Benefits Of Resistance Training

Do you want to have a stronger and more beautiful body? Then the best thing to do is get on your feet and start doing the resistance training.

What Is Resistance Training?

Resistance training involves activities that use weights, machines and even body weight to work out the muscles properly. It is also known as strength training or weight training. This can be very helpful in achieving a healthier body.

This kind of training is usually associated with athletes who have to build up their bodies. Most people would think that when resistance training is done, the body will grow bigger. Actually it will not. Resistance training is simply about increasing the strength of the body, not its size.

Actually, this can be practiced by anyone. It basically builds and tones the muscle to give the body a better look. This training program is even very much advisable to the elders. The usual training programs undergone by the elders are standing free-weights resistance or the moderate-intensity seated machine training.

How Does Resistance Training Work?

A resistance training program will include the use of various exercise equipment and machines like the bench press, dumbbell or barbell. When the equipment is used, the muscles of the body will be pitted against the weight. The cells of the body will then adapt to the extra weight. This will then result to hypertrophy or the enlarging and increasing of the nerve cells to help in the muscle contraction.

Before doing any resistance training, it will be best to consult first with the doctor. This goes especially for people who have medical conditions or are overweight. This kind of training is not something that you can explore on your own. You have to know the proper equipment for the needs of your body. The body must also be conditioned first before taking in the weights.

Resistance training can also be done without resorting to the equipment. Doing push-ups is one good example. You can do it just about anywhere where there is enough space for you to move. This time it is your own body weight that will be pitted against the muscles. So those who are a bit constrained in the budget can still do resistance trainings.

What Are the Benefits of Resistance Training?

1. Increase Bone Mineral Density
Bones are constantly remodeling, meaning the tissues break down at the same time they build up. The peak of remodeling takes place during puberty. However, as a person ages, there may be problems with the bone mineral density as the remodeling may not be as active anymore. This is especially a problem to post-menopausal women.

Bone mineral density is usually supported by the hormones. To address the problem of not having the hormones to maintain the bone mineral density, physical activity is the next best option. Resistance training is one physical activity that can address this.

2. Increase Strength
Strong bones and strong muscles will be developed as you undergo the resistance training program.

3. Increase the Range of Activities
When your body is strong enough to carry some considerable weight, then definitely you will also be capable of doing more strenuous activities. You are less likely to be lazy and you can live a more active lifestyle.

4. Reduce the Body Fat
Pitting the weights on your muscle will definitely give it the body the exercise it needs and get rid of the undesirable fats. Thus expect the tone of the body to improve. Even more, expect the body to look better, to be leaner.

5. Improve State of the Elders
For the elderly, undergoing a resistance training program will help improve their health and decrease the risks brought about by the age. They can be more independent, without needing to rely on other people for doing simple things. Being able to do so will also decrease the risk of injuries in the elders

6. Improve Heart Condition
Regularly doing resistance training can result to a lowered heart rate and lowered blood pressure, especially after exercise. The risk of heart diseases is reduced to a considerable extent.

This kind of training however must be properly done. It requires commitment and consistency. It will have to be done in a regular basis, following a schedule that the doctor or the physical trainer would recommend. If done incorrectly, the benefits of the program may not be enjoyed and it can even result the injury.

The key here is to simply take your time. Do things one step at a time correctly. As your body condition improves, then move on to more challenging tasks. The strength of the body and its overall look are at stake in the resistance training. So you better be sure to do it properly.

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Trip Pics

Well, it is raining today so I finally got a chance to put more photos online! Yay!

You can, of course, view them here.

Enjoy!

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Chopping Broccoli

You never realize that when you travel you are going to miss some things. Little things. ¨Normal¨ things. Everyone alwasys wonders how much fun you are having, what new things you are doing, who you are meeting, etc. But sometimes I just want people to tell ME what THEY did today, who they hung out with and what they did. The normal things, the mundane, everyday, normal things have become more desirable to me. I want to go to dinner on Friday night with the normal work crowd. I want to have a beer at Vics while watching the koala fly back and forth. I want to play pool at Cooter Browns; I want to make pizza with Matt and Pam; I want to hike to Bucks creek with Dad and Shay. Okay, so I am not saying I am not having fun, quite the contrary, but it is funny how we always miss or want what we dont have.

The food here is good. A lot of it is fried, but there is also a lot of good local food, seafood and fruit...oh the fruit! It is delicious. Many papaya (mamãou), pineapple (abacaxi), passion fruit, watermelon and more! Every day for breakfast I eat about one ton of fruit. However, I had a dream the other day about broccoli, and now I want some broccoli SO bad! However, they dont have it here at all. Well, at least I have not seen it. And it is not a choice on the street or in the grocery store.

