(Somewhat off topic) Optimal Conditioning Exercise for Cronies

[Guest guest]

An exercise for us

Just came across this exercise suggested for us people, to build

muscle strength in the arms and shoulders. It seems so easy, so I

thought I'd pass it on to some of my friends. The article suggested

doing it three days a week.

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of

room at each side. With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your

arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you

can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax.

Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit

longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks.

Then 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you

can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arm straight

for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level)

After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the

sacks.

a=z

PS This article plagiarized from another website.

[Guest guest]

Exercise has a very important place in the maintenance of health and

vitality, and should be approached with careful analysis and

execution. Holding a couple sacks of potatoes just doesn't " cut it " .

A proper consideration requires learning muscle anatomy and then

employing those exercises that most efficiently involve the largest

muscle masses in the most important movement patterns. A set of

barbells and dumbells is necessary OR access to a line of resistance

machines like Nautilus or Cybex, for example.

To simply hold at arms length a sack of potatoes exercise only the

smaller muscles of the shoulder girdle, does nothing at all for the

larger more important " lats " or spinal muscles. And nothing at all for

the lower extremities which are even more imporatnt for locomotion and

lifting tasks.

Also, no way will you ever " work up " to raising let alone " holding " a

100lbs, or even close to that.

Invest in a barbell set that also has dumbells, as both will be needed

for a proper workout. Or, even better, quickly work thru a line of

machines at the local gym. This gives you both resistance training as

well as cardio at same time.

The object is to maintain strength and muscle mass, stave off atrophy

and the lack of vitality that accompanies it. Improvement in cardio

fitness is another facet of vitality that you will need to train

separately for.

The last piece of the puzzle is flexibility!

YOGA is best to maintain the long lengths to your connective tissue

surrounding your joints. Connective tissue tends to shrink and

contract on itself over time if not made to " stretch out " frequently.

Most activities of normal daily living do NOT require a full range of

motion from our joints to complete the tasks. As a result, as we age,

we also fall prey to an insidious process of joint stiffening

especially in the spinal joints of the neck and low back. Hip joints

are also especially vulnerable here too. Yoga is wonderful for

reversing and preventing this decline in the quality of joint function.

IMO, i see three components to functional vitality: strength,

cardio-respiratory fitness, and last but not least, Flexibility. Takes

but a " few " stretches applied to major joints couple times per week to

do the trick.

Sorry for the length of this reply but i feel that our approach to

exercise should be as we do nutrition, with very careful analysis and

execution to insure best results.

Hope this helps. Thank you for listening.

bill

>

> An exercise for us

>

> Just came across this exercise suggested for us people, to build

> muscle strength in the arms and shoulders. It seems so easy, so I

> thought I'd pass it on to some of my friends. The article suggested

> doing it three days a week.

>

> Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of

> room at each side. With a 5-lb potato sack in each hand, extend your

> arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you

> can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax.

>

> Each day, you'll find that you can hold this position for just a bit

> longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato sacks.

>

> Then 50-lb potato sacks and then eventually try to get to where you

> can lift a 100-lb potato sack in each hand and hold your arm straight

> for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level)

>

> After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the

> sacks.

>

> a=z

>

> PS This article plagiarized from another website.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Bill:

Thanks for those organized thoughts about exercise.

No question that, making the assumption we are going to be living to

100+, we need enough exercise of various types to ensure that, when

the time comes, we will have the strength, endurance and flexibility

necessary to do the kind of things we will want to do at that age.

And, in addition to the exercises you mention, we very probably need

some kind of activity specifically directed at bone strength. But it

seems to me that there are a lot of (as far as I know unanswered)

questions.

Also, exercise rectangularizes the curve for ad lib mice, so maybe it

also rectangularizes the curve for people on CRON ..............

unless those problems, which exercise fixes in ad libbers, are also

already fixed by CRON. In which case exercise might add no

rectangularization benefit over and above CRON.

So it seems to me there are perhaps (at least) five issues: bone

integrity; rectangularization; muscle strength; endurance; and

flexibility.

But just how much strength, endurance and flexibility will we need?

Exercise itself requires our bodies to process dreaded calories.

Most of us will not be wanting to run marathons, or even run at all,

at age 100. Perhaps walking 18 holes at our own pace, carrying a few

favorite clubs, would be enough. Nor will we be competing in Olympic

weight-lifting events. But we will want to be able to lift things

around the house when we need to without always having to ask for

help. And if we are flexible enough to pick things up off the floor;

put on our clothes without assitance; reach the car's dashboard; and

swing well enough to hit under 100 at that age, will we need more

than that? Do we know whether more than that would even be a net

benefit, given the calories required to achieve anything above those

levels?

