All I Want for Christmas is Two Twenty-Inch Arms
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The Christmas shopping countdown began seven weeks ago with Santa’s first Ho-ho TV jingle in late October... diamonds for her, plasma screen for him and iPods and videos games for the kids.
Of course, Time, the world’s greatest magician, has done its notorious disappearing act -- Presto, change-o, here one day, gone the next. I prefer the ole’ bunny and top-hat trick myself.
Alas, we are in the critical days, those days when the season’s cool and laughter have been replaced by sweat and tears. Be of good cheer, there’s always hope. I hear malls will be open 24/7 in some desperate neighborhoods. Remember: Wear shoulder pads.
I completed my Christmas shopping early this year: A pair of 25s, 35s and 45s for Laree’s Dungeon Gym, and a subscription to Kettlebells-R-Us magazine. Ever brightly wrap and be-ribbon a 210-pound stack of Olympic plates and maneuver it under the ole’ Christmas tree? A Christmas ball buster.
I’m feelin’ good. As an elaborate gesture of my Christmas Season givingness, I agreed to answer some muscle and fitness questions that have puzzled our online companions for a long, long time. I’ll keep it short as we all have merry and jolly and holy things to do.
Q) I've been lifting a little over ten years, twice weekly, full-body, approximately one hour sessions. I do other stuff, e.g., stretches, crunches, push-ups every day, but do the iron only twice a week. I squat with only empty 45-pound bar because I'm fearful of knee damage. I’m sculpted but need mass.
In a recent newsletter you mention liking "moderate weight." To get to a question here, what do you think a 145-pound, 69-year-old guy might reasonably be pushin' and pullin'? I like 45s and 50s when incline pressing. I realize you can't really tell me anything very definitive, but I'd like your thoughts anyway.
A) Reducing the weight one uses in one’s workouts doesn’t necessarily mean one is lessening his intensity or letting up and letting go. Great workouts, healthy and muscle-demanding, can and do emerge from less weight and more focus, form and control.
You sound like you're being appropriately cautious. Always warm up slowly and focus on each rep, the groove and the muscle engagement. The light-to-moderate weights allow a savvy lifter to crawl into the movement and appreciate all its good work. You can direct the bar or dumbbell or handle where you want and need for affect and to avoid injury or pain of injury without being bullied by a heavier weight. The 45- and 50-pound dumbbells are plenty heavy to provide the joy and exertion you and your muscles need.
Heavier weights are, obviously, fantastic for muscle mass and strength building, but not so much for form articulation and concentrating on muscle engagement. Have you ever noticed there’s a sort of explosive chaos in chasing the heavier reps? Ba-Boom! The bar goes up and down, or not, without a clear and complete understanding of ‘how.’ Urgency and desperation and sometimes blood rule the action. Injury and overload become incidental to achieving the goal. Muscleheads are slightly nuts, you know.
Where once I used 120- to 150-pound dumbbells on bench presses, I now joyfully, gratefully, use 45s and 50s. Naturally, I cuss under my breath and in the dark recesses of my egocentric mind.
Sorry, I can't help you estimate your pulling effort because we pull differently (body-thrust, bar and handle variations) and at the ends of different cable equipment with differing advantages and resistance. Work between 6 and 12 reps with 75% output (room for another rep with no body contortion or sacrifice of worthwhile groove).
Walking is good for everyone, especially those who might be considering hearing aids, glasses, cutesy hairpieces and pacemakers. Who’d a thunk it? Go to the hills and the stairs for tough, functional leg and cardiovascular workouts.
Be sure your non-iron-lifting workouts accommodate your weight lifting workouts -- overload and recuperation are your concerns. Here's where your commonsense and instincts need sharpness and confident application.
Mass- and might-building may not be the smartest goals in the world, whereas solid muscle maintenance and general health certainly are. Eat smartly throughout the day; valuable protein, fats and carbs only and lots of fresh, nutrient-dense living foods. Drink water freely. Get plenty of rest. Be productive. Don’t worry about anything. Never give up.
Q) I’ve been doing hyperextensions for my lower back, but it has been sore ever since I started. I wish to keep my back muscles in good condition. Should I keep up this exercise, and will this discomfort ever stop?
A) Perhaps you perform too great a range of motion, especially the upward range (contraction too tight), or too many sets or too many reps or too many workouts a week. If so, moderate... go for stimulation every 4 or 5 days, or, maybe, chuck them.
Be sure your abdominals and torso are being regularly and smartly exercised. Balance is essential. Try your hand and body at light dumbbell dead lifts, seated lat rows with a thoughtful and fluid range of motion... think lower back; light one-arm dumbbell overhead cleans for torso strength and health.
Look into the joint mobility exercises for the hip and pelvic regions as encouraged by Laree in the newsletters in the past months and, I believe, in today’s blog post. These are of major importance to we who walk and play and lift.
Q) What’s a set? What’s a rep? What’s the difference between a dumbbell, a barbell and a squat rack?
A) For the answers to these fundamental, yet complex inquires, and anything else of metal and steel that pops into your head, I wholeheartedly advise you to tune into the IronOnline forum. They are a cheery group of musclebuilders and strength athletes, guys and gals, various ages, who know their stuff from experience, from schooling and from exchanging ideas open-mindedly. Many are like you, wanting to learn and uncover the puzzles of building muscle and might.
May your adventure be rich. Seek and learn much, lift and grow strong, smile and be happy.
Done. You’re free to go to find what’s lost, fix what’s broke, tighten what’s loose, mend what’s torn, eat what’s left over and do what you didn’t do and undo what you did.
Life’s a blast, bombers. Thank God.
We, Laree and I, will drop a note Christmas Eve to remind you we care. Meanwhile, enjoy and cherish the days till then. Each is one of a kind.
Godspeed... Dave
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