So, I have made a list. When I get home, I am going to eat good cheese and many soy products. I am going to play pool at Cooter Browns; I am going to go to the Mission for a burrito; I am going to have miso soup with K; I am going to have girls night on Thursday (where I eat good cheese and drink good wine) and last but not least, I am going to have tons and tons of Broccoli!

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The Bane of the Bag

Chris and I always say that our home is where we lay our backpack. However, it is more than that. Not only do we lay our backpack somewhere, but we also lug the damn thing around everywhere before finally laying it down in its temporary home. There are levels of difficulty when carrying a bag that you dont think about when you are traveling in the US with your car and your hotel room and your whatever else.

The worst so far is Brazil. All the local buses have turnstyles. You pay, then you go through the turnstyle. If you are overweight or you have a big packpack, there is NO WAY you are getting through the turnstyle. So, luckily I am not the former, but I am still the latter. So, here is how it usually goes...

I get on the bus, give the guy at the turnstyle one of those looks (you know, glance at the pack, shrug your shoulders, raise your eyebrows - what should you do now?), then he gives you one of those looks (you know - glances at the pack, raises his eyebrows, shrugs his shoulders - what can he do about it?) then you give him one of those guestures (point at the backdoor - can I get on that way instead?) and he gives you one of those guestures (finger goes in a circle - go around to the backdoor). Then you go around to the backdoor (and, by the way, the bus is ALWAYS packed with people when you have your pack on, never fails) and put your pack down OR bump EVERYONE on your way back up to the front to pay the guy. You finally pay the guy and then have to stand there with your pack on, or stand there next to your pack, always taking up way too much room in a crowded bus.

It is funny, kind of tiring, the bag is very heavy and it is sometimes hard to communicate...but most people are nice and they dont mind too much my standing in their way with my pack or my ignorance about how to board the bus with the huge thing.

Luckily one of the things I DO know how to say in Portuguese is EXCUSE ME.

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Tips On Fitting Exercise Schedule Into Your Trips

Are you a busy traveler? Here are some useful tips to help fitting your exercise schedule while travelling.

Hopping in and out of planes is exercise enough, you say. But that’s not the kind of exercise that will condition your heart, make your reflexes and joints more fluid, keep the sugar levels or keep you from swinging from one mood to another!

Nor is it the kind of exercise that will make you euphoric after a good cardiovascular session. You need to counteract the effects of jet lag, artificial air in pressurized aircraft cabins and sky fatigue.

Sometimes your travels help you recognize how humdrum your workout routine has become. At home, it’s easy to fall into a rut – to use the same weight machines in the same order, week after week, month after month, simply out of habit. But a trip may take the routine out of your routine. You may have no choice but to try new strength exercises or jog in the pool instead of swim laps. And you might find these new pursuits so enjoyable that you add them to your fitness repertoire at home.

Common Obstacles

What are some of the reasons why travelers do not incorporate exercise while they’re on the road?

• They’re stressed or too tired
• They don’t feel comfortable about working out in unfamiliar surroundings
• They don’t have access to a hotel gym

But if they made just a tiny effort to change this thinking, they’d be on the road to fitness sooner. Engaging in exercise allows you to get out of that bubble of meetings, seminars and tours.

Walk when on the Road

When traveling, have a pair of good walking shoes (trainers preferably) so that you won’t feel so daunted about getting from one side of the airport to another.

Having the right pair of walking shoes will encourage you to walk up the stairs instead of take the escalator, to walk instead of taking the conveyor belt, and to transfer from one concourse to another on foot instead of taking the shuttle service.

You may not know it, but walking these long distances with your luggage in tow serves as a combination/weight lifting exercise!

Fitness while Flying

Once settled comfortably on the plane, make sure you time your stretching and walking periods. If it’s just an hour’s flight, walk around the plane once and do your stretching at the back of the plane; if it’s a three hour to five hour flight (east to west in the North American continent), try to get up from your seat and walk around at least once every hour, doing leg extensions and trunk/neck movements.

If you’re crossing the Pacific or Atlantic oceans, those killer flights need not kill you. Increase the frequency of your stretches and walking.

Airlines such as Japan Air Lines show videos of how travelers can incorporate flexibility movements while seated or standing. Take full advantage of these videos. The exercises may help you ward off fatigue and jet lag.

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Oxford Students at the BSA Before Completing Studies

Oxford students were normally admitted to the BSA after completing their studies. However, like Cambridge, there were exceptions.

• Rupert Charles Clarke (1866-1912), Exeter College. Class. mod. 2nd (1886); admitted to BSA 1886/87 (under Francis C. Penrose); Lit. Hum. 2nd (1888).
  
• Oswald Hutton Parry (1868-1936), Magdalen College. Class. mod. 2nd (1889); admitted to BSA 1889/90 (under Ernest A. Gardner); Lit. Hum. 3rd (1891).
  
• John George Smith (J.G. Piddington) (b. 1869). Magdalen College. Class. mod. 2nd (1890); admitted to BSA 1891/92 (under Ernest A. Gardner); Lit. Hum. 3rd (1892).

