But, I'm back. While I was in bed, I did manage to read an article in Prevention magazine about workouts after age 40. Even though that's the targeted demographic, it had good tips for all of us. Strength training is important, and I admit this is the area I've not tackled as aggressively as I should yet. The article says that how you train is important. To keep our metabolisms in high gear (something I've always struggled with), you should target the type II muscle fiber. What is that, you ask. Well, evidently, they are the muscles that are the first to go as we age if they aren't worked out. And the article says the way to do this is by doing weight training faster. I want to caution you all to still be careful, consult your physician, take all the necessary precautions to not injure yourselves. I don't want anyone getting hurt. I'm just relaying what I'm reading. According to research done by Salibury University in Maryland, lifting weights faster "recruits more muscle and increases calorie burn by about 32%."
I'd encourage you to get the September issue of Prevention and read this piece for yourself, decide if this is something you want to tackle. It also includes several elastic exercise band exercises that will help target these muscles.
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Progress:
The past few days have been a bit of a haze. I think I've missed writing some things down, and my step counts were only in the 2,000-2,500 range. But I've already done twice that today, so I, my steps, and my exercise regime are slowly on the mend. I did step on the scales yesterday morning, and I seemed to have lost the couple of pounds I'd gained during Dragon*Con. So, once again I'm hovering tantalizingly close to having lost 10 pounds. I think if illness hadn't torpedoed my exercise this week, I might have hit that point already. But that's the goal for this upcoming week!
How is everyone else doing? How has this week been? Meet the goals you set for yourself?
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3 comments:
Trish, I'm so glad you're feeling better. Since about Friday, I've been pretty sick myself with a nasty virus. I very much doubt I even got 2000 steps yesterday as I spent most of the time sleeping or lying on the couch feeling miserable wishing I could sleep.
To my continued shock and amazement, I really enjoy the weight training class I take 2-3 times/week. They structure that class so that there are several cardio peaks per segment - each segment is focused on certain muscle groups. Anyway, I definitely echo your encouragement to consider weight training.
I've been sick, too. But I was careful about my comfort foods. I've really missed exercising. Being able to breathe is a little bit important for exercising. I hope your week (and mine) is a good one!
Man, it seems like everyone has been sick. I know people in four different states sick with the same thing.
Hope you get to feeling better, Michelle and Nicki.
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