diff --git a/posts/naive-overview-exercise.md b/posts/naive-overview-exercise.md index 2203da2..ec747a2 100644 --- a/posts/naive-overview-exercise.md +++ b/posts/naive-overview-exercise.md @@ -285,10 +285,10 @@ with these terms: * A barbell is a long metal bar (about 2 meters or 6 feet) that you usually hold with both - hands.
-* A dumbbell is a shorter metal bar usually held in one hand
-* A kettlebell is a weight with a handle on the top
-* A machine is some kind of, well, machine
+ hands.
+* A dumbbell is a shorter metal bar usually held in one hand
+* A kettlebell is a weight with a handle on the top
+* A machine is some kind of, well, machine
Free weights have an advantage over machines in that they are _unstable_. This means you need to use more muscle groups to keep @@ -448,14 +448,175 @@ ways: * Changing the exercise you're doing (full pushups vs knee pushups) A good program will build in this kind of progressive overload, as do -the programs I linked to above. +the programs I linked to above. The basic idea is to avoid stagnating +by constantly challenging yourself to improve. +### Plate math -* Plate math -* Importance of proper form - * Eccentric portion -* Calorie surplus -* Full body vs splits +If you're going to be doing barbell exercises, it's important to get +comfortable with adding up weights, also known as _plate math_. I'll +start with the metric system, since it's easier to handle, and what I +use. + +A standard barbell weighs 20kg. The plates you'll put on the barbell must be balanced: you put the same amount on the left and right side. If you put a 10kg and 5kg weight on each side, you'll end up with: + +* 20kg bar +* 10kg times 2 (one per side) = 20kg +* 5kg times 2 (one per side) = 10kg +* __Total__ 20+20+10=50kg + +I find it easiest in most cases to add up the weight per side of the +bar, double it, and add 20. So in the above example, I'd do "10 + 5 = +15, 15 * 2 = 30, 30 + 20 = 50." This is just arithmetic, so don't get +too hung up on it, and do what's comfortable. + +Now let's do this in reverse. Suppose you're planning on benching +70kg. In order to figure out what to put on the bar, you would do +this: + +* 70kg - 20kg for the bar = 50kg in plates +* 50kg total plates / 2 = 25kg in plates per side +* Start finding the largest plates that will add up to your number. In + this case, you're probably looking at a 20kg and 5kg. + +Try not to just match the total weight, but also the plate +distribution. In other words, don't put a 20kg on one side of the bar +and 4 5kg plates on the other. That will feel unbalanced. Most gyms +will have plates of size 20kg, 10kg, 5kg, 2.5kg, and 1.25kg. Some may +also have 25kg and 15kg. + +You may also hear people say things like "squatting 2 plate," or on +stranger parts of the internet, "2pl8." This means you have 2 20kg +plates per side of the barbell. Why 20kg? Convention. Do the math, +I'll give you the total weight for this at the end of this section. + +__For you Americans__, the numbers are slightly different. Instead of +a barbell weighing 20kg, it weights 45lbs, which is just slightly more +than 20kg (20.4kg). And the plates come in sizes of 45lbs, 35lbs, +25lbs, 10lbs, 5lbs, and 2.5lbs. As a developer, I love the power-of-2 +system employed by the metric plates, but if you have to use imperial +measurements, just get used to doing the math. + +This has the funny side-effect that if you say "I squatted 2 plate," +it means something different between America and the rest of the +world. (Go ahead and figure out what that total pound value is.) The +numbers are close, but not exactly the same. + +*Answer: 2 plate is 100kg, or 225lbs.* + +### Importance of proper form + +You'll read this just about everywhere that discusses weight lifting, +but I'll say it here too: using proper form on your lifts is +_absolutely crucial_. Using proper form will: + +* Ensure you are getting the full value from your workout +* Help you avoid injuries +* Make sure you don't end up in an embarassing video on YouTube + +There are two particular points of proper form that I want to point +out: + +* The act of lowering the weight is known as the *eccentric portion* + of the exercise. It is common to see people lose control of the + weight during this portion. If you do this, you are hindering your + progress dramatically! Most of the muscle tearing that leads to + muscle regrowth occurs during the eccentric portion. Lowering the + weight in a controlled, steady pace is difficult, but well worth it. +* Be sure to follow full range of motion. You'll often hear people say + they don't want to squat to parallel because it will injure their + knees. This is in fact a myth: squatting with insufficient depth + leads to muscular imbalances and injuries. + * I'm well aware of the fact that I haven't actually described how + to do a squat in this post; please see the linked routines above + that describe how to do a squat properly. + +### Full body vs splits + +A full body workout is a routine