Why You Should be Pumping Iron

For close to a decade now , what we euphemistically call ‘elderly’ people have been showing up in the media looking anything but elderly. The common denominators in their healthy, youthful appearances are weight training and nutrition. Personally I think that’s all there is to it; if we eat “right” (the trick being defining what’s “right” for a particular individual) and engage in strenuous and intense exercise (weight/resistance training) on a regular basis we can not only slow, but reverse the aging process. In fact one study reveals older people who participate in resistance training can actually create changes in gene expressions related to muscle aging, and therefore, reverse the aging process all together.

In order to move swiftly through this article, I will share my definition of “aging” – it’s wearing out of our parts, and their processes and functions. Some people define it as decay, oxidation – it’s all the same to me.  Sarcopenia is a loss of functioning muscle, which includes strength.

Strenuous exercise as a regular part of everyday life has been proven in studies to not only slow, but reverse to aging process. People who’ve been profiled in magazines, on talk shows and in You Tube videos (as well as people I know personally), have lauded the benefits of weight lifting (and/or resistance training) as a “secret” to their quality of life and youthful appearance. A woman I met in a Center city gym proclaimed, “I’ve been working out for twenty years and hated every minute of it.” While my weight lifting mentor, Frank is a jacked 60-something who’s been pumping iron for more than 3 decades and is often taken for a 45 year old (former) Marine, says "Nobody knows the loneliness of the long distance body builder."

Here are just a few positive effects pumping iron has on the body.

Weight training keeps joints strong, skin moist and firm, and bones sturdy. Hormones released as a result of resistance training determine muscle growth, increase bone density, positively affect skin tone & texture and repair damage.

All the hormones in the body impact aging and are affected either directly or indirectly by weight training.

Weight training can help us hang on to our growth producing hormones and can even replace them once they are gone.

In the decade in which I’ve been a certified personal trainer and the preceding decade during which I was shedding the fifty pounds I’d gained, I tried many different “strategies” to lose weight, get strong, get/stay healthy and get ripped; what I found is it comes down to exercise and nutrition (& maybe supplementation) and the commitment and discipline to stay with both. I’ve also found it well worth it, both physically and mentally.

Here’s a link for more information. I found it very revealing, although I’ve been living this for the last twenty years, I’m already convinced.

Yes, Resistance Training Can Reverse the Aging Process

Len Kravitz, Ph.D.

Just 30 Minutes of Movement Every day Will yield results.

Ok folks, here’s the first minimumwagefitness.com “How To” article. This process will work for you if you do it every day. Don’t ask why it works… the explanations will come later. Just do it and share your results.

Get up 30 to 40 minutes earlier every day and move around… this is also known as exercise. If you have to drag yourself out of bed do it. *I think cardio is best done at the beginning of the day, but you can do this any time really.

Disclaimer: (By the way, in case you follow this advice you should..)

It is strongly recommended that you consult with your physician before beginning any exercise program.

You should be in good physical condition and be able to participate in the exercise.

You should understand that when participating in any exercise or exercise program, there is the possibility of physical injury. If you engage in this exercise or exercise program, you agree that you do so at your own risk, are voluntarily participating in these activities, assume all risk of injury to yourself, and agree to release and discharge minimumwagefitness.com from any and all claims or causes of action, known or unknown, arising out of unforeseen circumstances.

This is the routine I’ve been doing since august 24th of this (2014) year. You can modify as necessary. I call this Eat Sweat: Zodiac Protocol, because there are twelve exercises and I imagine that I am the sun moving through the twelve constellations.

1)      Run/Jog/March in place – if impact is an issue for any reason, be it joint concerns or downstairs neighbors, go gently. Raise your knees up high and put them down lightly.

2)     Jacks – whether jumping or stepping. Keep your palms facing upward and touch your fingers.

3)     Heel-toe shuffle – this is like back peddling. You can hop or step. (Stepping it reminds me of the Ghostbusters Dance.)

4)     Shadow box – you can throw any type of punches you like, as many as you like, as slowly or as quickly as you like… just do it.

5)     Burpees – (picture) personally I have a love-hate relationship with burpees. They will get the job done. I see these as something to be conquered and I attack them. You, may barely be able to get yourself down and up off of the floor, which is all the more reason you need to do them, or some version of them. So if you’ve never done these before, take each step as a mini exercise. For instance go from step 1 to step 2 and back to step 1. (at some point I’ll make a burpees video, until then, follow the diagram.)

