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(READING TIPS: For fast reading, scan through the topic headings in BOLD BLACK, important conclusions in BOLD BLUE, and " Must Know " in BOLD RED. To jump to specific sections in this article, click on the respective LINKS in the Contents.) Contents ANTI-AGING WORKOUTS
Consistently performed, you will build up a strong cardiac system to have a full and active lifestyle. At the same time, your muscles will be firm and toned but not large. Overall you will see a reshaping of your body composition and contour, with fat changing to lean muscle mass over a 3-6 month period. Compliment this program with proper diet, rest, and nutritional supplements for best results.
Although exercising in the morning on an empty stomach has been shown to burn the most calories, it is also the most dangerous in terms of cardiovascular risk and injuries, as muscles are generally not warmed up. If you choose to exercise in the morning, make sure you take extra time to stretch and warm up your body. For anti-aging purposes, it is recommended that you do your workout 4-5 hours after awakening when most of your muscles are already “warmed up” from daily activities and therefore least prone to injuries. This usually means the mid to late afternoon.
No equipment required. A complete series of stretches takes no more than 5-10 minutes. You can do it anytime and at almost anywhere. Start with big muscle groups first and work towards smaller muscle groups. Develop a routine so that you will not forget. Here is sample routine in order:
Choose from a variety of cardiovascular exercises that fit your personality style, from jogging to rowing to step machines. Variety is encouraged. The key is to choose a routine that you enjoy. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you keep your heart rate at 60-80% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) which is equal to 220 less your age. If you have cardiovascular disease, consult your physician first before embarking on any cardiovascular training program.
Strength training routines need not be complicated for anti-aging purposes. You want to stress each of the 11 major muscle groups. The routine should be simple, consistent, and productive. Since this is not oriented towards bodybuilding, the end result is not to increase size of muscle but to improve the tone and endurance of each muscle. Don’t forget that fat do not burn calories while in the resting state. On the other hand, muscles do. By shifting the body’s contour from fat to muscle, you are indirectly increasing the basal metabolic rate and burning more calories when not exercising. By following this program, your body fat percentage should reach the target anti-range of 10-15% for men and 15-20% range for women (most men are in 22-30% range and women in 30-35% range), while the lean body mass will concurrently increase accordingly. The strength training routine can be performed anytime and at almost anywhere. While many may have access to a gym, the fact is that you don’t need one. Depending of what kinds of equipment you have, here are some sample routines: Strength training routines are to be done after warm up flexibility training, which takes 5-10 minutes each workout. These exercises are done in sets. The first set consists of 12 repetitions; the second set consists of ten repetitions and two reps less in each succeeding set. Adjust the amount of weight so that you should be near 85% of your maximum exertion at the end of each set. Rest for 1-2 minutes before each set, then increase the weight by 5-10% before doing the 2nd second set and so on. The goal is to put increasing stress onto your muscles with each set, causing micro-trauma to the muscle fibers which in turn will promote them towards self-healing on the intervening rest days. Note that most exercises are done in sets outlined above except crunches (for Abdomen) and push-ups (for chest) which should be done till you are fatigued.
STRENGTH TRAINING ROUTINE WITHOUT EQUIPMENT
STRENGTH TRAINING ROUTINE WITH DUMBBELLS Having a dumbbell allows more flexibility and more precision training of target muscle groups. Do the following routine in order:
BASIC STRENGTH TRAINING WITH BARBELLS ONLY If you have access to barbells but no dumbbell, do the routine as follows:
BASIC STRENGTH TRAINING WITH DUMBBELLS AND BARBELLS Do the following routine, which makes use of the best that dumbbells and barbells can offer:
BASIC STRENGTH TRAINING WITH DUMBBELLS, BARBELLS, AND MACHINES
* Part of PUSH Routine if you split up the workout into 2 sessions
EXERCISE PROGRAM FOR ANY TIME SCHEDULE Regardless of whether you only have 30 minutes once a week or 2 hours 6 times a week, the fact is that any exercise is better than none. The challenge is to design a balanced program that is complete and works within the time that you have. Your exercise routine will change, depending on how many times a week you work out. You need to allow time for your body to self-repair after the stress of exercise. It is during this self-repair time that your muscle gets stronger and heart function improves the most. If you only have time for exercise up to 3 times a week, each session need to encompass stretching, strength training, and cardiovascular training. This is a good place to start especially if time is tight. If you are able to do exercise from 4 to 6 times a week, then you will start getting the full anti-aging effects of exercise. We will be able to rotate the exercises in such a way to allow your body to rest as well as stress your heart and muscle on a regular basis.