So, just HOW MUCH of WHAT types of exercise should we be doing for

the next fifty years to attain the above ends? Notice this is a

question. I do not know the answers. I very much would like to have

the answers. I am reasonably fit/strong/flexible right now and do

not want to lose it. But there is a caloric cost involved.

For the past year the only exercise I have been doing worthy of the

name is squats, dropjumps and another exercise that, as far as I know

doesn't have a name, all directed to bone strength. I am all ears to

hear evidence-based suggestions for ways to fix other problems that

would otherwise be likely to occur with age. As a starting point, it

would be very helpful to have a list of maladies 90-year olds often

suffer from for which exercise of one type or another would have been

the remedy.

Any thoughts?

Rodney.

>

> Exercise has a very important place in the maintenance of health and

> vitality, and should be approached with careful analysis and

> execution. Holding a couple sacks of potatoes just doesn't " cut it " .

>

> A proper consideration requires learning muscle anatomy and then

> employing those exercises that most efficiently involve the largest

> muscle masses in the most important movement patterns. A set of

> barbells and dumbells is necessary OR access to a line of resistance

> machines like Nautilus or Cybex, for example.

>

> To simply hold at arms length a sack of potatoes exercise only the

> smaller muscles of the shoulder girdle, does nothing at all for the

> larger more important " lats " or spinal muscles. And nothing at all

for

> the lower extremities which are even more imporatnt for locomotion

and

> lifting tasks.

>

> Also, no way will you ever " work up " to raising let alone " holding "

a

> 100lbs, or even close to that.

>

> Invest in a barbell set that also has dumbells, as both will be

needed

> for a proper workout. Or, even better, quickly work thru a line of

> machines at the local gym. This gives you both resistance training

as

> well as cardio at same time.

>

> The object is to maintain strength and muscle mass, stave off

atrophy

> and the lack of vitality that accompanies it. Improvement in cardio

> fitness is another facet of vitality that you will need to train

> separately for.

>

> The last piece of the puzzle is flexibility!

>

> YOGA is best to maintain the long lengths to your connective tissue

> surrounding your joints. Connective tissue tends to shrink and

> contract on itself over time if not made to " stretch out "

frequently.

> Most activities of normal daily living do NOT require a full range

of

> motion from our joints to complete the tasks. As a result, as we

age,

> we also fall prey to an insidious process of joint stiffening

> especially in the spinal joints of the neck and low back. Hip joints

> are also especially vulnerable here too. Yoga is wonderful for

> reversing and preventing this decline in the quality of joint

function.

>

> IMO, i see three components to functional vitality: strength,

> cardio-respiratory fitness, and last but not least, Flexibility.

Takes

> but a " few " stretches applied to major joints couple times per week

to

> do the trick.

>

> Sorry for the length of this reply but i feel that our approach to

> exercise should be as we do nutrition, with very careful analysis

and

> execution to insure best results.

>

> Hope this helps. Thank you for listening.

>

> bill

[Guest guest]

Hello. The physical loads applied to the bone cantilevers by frequent

resistance training will tend to increase their mass, and with

increased mass comes strength. Provided you use " heavy " enough

resistance, say 70-80% of your 1 repetition max (1RM) for 8-12

repetitions. The bones of the upper and lower extremities function as

cantilevers while exercising bending and deforming under the load

stimulating osteogenesis. Even the neck of the femur (a common site

for osteoporotic hip fractures} will strength and thicken. A quick

search of medline will confirm this.

One set each of the major exercises 1-3 times per week should be

enough but again, enough resistance must be used and the workout must

provide a challenge.

Have you ever noticed that you can tell the general age range of an

individual simply by his/her movement patterns, from a distance away?

Joint flexibility, or lack thereof, is the culprit in simplest terms.

Specifically spinal range of motion and range at the hip joint. Slow

progressive loss of functional range of the numerous spinal joints and

hips stiffens and limits the movement patterns. The economy of FLUID

motion is gradually lost, stiff tissues require more effort to

elongate and deform when walking, running, bending twisting etc.

Economy of movement is lost and stiff tissue is more easily injured,

which can lead to pain and disability (and more loss in function).