Smith was re-admitted as assistant to the director, Cecil Harcourt-Smith, in 1895/96.

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Towards a Bibliography for the History of the British School at Athens

The Annual of the British School at Athens and the Journal of Hellenic Studies are important sources of information about the early history of the British School at Athens. But what studies have been published? What about the people? The excavations?

I have posted a (working) and preliminary list here. This will indicate the closest copy to your location (type in your postcode or zipcode). The list can also be downloaded.

Readers are welcome to leave suggestions (as a comment) or to send me an email. The list can then be updated.

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Exercise Cuts Women's Risk of Heart Disease

Increased levels of exercise can reduce but not eliminate the risk of heart disease in overweight and obese women, a U.S. study finds.

The researchers analyzed data from 38,987 women who took part in the recently completed Women's Health Study. At the start of the study in 1992, information was gathered about the women's height and weight, the average amount of time per week they were physically active, other health habits, and medical history. The women were then followed for an average of 10.9 years.

At the start of the study, 34 percent of the women were considered physically active, 31 percent were overweight, and 18 percent were obese.

During the follow-up, 948 of the women developed coronary artery disease. Both body-mass index (BMI) and physical activity levels were individually associated with the risk of heart disease. The risk was lowest for normal weight women who were active, slightly higher for inactive normal-weight women, higher still for active women who were overweight or obese, and highest for inactive overweight or obese women.

Dr. Amy R. Weinstein, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues noted that fat cells (adipocytes) release chemicals that may harm the heart by accelerating the hardening of the arteries and increasing inflammation, clotting and dysfunction of the blood vessels.

"We postulate that the beneficial effect of physical activity may directly reduce and combat the ill effect of the prothrombotic factors released by adipocytes," the researchers wrote.

But they noted that exercise didn't eliminate the effects of being overweight.

"Even high quantities of physical activity are unlikely to fully reverse the risk of coronary heart disease in overweight and obese women without concurrent weight loss," the study authors concluded. "Regardless of body weight, these data highlight the importance of counseling all women to participate in increasing amounts of regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight to reduce the risks of coronary heart disease."

The study was published in the April 28 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

More information

The U.S. National Women's Health Information Center has more about heart disease.
-- Robert Preidt.

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sol, araya, ondas!!!

That pretty much sums up our last few days. Sol = sun, Araya = sand and Ondas = waves. We are currently in a nice little town called Saquarema, where we are staying with a nice guy named Jose, who runs a small guesthouse only 100 M from the beach. Mira is with us now and has been for the last week and a half. She is leaving tomorrow, sadly. However, our trip with her has been very fun and we are going to be sad to see her go.

First we went to a town called, fittingly enough since Mira is here for her Spring Break, Paraty. It is a nice little colonial town which sits right on the ocean and is surrounded by, as the Lonely Planet states, some 300 beaches. We went to a nice one called Trinidad. Next we headed out to one of the islands, Ilha Grande, which boasts as having the most beautiful beach in Brazil. Ilha Grande is great; it doesn't have any cars and really only consists of one town and maybe a dozen beaches. We were there for a holiday, Tiradentes Day, so it was a little bit crowded, but not too much so. I think the normal population of the island is about 1200 people.

Next, we headed to Rio, which was very beautiful and a great time, but SOOO expensive, so we only stayed a few days there before heading here, to Saquarema, where we have been relaxing and soaking up the sun ever since.

Next stop, I dont know where....we leave tomorrow, but there are so many good places I have not yet been able to decide where I am going to go!

I am still slacking about putting photos on the internet, but Chris has been keeping up with it pretty well...You can see his photos here.

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Forget The Gym - Just Move More Often

When it comes to the time to burn off some calories, most people think of heading to the gym. But do you know that the so called "free" (meaning no need to pay for a fee) exercises such as doing houseworks can also help to burn off that FAT?

Many fitness experts now believe that the simplest and most sustainable way to keep fit is what known as an "integrative exercise" - it simply means just "move around more often". A Britain's chief medical officer advises that one should exercise to raise the heart rate for 30 minutes five times a week.

Here are three ways to achieve the necessary exercises without heading to the gym:

• Break it down. You don't have to do 30 minutes all in one go. Studies show that several five to ten minute bursts of activity throughout a day will improve your cardiovascular and respiratory health, lower the risk of diabetes and other diseases.
  
  
• Doing your houseworks more often. Vigorous housework or gardening or brisk walking all count when it comes to integrative exercise. Activity breeds activity, the more you move, the more you will want to move everyday. Make this a habit.
  
  
• Take your dog for a walk. As mentioned all activities such as housework, running for a bus, gardening can help raise your heart rate and improve health. But, overall the single most valuable free exercise you can do is "brisk walking with your dog". So go and get a dog :-)

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