Effects of Strength Training - 14

Strength training helps with our heart health by improving our blood lipid profiles.  Fewer lipids like cholesterol and triglycerides in our blood mean that we have a reduced risk of heart attack.

Pump some iron; dump some lipids.

Monday Workout: Been A While

It’s been a while since we did balance work.  Same goes for the burpees.  We’re fixing that today.  Three rounds.

 

(lunge) punches	30
1 leg deadlift	20
1 leg squat	10
mountain climbers	30
rows	20
burpees	10
suitcase swings	30
kickbacks	20
brains	10

 

The Amazing Stickie and Bear Hold Plank Drag Through

Today the Amazing Stickie is working all kinds of things at once by doing Bear Hold Plank Drag Through.  She begins in a quadruped position with a dumbbell near her right hand.  To begin, she lifts her knees just off the ground and keeps them there throughout the exercise.  Then she reaches her left hand under her torso to grab the dumbbell and drag it over to her left side.  She repeats the exercise, dragging the weight with her right hand.

When learning this exercise, it is all right to put the knees down to rest as often as needed.

 

A set of ten is good.

Effects of Strength Training - 13

So we all know we want low blood pressure, or at the very least to avoid high blood pressure.  Strength training, while we are doing it, raises our blood pressure, but in a temporary way that has a longer term benefit:  it lowers our resting blood pressure.

In short, by temporarily adding stress to our bodies, we teach our bodies to deal with it.  That makes our blood pressure lower over time.

Effects of Strength Training - 12

Weight training increases our ability to use blood glucose.  I’m sure that we all thing about that all the time.  OK, not really.  But it is important.

Glucose is the main fuel we use in most of our cells and the exclusive source of energy for our brains.  We want enough for our uses, but not too much.  Excessive glucose in the blood is an indicator that we are heading for, or have arrived at, type 2 diabetes.  Weight training helps us stay in the Goldilocks (“just right”) range, where we fuel our cells but don’t overtax our ability to make and react to insulin, which is the chemical in our bodies that deals with excess.

 

Those of us who are already dealing with diabetes can feel better with weight training.  The rest of us can use weight training as part of our general preventive strategy.

 

Go lift.

Monday Workout: Everything

We’re working pretty much everything this week.  Three rounds.

 

kb alternate arm swing	30
kb hammer curl	20
kb halo	10
squat to leg lift	30
good morning/deadlift	20
Arnold press	10
woodchoppers	30
lunges	20
pretty princesses	10

The Amazing Stickie and Bulgarian Split Squat

Today the Amazing Stickie is doing Bulgarian split squats.  She begins standing up straight with one foot resting on a bench behind her.  She holds some dumbbells, but it is all right to learn this exercise with body weight and then add weights later.  Keeping her torso upright, she bends both knees until the back knee comes close to the ground and the front leg forms a right angle.  (It might take more than one try to figure out how far away from the bench to stand.  This is normal and part of learning.)

 

When she has done five or ten reps on one leg, she switches to the other side.