Get Stronger, Feel Younger by Wayne Westcott & Gary Reinl

Author:Wayne Westcott & Gary Reinl
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rodale
Published: 2007-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

PRETRAINING PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WITH GENERAL OR SPECIFIC AREAS OF WEAKNESS

Due to age, injury, illness, or other factors, some individuals have too little overall muscle strength to effectively engage in our beginner training program. For example, there are people who are simply so weak that they cannot successfully perform a standard-length exercise program. There are others who have an acceptable level of overall muscle strength, but have a weak area (such as a bad back or recent knee surgery) and must therefore modify their exercise program accordingly. Finally, some people may be injury free, but have a disease or condition (such as osteoporosis or arthritis) that requires more individualized introductory exercise sessions. To prevent further problems and to facilitate productive muscle-building experiences, we recommend a pretraining preparation program to strengthen the vulnerable areas of the body first.

This abbreviated training program is designed to strengthen the weaker links in your body’s musculoskeletal system, thereby reducing the risk of injury (such as lower back pain) and establishing a firm foundation for overall muscle development. We recommendat least 4 weeks of the pretraining program prior to participating in our standard beginning muscle-building program for those individuals with low overall or specific strength levels. Just be sure to check with your personal physician prior to performing this or any other exercise program.

Pretraining Exercise Guidelines

1. Perform one set of each exercise.

2. Use a resistance that permits 8 to 12 carefully controlled repetitions.

3. Perform each repetition in approximately 6 seconds, using 2 seconds for each lifting action and 4 seconds for each lowering action.

4. Exhale during lifting actions and inhale throughout lowering actions.

5. Use a full range of movement if possible, but do not move into uncomfortable positions.

6. Increase the weight load by no more than 5 percent (1-pound weight increments are fine) when 12 repetitions can becompleted with good form on two consecutive workouts.

7. Train 2 or 3 nonconsecutive days each week.

Sample Pretraining Exercise Program for Lower Back Weakness

The pretraining program features three exercises for the core musculature (all of your midsection muscles), namely the lower back machine for your erector spinae muscles, the abdominal machine for your rectus abdom-inis muscles, and the rotary torso machine for your oblique muscles. Although you may approach the pretraining program in other ways, the following represents a sample exercise session for people who experience lower back weakness.

Warmup

• 5 or more minutes of easy pedaling on a recumbent or upright exercise cycle

Workout

• One set of 8 to 12 repetitions on the lower back machine or the Body-Weight Trunk Extension exercise

• One set of 8 to 12 repetitions on the abdominal machine or the Body-Weight Trunk Curl exercise

• One set of 8 to 12 repetitions each direction on the rotary torso machine or the Body-Weight Trunk Curl Rotation exercise

Cooldown

• 5 or more minutes of easy pedaling on a recumbent or upright exercise cycle

Although such a brief training session may not seem worth the effort of traveling to the fitness center (perhaps you’ve tried before and failed), be assured that this approach can work.

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