New Exercise Routines Put Emphasis On Weightlifting Programs

There is an interesting article on the Internet about a woman named Amy Jones who began attending a Gym with her husband in Atlanta known as CrossFit. This gym puts emphasis on Olympic-style weightlifting programs as well as other exercise plans that do not focus so much on cardiovascular activity.

Amy took a liking to CrossFit right away. "I'm more toned, I have more energy and more endurance," she mentioned. "I've turned fat into muscle, and my clothes fit better."

As a result of this, Amy has done away with the idea of using a treadmill for exercise.

Nearly forty years after Dr. Kenneth Cooper made reference to the term "aerobics," an idea that would later create a generation of cardio addicts, some trainers are making attempts to move their clients away from the usual cardio-oriented programs and more toward strength exercises.

The reason for this is that many exercises that are beneficial for the heart can be tough on one's joints. Not to mention, cardio workouts that neglect muscle strengthening tends to result in a loss of muscle and bone density as well as a loss of fat, according to experts.

Even Dr. Kenneth Cooper now feels that strength training is something that people should put more focus on. According to Cooper, some individuals, especially those who have injuries or are dealing with aging, can benefit more from working their muscles instead of cardio workouts.
Dr. Kenneth Cooper does not necessarily think that cardiovascular exercise is a bad thing that people should avoid. "If you go strictly muscular-skeletal conditioning, it's a major mistake," he mentioned. "You'll wear out."

Weightlifting Workouts Can Be Good For Your Whole Body

According to Dr. Gregory A. Schmale, progressive strength training is beneficial for the bones in your body. Dr. Schmale is an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Seattle and he works at a Children's Hospital.

Many different studies have shown that partaking in such training regimens 2 to 3 times per week can add density to bone minerals, according to Dr. Schmale.

"Bone is constantly remodeling -- that is, old bone is chewed up by a group of bone-eating cells that are followed along by a group of bone-making cells," he mentions. "This process of breaking down and building up of bone is encouraged by loading of the bone, or pushes and pulls on the bone."

Gravity causes these pushes and pulls, and using additional weights during weightlifting workouts can increase how much push or pull there will be on the bones. As a result, "greater loading leads to greater activity of the bone-chewing and reforming cells, with a net gain in bone over time," Schmale mentions. "When this process is slowed by decreased forces on the bone -- for instance, for astronauts in a weightless environment, -- there is a net overall loss of bone."

Resistance training results in a rise in bone density in several different parts of the body, not just the areas that are being worked, Schmale mentions. This is especially true if those areas are near the part of the body that is being worked. This occurs because other muscles that surround the target area are being called upon when you exercise that specific part of the body. As a result, pushes and pulls occur on other bones that are close to your problem area.

Weightlifting Program Essential for High School Football

Teams shouldn't compete in high school football without some form of off-season weightlifting and conditioning program. Weightlifting and conditioning programs play a key role in the health and safety of student-athletes.

"If you get an athlete that's well-trained ... physically and then keep him in great shape during the season, he's going to be pretty injury free," said Enid football head coach Tom Cobble.
Building core strength, that deals mainly with the abdominal muscles and muscles in the lower back, is the latest trend, said osteopathic surgeon David Keller.

"You see a lot more injuries late in a match, late in a game, late in a tournament, where fatigue is probably a factor," Keller said. "The stronger somebody is from a core standpoint, the less they tend to be affected by fatigue and less likely they are to have injuries."

"To gain size, you need a rest," said Enid strength coach Keith Lea. "You break them (muscles) down, and when they develop back, they're a little bigger and a little bit stronger."

"If you do the exact same workout week after week, you plateau," Lea said. "Your body gets accustomed to that workout, and you need to shock your system and your muscles into something else."

Weightlifting Video - Dorian Yates

Pro bodybuilder Dorian Yates in a series of training routines and poses. Born in Hurley, England, Yates started weightlifting out in 1983. After some strong-man victories in the UK, Yates came to New York City for the 1990 Night of Champions and, in his pro debut, he took 2nd to Mohamed Benaziza. In 1991, he returned to win the contest.

This weightlifting video is amazing.

Weightlifting Recovery Best with Skim Milk

McMaster University researchers found that drinking skim milk is better for weightlifting recovery than both soy and carbohydrate beverages (similar to sports drinks) in stimulating muscle gain and fat loss. Those quaffing soy beverages lost no body fat, while those that drank milk led to twice as much fat loss as those taking carbohydrates.

The researchers took 3 groups of young men eighteen to thirty years of age and put them through a rigorous, five days per week weightlifting program over a three month period. Following their workouts, study participants drank either 2 cups of skim milk, a soy beverage with equivalent amounts of protein and energy, or a carbohydrate beverage with an equivalent amount of energy, which was roughly the same as drinking six hundred to seven hundred milliliters of a typical sports drink.

Milk drinkers gained forty percent (2.5 lbs) more muscle mass than soy drinkers and sixty three percent (3.3 lbs) more than carbohydrate beverage drinkers. Fat loss was smaller, with those drinking carbohydrate drinks dropping one pound and milk drinkers losing two.

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