that exercises all (or most) muscle +groups each day you train. A split routine somehow splits up days of +the week to specific muscle groups. There are many tradeoffs between +these two approaches, and I won't be able to cover them all here. But +here's a basic idea: you should always have a day of rest between +training a specific muscle group. But having too many rest days in +between is limiting your growth potential. + +If you're going to work out three days a week, you can do a full body +routine each of those days and have 1 or 2 days of rest in between. By +contrast, if you're going to work out 6 days a week, doing a full body +routine each day won't give you any time to rest and recover. + +The routines above are all full body routines. That's probably the +right place to start; I would highly advise _against_ strength +training for more than three days a week as a beginner. If you later +want to progress to more days of working out a week, you can consider +some kind of split. There are many preexisting routines based on +splits, and you can of course make your own. + +Personally, I've found the PPL (Push/Pull/Leg) split approach to be +pretty good. The idea is to first separate out all lower-body/leg +exercises to their own day. Then, of upper body exercises, break them +up by whether they push the weight away from your body (like a bench +press) or are pulling the weight toward your body (like a curl or +barbell row). This ends up pretty cleanly dividing up the upper body +muscle groups. + +### How to eat + +If you're just getting started with strength training, you don't need +to worry too much about eating. Follow nutrition advice from the +previous post. If you're trying to lose fat, eat at a caloric +deficit. When you're initially going from untrained to trained, you +get to experience what are known as "noob gains," which lifters treat +as the magical ability for your body to get stronger and leaner at the +same time. + +Once you're past that initial beginner phase, it gets harder to pull +this off. You'll hear people talk about bulking and cutting, on the +premise that you need to eat extra food to fuel muscle growth (bulk), +and then go for a period of caloric deficit to burn off the extra fat +you gained (cut). Other approaches believe in trying for a recomp, or +body recomposition, consisting of careful balancing of calories to get +_just enough_ to gain muscle and burn fat. Other approaches like Lean +Gains believe in *carb and calorie cycling*: eating more carbs and +calories on training days, and less carbs and calories on rest days. + +This is all rocket science versus what we're discussing here. I'm +mentioning it all so that you know you don't need to freak out about +it. Remember, your goal is to get used to training, enjoy it, nail +down form, and get basic strength gains. If you decide to pursue +strength training more aggressively (like I have), there will be +plenty of time in the gym to read hundreds of articles on the right +way to eat. For now: eat healthy and lift heavy things. + +Final note: be sure to get __plenty of protein__ while strength +training. You'll be using protein to rebuild your muscles after +working them in the gym. If you don't have enough protein in your +diet, your body will be unable to recover. + +### Summary of resistance training + +Wow, that was a lot! I honestly didn't realize I had that much to say +on the subject of resistance training, and there's still a lot more +worth saying. But hopefully this gives you a good place to start. In +sum: + +* Strength training is for everyone +* Don't forget to focus on health, not just pushing some numbers +* Body weights are an easy way to get started and require little + equipment + * [StartBodyweight.com](http://www.startbodyweight.com/p/start-bodyweight-basic-routine.html) +* If you have access to a gym and/or weights, a weight lifting routine + can be a great approach + * [StrongLifts](https://stronglifts.com/) +* Start light, get your form down, and progressively increase the load +* Focus on compound movements, adding in isolation movements as + desired +* Eat healthy, and be sure to get plenty of protein + +## Cardio + +Aerobic exercise ## Exercise diff --git a/static/exercise/barbell.jpg b/static/exercise/barbell.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4a69b97 Binary files /dev/null and b/static/exercise/barbell.jpg differ diff --git a/static/exercise/dumbbell.png b/static/exercise/dumbbell.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..51114fe Binary files /dev/null and b/static/exercise/dumbbell.png differ diff --git a/static/exercise/kettlebell.png b/static/exercise/kettlebell.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..088ac05 Binary files /dev/null and b/static/exercise/kettlebell.png differ diff --git a/static/exercise/machine.jpg b/static/exercise/machine.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7d539d Binary files /dev/null and b/static/exercise/machine.jpg differ