LITTLE ROCK — In days gone by, resistance training meant pumping iron, actual iron. Today’s training programs can take on resistance in many forms using a variety of equipment. The best plans are designed with much more than heavy iron plates in mind.
This week, I’ll provide some insight into your equipment selections and introduce an exciting exercise requiring one of my favorite nontraditional forms of resistance.
When people think of strength training, they think of big, awkward weights — plates, dumbbells, barbells. In many cases, this image alone is enough to make people reconsider that impulse to make a fitness comeback. Instead they retire to the comfort of the living room sofa.
Those who have a little more exercise experience may also associate resistance training with well-designed machines that let them adjust how hard they have to work with a simple pin and weight stack design. Such machines tend to draw in more users than the old-school, weight-banging techniques of the 1980s. They look safer.
But a few other sources of resistance could make your program even more effective and less risky.
Body weight, for example, provides an outstanding source of resistance because you can perform body weight exercises anywhere and any time without paying for access to special equipment.
Exercises like push-ups, squats and lunges are some of the most beneficial movements you can engage in.
And for many people, body weight is a sufficient source of resistance to elicit the desired results. Some limitations do exist, however. Body weight may not be enough resistance for increasingly powerful and studly exercisers, and some muscle groups are very difficult to challenge without adding another source of resistance.
Another popular source of resistance in today’s fitness centers is water. Water aerobics can be an outstanding form of exercise for those with joint pain or arthritis and injured exercisers can benefit, too. Water provides resistance without the full effect of gravity, so joint pressure is minimized while muscles work hard.
Of course, you must have access to a pool, and water aerobics in the dead of winter sounds less than appealing to many of us.
Stretch bands can be an excellent form of resistance for all fitness levels.
One of the advantages of stretch band training is the resistance increases as the band lengthens. This adds a unique twist to traditional resistance training that cannot be replicated with dumbbells or machines. Plus, stretch bands are portable, and you can use them for almost any muscle group.
This week’s exercise uses a stretch band. The band allows for constant resistance throughout the movement, so the shoulders really feel the burn!
1. Select the lightest stretch band available. Stand with both feet on the center of the band and grasp the handles with a pronated or “palms down” grip. Your knees should be slightly bent.
2. Place both handles close together in front of your waist and perform a simple front raise with the stretch band providing resistance. This is the center of the W.
3. Lower the handles and slowly spread them apart.
4. As they reach the side of your torso, raise them both back up. This forms the legs of the W.
5. Reverse this motion by lowering the handles.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for two sets of 15 repetitions.
Unlike many other shoulder exercises, this movement challenges the deltoids in front and side. The constant resistance adds a nice component of work that requires a very light stretch band to feel fatigue.
This exercise would be a great addition for those looking to increase upper body strength for activities of daily living such as yard work, laundry and other household chores. Enjoy!
Matt Parrott has a doctorate in education (sport studies), a master’s in kinesiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine.
vballtop@aol.com
ActiveStyle, Pages 32 on 05/02/2011