Resistance Training, Day Two

How to get the whole body engaged.

You need to work hard, engaging as many muscle groups as possible.

There are four objectives here, increasing bone density, adapting your bones to carry more weight. Aerobic capacity, the ability of your lungs to pump a lot of air quickly. As you exercise blow out strongly to increase the amount of air you are processing. Increasing your heart rate, You should be able to double your resting heart rate, and maintain that for a short while at least. You may need to build up to that. Sustained exercise, you do not need to train for an hour at a time, but the sort of strength and fitness we are aiming at should allow us to dig the garden for an hour or more, or to walk up hills, or to climb several sets of stairs.

This set of exercises should take 15 to 20 minutes. You should get quite breathless. Focus on breathing out strongly to get more air. You will get a bit sweaty. Your heart rate will rise quite a bit, you might like to measure that by taking your pulse. Take a rest if you need to.

The purpose of the weight is to make the body work just a bit harder than usual. Heavy weights are not necessary, but you do want some resistance. It's suggested that you find a weight that's hard to lift once in the manner intended. Use a weight that's about 50% of that.

Remember the hard easy principle. Go for a walk or do some dancing or Tai Chi of the alternate days.

Resistance Training, Day Two

Short description

Begin with the Overhead Press, do a set of 8 to 12. Move on to up and down the steps until you are tired. By now you should be really puffing. Move on to the rowing machine or rider. Now go back to the Overhead Press, stepping and rowing. Repeat the series once more.

Longer description

Overhead Press
You need a bar and suitable weights.

Hold the bar a knee height. lift it bending your arms to hold the weight at shoulder height.

Press the weight up above your head, hold steady, bring it down SLOWLY under control in two stages.

Repeat until failure.

Up and Down the Steps
You need a set of four or more steps, and a weight to carry.

This is a simple climbing exercise. Be careful of the steps you choose, safety is a concern.

You need to decide how many times you go up and down, and how much weight to carry. It's harder if you carry the weight higher.

Alternative

Six minute walking test.

There is a formal walking test used in hospitals with this name. The walk is done on a long corridor, there is rest before exercise, blood pressure and heart rates are monitored, and other tests may be done as well.

This version is outdoors, walk three minutes from home and three minutes back. Walk as briskly as you can. You might like to take your pulse at the end.

Rowing Machine or Power Rider
You need a machine that exercises the whole body, and has effective resistance. (Those cylinders with a pump arm that forces fluid through an adjustable size hole. You get resistance going both up and down.)

Row at a steady pace until you can't do any more. Row to failure. ( 30 seconds, to several minutes perhaps.) Can you make it harder if you can row for more than 90 seconds?

Don't repeat these exercises again for SEVEN days. Let your body fully recover.

If you've got a hill close to your home, use that as a form of resistance instead of the steps.

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