight/cardio lifting - no visible changes so far

Speaking only from personal experience plus family/friends, the saying "75% of getting a six-pack is diet" is true. I have certainly found that improving muscle tone, increasing flexibility through regular work outs, etc help clothes fit better, hang better...one stands taller, etc...but ultimately visible changes come more from diet than the workout.

Of course that is not true for everyone...if you are already very lean, and are looking to make substantial changes (ie, add muscle mass, definition, etc), then you may need to think about your workout routines and whether they are putting your body through the type of work it requires in order to achieve the visual changes you are looking for.