Yoga is simply a wonderful and efficient way to keep the rubber bands

(ligaments,muscle) that surround our joints elongated and supple.

Imagine stretching a hardened stiff rubber band, now imagine the

elastic counterpart.

Think about this: when was the last time you FULLY extended your

lumbar/thoracic spinal joints by stretching backward? Many would have

to answer, " years! " Are you placing ANY of your joints thru a full

range of motion on a regular basis is a better question? Yoga is a

great way to accomplish this.

CRON is without a doubt, to me, the most significant aspect of

achieving health and longevity, it is also about achieving a state of

optimum well-being. But an optimum state of well-being would also

include maintaining joint health too.

> >

> > Exercise has a very important place in the maintenance of health and

> > vitality, and should be approached with careful analysis and

> > execution. Holding a couple sacks of potatoes just doesn't " cut it " .

> >

> > A proper consideration requires learning muscle anatomy and then

> > employing those exercises that most efficiently involve the largest

> > muscle masses in the most important movement patterns. A set of

> > barbells and dumbells is necessary OR access to a line of resistance

> > machines like Nautilus or Cybex, for example.

> >

> > To simply hold at arms length a sack of potatoes exercise only the

> > smaller muscles of the shoulder girdle, does nothing at all for the

> > larger more important " lats " or spinal muscles. And nothing at all

> for

> > the lower extremities which are even more imporatnt for locomotion

> and

> > lifting tasks.

> >

> > Also, no way will you ever " work up " to raising let alone " holding "

> a

> > 100lbs, or even close to that.

> >

> > Invest in a barbell set that also has dumbells, as both will be

> needed

> > for a proper workout. Or, even better, quickly work thru a line of

> > machines at the local gym. This gives you both resistance training

> as

> > well as cardio at same time.

> >

> > The object is to maintain strength and muscle mass, stave off

> atrophy

> > and the lack of vitality that accompanies it. Improvement in cardio

> > fitness is another facet of vitality that you will need to train

> > separately for.

> >

> > The last piece of the puzzle is flexibility!

> >

> > YOGA is best to maintain the long lengths to your connective tissue

> > surrounding your joints. Connective tissue tends to shrink and

> > contract on itself over time if not made to " stretch out "

> frequently.

> > Most activities of normal daily living do NOT require a full range

> of

> > motion from our joints to complete the tasks. As a result, as we

> age,

> > we also fall prey to an insidious process of joint stiffening

> > especially in the spinal joints of the neck and low back. Hip joints

> > are also especially vulnerable here too. Yoga is wonderful for

> > reversing and preventing this decline in the quality of joint

> function.

> >

> > IMO, i see three components to functional vitality: strength,

> > cardio-respiratory fitness, and last but not least, Flexibility.

> Takes

> > but a " few " stretches applied to major joints couple times per week

> to

> > do the trick.

> >

> > Sorry for the length of this reply but i feel that our approach to

> > exercise should be as we do nutrition, with very careful analysis

> and

> > execution to insure best results.

> >

> > Hope this helps. Thank you for listening.

> >

> > bill

>

[Guest guest]

Rodney, an excellent question " how much exercise is enough " . I

couldn't address it yesterday because I didn't have the resources at

my disposal, now I do.

A couple of good studies suggest that ONE set, ONCE every two weeks

may be enough to maintain strength and lean mass of muscle. And maybe

even once every FOURTH week! Provided the exercise is a good one for

isolating major muscle groups; provided the resistance is " heavy "

(70-80% 1RM for 8-12 slow, controlled reps); and provided you put

forth a challenging effort in each and every set of each exercise. If

very infrequent exercise is to be sufficient and effective, must make

each one count!

I don't think this scheme would require many calories, do you? Once

every two weeks, or once per month?

As for bone mass development after maturity, I'm not absolutely

convinced such an infrequent stimulus would be enough, and I am

positive it wouldn't be an optimum does, but it may be enough if all

the parameters i've outlined above are satisfied. And the training is

disciplined and regular over a long period of time.

The studies below show that it is sufficient for maintenance of

strength and muscle mass but can we extrapolate these results to bone?

I think so, why not. The muscles pull hard against the bone, much

greater than encountered in normal daily activities, so why wouldn't

the bone strengthen under this greater impetus?

The studies in their entirety are:

http://corespinalfitness.com/downloads/research/effectsofreducedfrequency.pdf

http://corespinalfitness.com/downloads/research/effectsoftraining.pdf

Very interesting question this " how much is enough " , or its

counterpart " how much is too much " . Certainly we don't want to consume

too many calories performing too much useless exercise.