IF YOU WORKOUT ONCE TO THREE TIMES A WEEK AND 30 MINUTES EACH TIME This is the absolute minimum you must to for general health maintenance. When: start exercising in mid-afternoon when your body is naturally
warmed up from daily activities
IF YOU WORKOUT ONCE TO THREE TIMES A WEEK AND 45 MINUTES EACH TIME This is the minimum you must commit to if you are serious about an anti-aging lifestyle. We are rushing things a bit, so you have to be very efficient and pre-plan your activities so there is no wasted time during the session. When: Start exercising in mid-afternoon when your body is naturally warmed
up from daily activities.
IF YOU WORKOUT ONCE TO THREE TIMES A WEEK AND 60 MINUTES EACH TIME You now have a more relaxed schedule to perform a complete warm up and cool down stretch routine. Anti-aging effect will be evident soon after you are consistent in this program, especially if you are doing it 3 times a week. We are devoting more time to cardiovascular training, as heart disease is the leading cause of death. When: start anytime
IF YOU WORKOUT ONCE TO THREE TIMES A WEEK AND MORE THAN 60 MINUTES EACH TIME If you have more than 60 minutes to exercise, you simply increase the length of each component accordingly. For example, instead of 20 minutes of cardiovascular training, do 40 minutes instead. Similarly, you can do 4 reps of a given exercise instead of 3 reps. One of the primary purposes of exercise is to stress the body in order to activate the body’s self-repairing and self-strengthening mechanisms. Over exercise is not good for anti-aging purposes and leads to excessive anti-oxidant formation. Time is a key element for healing and self-repair. It is better, therefore, to have more frequent exercise sessions, like 4-6 times a week of lesser intensity each session (1 hour each) compared to few sessions (1-3 times a week) that are longer in duration and higher in intensity (2 hours each time). If you are already spending 60 minutes 3 times a week to exercise, chances are you are already in the anti-aging lifestyle and taking good care of your body. Why not move on to a 4 days a week schedule where you will really feel the difference?
IF YOU WORKOUT 4 TIMES A WEEK AND 30 MINUTES EACH WORKOUT Because the total time per session is still limited, we will split the routine so that you are devoting enough time to alternating sessions of cardiovascular vs. strength training emphasis to get the desired effect. When: Start exercising in mid-afternoon when your body is naturally warmed up from daily activities. Workout # 1 and 3 : emphasis on cardiovascular training Minute 1-5: warm up stretch Workout # 2 and 4: emphasis on strength training Sample 7 days Schedule OR Day 1 - workout # 1
IF YOU WORKOUT 4-6 WORKOUTS A WEEK AND 60 MINUTES EACH TIME The concept is that you alternate between sessions with emphasis on cardio and sessions with strength training. Because you have more time, both cardio and strength training can be covered in each session. Furthermore, you rotate your strength training routine such that you are alternating push and pull routines on alternate sessions so that your muscles have adequate time to recuperate. This program offers a good anti-aging protocol for those who are serious about growing younger. Congratulate yourself for being committed to live longer and in active lifestyle. Workout # 1 and 3: cardiovascular training plus strength Workout # 2 and 4: strength training plus cardiovascular training Workout # 5 Intensive Cardiovascular Training: push your
heart to endurance through continuous stress Sample schedule based on 4 times a week (4 week cycle) Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Sample schedule based on 5 times a week (2 week cycle) Cycle based on the 2 weeks schedule so that you get an intensive session every week. Note that there is a rest after 4 regular sessions and a rest after each intensive session (sessions 5 or 6). Week 1 Week 2 Sample schedule based on 6 times a week (weekly cycle) The concept evolves around 1 intensive cardio and strength training sessions designed to stress the system. The rest of the week acts as prelude and built up to these two intensive sessions. This is the optimum anti-aging exercise protocol. If you miss a day here and there, don’t worry about it. It is important to do sessions 1 and 2 back to back so that all muscle groups are worked on over a 2 days period. In other words, include at least one intensive session of cardiovascular and strength per week, and rotate the rest of the week among cardio and strength routine. Sample schedule: Day 1 - workout # 1 OR Day 1 - workout # 1 OR Day 1 - workout # 1 Everyone will have a different routine that fits them well over a period of time. This is perfectly normal. Remember that there is no perfect routine. Don’t try to look for it. The most important thing is to enjoy yourself and don’t get injured.
