Re: A more effective cardio fitness program

[Guest guest]

>

> Well, as always, what we " need " is based on

> what we hav defined as our objectives from a

> CV training program.

>

> A 55 yr old guy, post cardiac patient or a

> risk for Heart Disease might well be killed

> by a interval training program, ie the Tabata

> protocol. For that guy, a 40 minute walk

> around the block is likely in order.

I didn't know of the Tabata protocol until today,

and I read up on it from web searches. And indeed,

it can sound brutal. But I think even a cardiac

patient can modify it to suit his situation.

The first week of the Sears program is just one

6-minute exertion period, which is even a lot

less than a 40-minute walk. It allows for just

walking, if that's all one can do to reach near

max. Subsequent weeks have decreasing exertion

periods: 3 minutes, then 2 minutes, and finally

1 minute by the fourth week. The intensity of

the exertion, however, increases, and one does

several more " sets " on subsequent weeks, until

one is doing 3 sets by the fourth week. It does

not even approach the Tabata protocol of 20-sec

exertion and 10-sec recovery intervals.

I think the point of the Sears program, and

other interval training protocols, is to reach

near maximum capacity. If rising up from a chair

accomplishes this, then such patient can just

start with that.

> For the 20 yr old track athlete who is running

> sprints for an event, the interval training

> protocol is the ONLY way he will get faster.

>

> A Marathon runner, well you get the point.

True. However, I think the point of the Sears

program is not whether one runs marathons or

sprints, but whether one's cardiovascular

fitness improves. I think we've all heard of

stories of people dying of heart attacks even

if they followed aerobics religiously. Of

course other people die of heart attacks who

don't do aerobics, but the point is that

aerobics is appearing to be useless as far as

prevention of heart attacks goes. Whether

interval training will be better, I still have

to find out. (And now that I think about it,

did anyone ever die of a heart attack in

sprints? I know several did in marathons, and

these were people who trained for marathons.)

And even marathon runners don't run marathons

for their training. I think I read somewhere that

to train for a certain distance, one only needs

to train one-fifth or one-fourth of that distance.

Maybe they would do better with an interval type

protocol?

> BTW-Not everything Dr Al Sears says is

> necessarily correct nor wise.

>

> Same is true for most " experts, "

Definitely.

But as far as cardio fitness goes, my own

experience proves the effectivity of interval

training, far surpassing aerobics.

I commute by bicycle, and lately, I was thinking

just to coast along when I could. Anyway, there

was always that uphill climb to provide me the

exercise. The result was I found myself getting

weaker and weaker -- that uphill climb got more

and more difficult. I remember that I could even

climb that with my 6-year old kid sitting on the

horizontal bar of the frame a couple of decades

ago. But now I found myself huffing with difficulty

with barely a kg load. And this in spite of the

aerobic nature of my coasting along in my commutes.

I did a variation of the Sears program. I ignored

the warm up sessions (well, I was on my bike), and

in a section of my commute which had a very slight

upward slope I would max out with a sprint for

about a minute or so. This gave me a recovery period

before the uphill climb came along. So in effect,

I jumped to his 3rd week level, but with only 2 sets.

In a couple of weeks, that uphill was a lot easier

for me -- a first in several years! I'm still not

up to my level before when I could carry a kid up

that slope (besides, they're all grown up now), but

I now see that I have an easy way of getting there.

Again, the point is, until I went for maximum

capacity, my cardio fitness was going downhill. Only

when I went for max did it start to improve. And

this is definitely anaerobic. The aerobics of my

daily commute did me no good.

Just my experience.

Gerry

[Guest guest]

>

> In my post last November (message no. 3057),

> I described my use of the Tabata method applied

> to an x5 bullworker. This works well for me and,

> as you say it can be brutal, but it can be

> adjusted to suit your ability.

Thanks for the info. I went to read your post and

I question the concern of doctors prohibiting

isometric exercises because of the effect on

blood pressure. Do you know if this has ever been

proven?

I lost my finger pressure monitor, but when I had

it, I found my 140-180/100-120 BP would quickly

normalize after 20 reps of barbell squats, which

is something the doctors would not want me to do.

Too bad, I never tried it to see what happens with

isometrics.

I've been " hypertensive " for more than a decade

now, but never took any medications. If I wanted

a normal BP, I would simply fast for a day. Seems

to me that BP is related to blood sugar levels,

and exercise, including isometrics, is a sure way

to normalize BP.

Gerry

[Guest guest]

Any exercise will increase BP temporaily. But it goes back to normal after you stop exercising.Isometrics is no different. Overtime, if you have high BP, exercising regularly and a healthy diet can normalize it. Walking is especially good for this. However, if you have high BP, it is best to discuss exercising with your doctor before you start, just to be safe. Richknuj_gse wrote: >> In my post last November (message no. 3057),> I described my use of the Tabata method applied> to an x5 bullworker. This works well for me and, > as you say it can be brutal, but it can be> adjusted to suit your ability. Thanks for the info. I went to read your post andI question the concern of doctors prohibiting isometric exercises because of the effect on blood pressure. Do you know if this has ever beenproven?I lost my finger pressure monitor, but when I hadit, I found my 140-180/100-120 BP would quicklynormalize after 20 reps of barbell squats, whichis something the doctors would not want me to do.Too bad, I never tried it to see what happens withisometrics.I've been "hypertensive" for more than a decade now, but never took any

medications. If I wanteda normal BP, I would simply fast for a day. Seemsto me that BP is related to blood sugar levels,and exercise, including isometrics, is a sure wayto normalize BP.Gerry __________________________________________________