Just thought of something else are many calories consumed with YOGA? I

may be wrong but seems like we could do yoga everyday without

consuming many calories in the process. Some calories but not too

many, maybe? This post is about resistance exercise but I bring up

yoga now because it also involves pulling against the bones, albeit

not as forcefully. But the combination of daily (or frequent) yoga

with very infrequent resistance training may be a potentiate bone

formation?

Comments? Concerns?

> >

> > Exercise has a very important place in the maintenance of health and

> > vitality, and should be approached with careful analysis and

> > execution. Holding a couple sacks of potatoes just doesn't " cut it " .

> >

> > A proper consideration requires learning muscle anatomy and then

> > employing those exercises that most efficiently involve the largest

> > muscle masses in the most important movement patterns. A set of

> > barbells and dumbells is necessary OR access to a line of resistance

> > machines like Nautilus or Cybex, for example.

> >

> > To simply hold at arms length a sack of potatoes exercise only the

> > smaller muscles of the shoulder girdle, does nothing at all for the

> > larger more important " lats " or spinal muscles. And nothing at all

> for

> > the lower extremities which are even more imporatnt for locomotion

> and

> > lifting tasks.

> >

> > Also, no way will you ever " work up " to raising let alone " holding "

> a

> > 100lbs, or even close to that.

> >

> > Invest in a barbell set that also has dumbells, as both will be

> needed

> > for a proper workout. Or, even better, quickly work thru a line of

> > machines at the local gym. This gives you both resistance training

> as

> > well as cardio at same time.

> >

> > The object is to maintain strength and muscle mass, stave off

> atrophy

> > and the lack of vitality that accompanies it. Improvement in cardio

> > fitness is another facet of vitality that you will need to train

> > separately for.

> >

> > The last piece of the puzzle is flexibility!

> >

> > YOGA is best to maintain the long lengths to your connective tissue

> > surrounding your joints. Connective tissue tends to shrink and

> > contract on itself over time if not made to " stretch out "

> frequently.

> > Most activities of normal daily living do NOT require a full range

> of

> > motion from our joints to complete the tasks. As a result, as we

> age,

> > we also fall prey to an insidious process of joint stiffening

> > especially in the spinal joints of the neck and low back. Hip joints

> > are also especially vulnerable here too. Yoga is wonderful for

> > reversing and preventing this decline in the quality of joint

> function.

> >

> > IMO, i see three components to functional vitality: strength,

> > cardio-respiratory fitness, and last but not least, Flexibility.

> Takes

> > but a " few " stretches applied to major joints couple times per week

> to

> > do the trick.

> >

> > Sorry for the length of this reply but i feel that our approach to

> > exercise should be as we do nutrition, with very careful analysis

> and

> > execution to insure best results.

> >

> > Hope this helps. Thank you for listening.

> >

> > bill

>

[Guest guest]

What is lumbar extension strength? It seems core strength may be reinforced by some routine activities.I guess it may also depend somewhat on what you are targeting for a baseline or acceptable strength level. I'm not strong by most measures. I can barely bench 1x my body weight. My one 58 YO rat experience is that I perceive a fairly rapid loss of strength if I don't hit the weight machine 2-3x a week.  At the moment I'm trying to get back to where I was maybe 6 months ago when I got busy with work and slipped some on my workouts. Getting old isn't for wimps and I'm not really old yet...JROn Nov 30, 2006, at 2:58 PM, bill4cr wrote:Rodney, an excellent question "how much exercise is enough". Icouldn't address it yesterday because I didn't have the resources atmy disposal, now I do.A couple of good studies suggest that ONE set, ONCE every two weeksmay be enough to maintain strength and lean mass of muscle. And maybeeven once every FOURTH week! Provided the exercise is a good one for isolating major muscle groups; provided the resistance is "heavy"(70-80% 1RM for 8-12 slow, controlled reps); and provided you putforth a challenging effort in each and every set of each exercise. Ifvery infrequent exercise is to be sufficient and effective, must makeeach one count!I don't think this scheme would require many calories, do you? Onceevery two weeks, or once per month?As for bone mass development after maturity, I'm not absolutelyconvinced such an infrequent stimulus would be enough, and I ampositive it wouldn't be an optimum does, but it may be enough if allthe parameters i've outlined above are satisfied. And the training isdisciplined and regular over a long period of time.The studies below show that it is sufficient for maintenance ofstrength and muscle mass but can we extrapolate these results to bone?I think so, why not. The muscles pull hard against the bone, muchgreater than encountered in normal daily activities, so why wouldn'tthe bone strengthen under this greater impetus?The studies in their entirety are:http://corespinalfitness.com/downloads/research/effectsofreducedfrequency.pdfhttp://corespinalfitness.com/downloads/research/effectsoftraining.pdfVery interesting question this "how much is enough", or itscounterpart "how much is too much". Certainly we don't want to consumetoo many calories performing too much useless exercise.Just thought of something else are many calories consumed with YOGA? Imay be wrong but seems like we could do yoga everyday withoutconsuming many calories in the process. Some calories but not toomany, maybe? This post is about resistance exercise but I bring upyoga now because it also involves pulling against the bones, albeitnot as forcefully. But the combination of daily (or frequent) yogawith very infrequent resistance training may be a potentiate boneformation?Comments? Concerns?-