12 WEEKS WORKOUT FOR THOSE OVER 60, PREGNANT, OR RECOVERING FROM ILLNESS: The amount of time you spend per day depends on your fitness level. Generally speaking, starts slowly and gradually increase in intensity over a few months. Entry Level: Weeks 1-6 Monday: Warm Up Stretch, Walk, Cool Down Stretch Tuesday: Warm Up Stretch, Strength Training using body weights and dumbbells only, which are least prone to injury. 1-2 sets for each muscle group, 12-15 rep per set. Wednesday: Rest (Stretching is optional). Thursday: Warm Up Stretch, Walk intermixed with 20% time in slow jog; cool down stretch Friday: Warm Up Stretch, Strength Training using body weights and dumbbells only, which are least prone to injury. 1-2 sets for each muscle group, 12-15 rep per set. Saturday: Warm Up Stretch; Aerobic at comfortable pace where you can maintain a conversation; Cool Down Stretch Sunday: Rest (Stretching is optional). Intermediate Level: Weeks 7-12 Monday: Warm Up Stretch, Aerobic at moderate intensity where you are not able to carry out conversation comfortably, Cool Down Stretch Tuesday: Warm Up Stretch, Strength Training using body weights, dumbbells, barbells, and machines. 2-3 sets for each muscle group, 12 rep for set 1, 10 rep for set 2 and 8 rep for set 3. Wednesday: Rest (Stretching is optional). Thursday: Warm Up Stretch, Aerobic at moderate intensity where you are not able to carry out conversation comfortably, Cool Down stretch. Friday: Warm Up Stretch, Strength Training using body weights, dumbbells, barbells, and machines. 2-3 sets for each muscle group, 12 rep for set 1, 10 rep for set 2 and 8 rep for set 3. Saturday: Warm Up Stretch, Aerobic at moderate intensity where you are not able to carry out conversation comfortably, Cool Down Stretch. Sunday: Rest (Stretching is optional). Gentle Strength Training exercises: designed to be precise, focused, but avoid exercises using the most gentle modalities. Perform these gentle Strength Training exercises in the following order:
After you feel comfortable with the above protocol, you can proceed to any one of the balanced anti-aging exercise protocols based on the amount of time you have each week. A good follow up point is anti-aging exercise protocol based on 30 or 60 minutes 4 times a week.
Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) is equal to 220 less your age. For example, if you are 50 years old, your MHR is equal to 220 minus 50 which is equal to 170 beat per minute. During warm up and recovery, you are exercising at 60% of MHR which is equal to 112 beats per minute. During intense blocks, you are exercising at 80% of MHR which is equal to 136 beats per minute. Therefore, your heart rate should be between 112 and 136 beats per minute. Week 1: Perform this 40 minutes workout three times a week:
Minute 11-20: Weights - 1 set each at 12 reps Minute 21-30: Treadmill Minute 31-40: Weights - 1 set each at 12 rep per set Week 2: Perform this 50 minutes workout 3 times a week: Note: The protocol is the same as week 1, except increase the workout time by 10 minutes to 50 minutes by adding a 3 minute intense cardiovascular block (at 80% MHR) into each of the cardiovascular training sessions followed by 2 minute block (at 60% MHR) recovery block. Also try to do 1-2 sets of each strength training exercise as time permits. Remember that the 50 minutes is just a general guideline. If you feel good, do a little bit more. If you feel tired, ease up a little.
Minute 16-25: Weights - 1-2 set each at 12 reps as tolerated Minute 26-40: Treadmill Minute 41-50: Weights - 1-2 set each at 12 rep per set as tolerated Week 3 and 4: Perform this 60 minutes routine 3 times a week: Note: Make use of the same protocol as in week 2 with cardiovascular block remaining unchanged. However in these 2 weeks, increase strength training by doing 2-3 sets of each muscle group and extending the time for strength training from 10 to 15 minute blocks.
After the 4 weeks, you can continue on the same program 3 times a week if you wish to continue to loose fat, or switch to any of the anti-aging exercise protocols depending on the amount of time you have available. For many, a good progression from this point is to proceed to anti-aging exercise program 60 minutes 4 times a week protocol. Forward | Introduction
| Chapter 1 | Chapter 2
| Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
| Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
| Chapter 7
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