6)     Mountain Climbers – since you’re down on your hands and knees anyway do a set of mountain climbers. Your pace is up to you.

7)     Plank Jacks – a plank is pushup position. A jack is opening and closing your legs. These can be stepped or jumped.

8)     Pushups – on your toes or on your knees or do a half pushup or just hold a plank.

9)     Jumping front lunges/ ski jumps / step lunges – this option is completely up to you, depending on how you feel at this point in the routine.

10)  Front kicks – Karate kick, dancer kicks or just kicks, as high as you want, as quick as you want. Remember to bend the knee and straighten it. Besides the balance benefit, the point of kicking is bending the knee.

11)   Squats – or power squats, or jumping squats. When you do squats keep these “guidelines” in mind. Push your butt back as if you are sitting down. Keep your knees behind your toes – this reduces the pressure on your knees. Push up through your heels, (or you can imagine pushing your heels into the floor.) Squats is a butt exercise, not a knees exercise

12)  Trunk/Torso twists – keep your elbows at or above chest level and twist side to side.

Stretch, get water, cool down, walk it off, breathe deeply and you’re done. Ready for the day.

Just some quick notes. How long to do this for? You can count repetitions (reps) or time or a combination of both. When I’m working myself I’ll count reps, when I’m teaching a class, it’s for time (about 30 – 45 seconds each exercise.) I’ve found that two rounds eat up anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.

Benefits: In twenty minutes your body will start using (burning) fat for fuel. In thirty minutes of sweating the fat in your body will start to emulsify, which will make it easier to move, out of your body. Best of all, your body will be burning lots of calories for the next 6 to 12 hours, more than if you hadn’t exercised.

If you do this daily for two weeks, you’ll notice results. If you do it for four weeks, other people will notice results. If you do it for six weeks, you will have to buy smaller clothes and if you do it for twelve weeks you’ll probably do it for the rest of your life.

Here’s an old pushups video from You Tube you can watch if you want (best started around the 2:40 mark.)

It's day 12 and this is the first entry because I just decided to make this into a blog.
This 90 day makeover is happening within my 365 day boot camp [life.] For me, fitness, health and all that goes with it is a lifestyle. Four years ago I decided that that I should exist in a perpetual boot camp, but as with anything that's perpetual we get used to it. I've become accustomed to teaching 2 to 3 cardio classes a week and lifting weights almost five times a week. Sometimes I'd lift for strength, sometimes for power. This time around I am lifting weights for shape and definition.

I have to keep this in mind because it's easy to fall back into a power/strength routine, (especially when I see the young boys at the university rockin' such impressive poundages.)

What I haven't gotten used to is getting up and doing some serious cardio before breakfast. (Well, yes, by this time maybe I have.) For the past twelve days this has been the change that has jolted my body into releasing 6 pounds of weight. I'm not sure what that weight is exactly, but much of it is probably fat, according to what exercise science tells us.

I started this... and I always want to call it a challenge, but let's say discipline, on August 24, 2014. It should end on November 15th, just in time for the Holiday season. [As a note, it's a good idea to schedule these things as to not run into any food/celebration obstacles.] I left an extra week in case of any unforeseen circumstance(s).

So here's the routine; it's very basic; 20 - 30 minutes, sometimes more, of cardio every day, I do it in the morning before work, which turns out to be 4AM, a little later when I'm off. I lift on a two days 'on' one day 'off' schedule. I've already snuck an extra day in to work arms because I didn't get to finish a prior workout. (Real life sometimes blocks a brotha.)

I started taking video at the end of week one, but no proper stills. Videos will be available on my You Tube Channel (see link above) until then you can see some of the past flicks made during the journey.

Today is shoulders, abs and calves - but really shoulders. I do abs daily and calves on leg days and during fitness classes. Shoulders at home and then I teach class in the pool. Nice work. Keeps me in condition.

So stay with me for the next ten weeks. Maybe start your own regimen. Leave questions/requests in comments and wish me luck. I am anxious to see the results. The people who hype this stuff on TV & the net make me cynical enough to try it for myself. Again.