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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. Feature Article
2. Bodybuilding Tip
3. Book Review- The Weider System of Bodybuilding
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---Feature Article---
Cardiovascular Exercise Principles and Guidelines
Warming-up, Stretching, and Cooling-down
By Chad Tackett
For maximum effectiveness and safety, cardiovascular exercise
has specific instructions on the frequency, duration, and intensity.
These are the three important components of cardiovascular
exercise that you really need to understand and implement in your
program. In addition, your cardiovascular program should include
a warm-up, a cool-down, and stretching of the primary muscles
used in the exercise.
Warming Up and Stretching
One very common mistake is stretching before muscles are
warmed-up. It is important to stretch after your muscles are warm
(after blood has circulated through them). Never stretch a cold
muscle. First warm up. A warm-up should be done for at
least 5-10 minutes at a low intensity. Usually, the warm-up is done
by doing the same activity as the cardiovascular workout but at
an intensity of 50-60% of maximum heart rate (max HR). After
you've warmed-up for 5-10 minutes at a relatively low intensity,
your muscles should be warm. To prevent injury and to improve
your performance, you should stretch the primary muscles used
in the warm up before proceeding to the cardiovascular exercise.
Cooling Down
The cool down is similar to the warm-up in that it should last
5-10 minutes and be done at a low intensity (50-60% of max
HR). After you have completed your cardiovascular exercise
and cooled-down properly, it is now important that you
stretch the primary muscles being used. Warming-up, stretching,
and cooling-down are very important to every exercise session.
They not only help your performance levels and produce better
results, they also drastically decrease your risk of injury.
Frequency of Exercise
The first component of cardiovascular exercise is frequency of
the exercise, which refers to the number of exercise sessions
per week. To improve both cardiovascular fitness and to
decrease body fat or maintain body fat at optimum levels,
you should exercise (cardiovascularly) at least three days a
week. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends
three to five days a week for most cardiovascular programs.
Those of you who are very out of shape and/or who are
overweight and doing weight-bearing cardiovascular exercise
such as an aerobics class or jogging, might want to have at
least 36 to 48 hours of rest between workouts to prevent an
injury and to promote adequate bone and joint stress recovery.
Duration of Exercise
The second component of cardiovascular exercise is the
duration, which refers to the time you've spent exercising.
The cardiovascular session, not including the warm-up and
cool-down, should vary from 20-60 minutes to gain significant
cardiorespiratory and fat burning-benefits. Each time you do
your cardiovascular exercise, try to do at least 20 minutes or
more. Of course, the longer you go, the more calories and fat
you'll "burn" and the better you'll condition your cardiovascular
system. All beginners, especially those who are out of shape,
should take a very conservative approach and train at relatively
low intensities (50-70% max HR) for 10-25 minutes. As you
get in better shape, you can gradually increase the duration of
time you exercise.
It is important that you gradually increase the duration before
you increase the intensity. That is, when beginning a walking
program for example, be more concerned with increasing the
number of minutes of the exercise session before you increase
the intensity, by increasing your speed or by walking hilly terrain.
---Bodybuilding Tip---
Triceps
Many people when working out place greater emphasis on
their biceps and less on their triceps, even though triceps
comprise up to 2/3 of the muscle mass of your arm! When
working your triceps, proper form is critical. Avoid rolling
your shoulders by keeping your elbows at your side
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Book Review- The Weider System of Bodybuilding
By Joe Weider & Bill Reynolds
This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in
weight training. It's ideal not only for novice to experienced
bodybuilders, but also for both men and women simply
interested in stregthening and toning their bodies and
incorporating weight training excercises into their fitness
routines. The book is divided into two sections. The
first section describes different training principles and
techniques. The second section lists by chapter the many
different weight training exercises available for each muscle
group. Each chapter begins with a photo of a bodybuilder
and the anatomy of the particular muscle group that will
be discussed followed by detailed instructions on how to
carry out particular exercises. This is done through photos
and clear and concise descriptions of each exercise broken
down into the following headings: main area of emphasis,
method of performance, variations and training tips. What
I really like about this book is that there are a lot of different
variations of exercises in this book which helps to keep your
weight training workouts interesting and effective. There is
also a superb abdominal section and expert advice and
opinions from bodybuilders are provided throughout the
book. I guarantee that this book will be read, re-read and
referenced for years to come. I purchased my copy years
ago and I still reference it today!
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