[Guest guest]

>

> What is lumbar extension strength?

That required to bend forward? Unclear.

[...snip...]

> My one 58 YO rat experience is that I perceive a fairly rapid loss

of

> strength if I don't hit the weight machine 2-3x a week.

[...snip...]

I too seem to lose strength (even in my early-30's), if I do not

keep up with my resistance routine. I once read you being to lose

it after only two consecutive days without training, and it is for

this reason that most weight lifting programs recommend no more

than two days in between workouts. Is this outdated? Once every

two weeks seems hard to believe.

-

[Guest guest]

Hi,

I used to do a fair amount of weight lifting and training/reading about

it. Usually you only want to work out a major muscle group (quads,

deltoids, etc) every 2 days at the most. More than that you are

overtraining and won't see any increases. Serious weightlifters split

their workouts so they rotate through the muscle groups on alternate days.

Now that I'm not as interested in having muscle mass and more interested

in longevity, I can keep my strength up (albeit at a lower level than my

max) with 1 weight resistance workout/wk. I try to do 5-6 exercises with 3

sets of 8 reps each for all the major groups. If you can do more reps, eg

12-15, you arent training for strength but more muscular endurance so

increase the weight.

Also, eat something right after your workout, even just 100-150 kcal, it

really will help your muscles recover.

Just the experience of a 39 yr old moderate CRONie,

-Will

>

> >

> > What is lumbar extension strength?=20

>

> That required to bend forward? Unclear.

>

> [...snip...]

>

> > My one 58 YO rat experience is that I perceive a fairly rapid loss=20

> of=20=20

> > strength if I don't hit the weight machine 2-3x a week.=20

>

> [...snip...]

>

> I too seem to lose strength (even in my early-30's), if I do not

> keep up with my resistance routine. I once read you being to lose

> it after only two consecutive days without training, and it is for

> this reason that most weight lifting programs recommend no more

> than two days in between workouts. Is this outdated? Once every

> two weeks seems hard to believe.

>

> -

>

>

Jewell, Ph.D.

Campus Mass Spectrometry Facilities

UC

cmsf.ucdavis.edu

[Guest guest]

I wasn't suggesting consecutive days of workout either.

Rest is when the microtears repair themselves, after all

(if hypertrophy is what you're after). As you say, a

rotation of major groups is common. I perform a light

strength routine of all the muscle groups on alternate

days (sometimes two in between, but not three). It

seemed to me that if I alternated groups, it would be

more possible for any group to go those three days w/o

being worked if I were to miss a couple days. Yes, the

small amount of calories and/or amino acids following a

workout is a good idea.

Thanks,

-

> > >

> > > What is lumbar extension strength?=20

> >

> > That required to bend forward? Unclear.

> >

> > [...snip...]

> >

> > > My one 58 YO rat experience is that I perceive a fairly rapid

loss=20

> > of=20=20

> > > strength if I don't hit the weight machine 2-3x a week.=20

> >

> > [...snip...]

> >

> > I too seem to lose strength (even in my early-30's), if I do not

> > keep up with my resistance routine. I once read you being to lose

> > it after only two consecutive days without training, and it is for

> > this reason that most weight lifting programs recommend no more

> > than two days in between workouts. Is this outdated? Once every

> > two weeks seems hard to believe.

> >

> > -

> >

> >

>

> Jewell, Ph.D.

> Campus Mass Spectrometry Facilities

> UC

> cmsf.ucdavis.edu

>

[Guest guest]

" Lumbar extension strength " is the strength the lumbar spine to push

while bending backward. The beginning position of the exercise is bent

forward with the chest approximated to the front of the thighs. The

resistance is set against the upper back. The end position is fully

bent backward at the waist. This tests and exercises the lumbar spinal

muscles that are located in your lower back.

I only posted links to these studies on these muscles because they

nicely demonstrate that a properly and adequately exercised muscle

does not need much in the way of frequent work to strengthen and

maintain it. Muscle needs adequate work but not frequent. Once a week

is plenty for strength maintenance and even improvement.

See: PMID: 10522954

Once-weekly resistance exercise improves muscle strength and

neuromuscular performance in older adults.

CONCLUSIONS: A program of once or twice weekly resistance exercise

achieves muscle strength gains similar to 3 days per week training in

older adults and is associated with improved neuromuscular

performance. Such improvement could potentially reduce the risk of

falls and fracture in older adults.

Once a week is enough for strength IMPROVEMENT it is not too far

fetched to accept that we could MAINTAIN present strength with a once

every two week schedule. Maybe even less frequent.

As Rodney pointed out we want just enough exercise but not too much to

conserve energy. Will resistance exercise once per week, or once every

two weeks, to preserve vitality and function consume too many

calories? I don't think so, do you?

bill

> >

> > What is lumbar extension strength?

>

> That required to bend forward? Unclear.

>

> [...snip...]

>

> > My one 58 YO rat experience is that I perceive a fairly rapid loss

> of

> > strength if I don't hit the weight machine 2-3x a week.

>

> [...snip...]

>

> I too seem to lose strength (even in my early-30's), if I do not

> keep up with my resistance routine. I once read you being to lose

> it after only two consecutive days without training, and it is for

> this reason that most weight lifting programs recommend no more

> than two days in between workouts. Is this outdated? Once every

> two weeks seems hard to believe.

>

> -

>

[Guest guest]

The below post indicates that one weight training session a week is plenty for strength maintenance and even improvement. Not for me. I need to weight train 2x/week at a minimum to maintain my current strength levels, and have found that over the long run, if I exercise at the weight levels stated in the below-mentioned (and similar) studies, I am more likely to sustain some sort of ache, pain, or other minor injury.

[ ] Re: (Somewhat off topic) Optimal Conditioning Exercise for Cronies

"Lumbar extension strength" is the strength the lumbar spine to push

while bending backward. The beginning position of the exercise is bent

forward with the chest approximated to the front of the thighs. The

resistance is set against the upper back. The end position is fully

bent backward at the waist. This tests and exercises the lumbar spinal

muscles that are located in your lower back.

I only posted links to these studies on these muscles because they

nicely demonstrate that a properly and adequately exercised muscle

does not need much in the way of frequent work to strengthen and

maintain it. Muscle needs adequate work but not frequent. Once a week

is plenty for strength maintenance and even improvement.

See: PMID: 10522954 Once-weekly resistance exercise improves muscle strength and

neuromuscular performance in older adults.

CONCLUSIONS: A program of once or twice weekly resistance exercise

achieves muscle strength gains similar to 3 days per week training in

older adults and is associated with improved neuromuscular

performance. Such improvement could potentially reduce the risk of

falls and fracture in older adults.

Once a week is enough for strength IMPROVEMENT it is not too far

fetched to accept that we could MAINTAIN present strength with a once

every two week schedule. Maybe even less frequent. As Rodney pointed out we want just enough exercise but not too much to

conserve energy. Will resistance exercise once per week, or once every

two weeks, to preserve vitality and function consume too many

calories? I don't think so, do you?

bill

> >

> > What is lumbar extension strength? > > That required to bend forward? Unclear.

> > [...snip...]

> > > My one 58 YO rat experience is that I perceive a fairly rapid loss > of > > strength if I don't hit the weight machine 2-3x a week. > > [...snip...]

> > I too seem to lose strength (even in my early-30's), if I do not

> keep up with my resistance routine. I once read you being to lose

> it after only two consecutive days without training, and it is for

> this reason that most weight lifting programs recommend no more

> than two days in between workouts. Is this outdated? Once every

> two weeks seems hard to believe.

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[Guest guest]

I am no expert, but trainers have told me that you start losing the benefits of exercise (muscle strength) after 3 days. They suggested doing upper body one day, lower body another, and aerobics the next. Repeat. They didn't say how long it takes to lose *all* the benefit of a single session of exercise. Tom S. St. , MN