[jassi]

Originally Posted by theMAG

Actually, outdoor cardio exercises are more difficult to do than the same cardio exercises indoors, due to the hardness of ground outside and resultant higher impact on knees.

not only are outside cardio exercises difficult, but they are also better for your bones - as running on hard surfaces causes micro-cracks in your bones, thereby causing calcium to deposit in those cracks and increase your overall bone density. This makes your bones stronger and prevents osteoporosis, arthritis, etc!
Very similar to lifting weights, which cause micro tearing of muscle fibre and when muscles heal/recover they get bigger

[prabhuav]

But that is only if you are decently fit already. For fat @$$es like me , hard surfaces are a strict no - no :(

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by jassi

not only are outside cardio exercises difficult, but they are also better for your bones - as running on hard surfaces causes micro-cracks in your bones, thereby causing calcium to deposit in those cracks and increase your overall bone density. This makes your bones stronger and prevents osteoporosis, arthritis, etc!

How does it prevent arthritis? In fact it can cause arthritis.

Arthritis pain is caused when bones start touching at the joints. The layer of cushion (for lack for technical term) between joints can takes decades to erode due to impact caused by running, jumping, kicking or punching. One sure way to lessen the effect of impact is to have strong joint muscles. If you have strong joint muscles, they can act like shock absorber. If you don't have strong joint muscles, the cushion between the bones take the beating and over time thin out.

That is why if you are doing impact exercises, make sure you are conditioning the muscles that are involved. If you are running, condition your knee/ankle muscles. I do squats or plain old bhaski for this purpose.

[vikram18]

Agree with Samurai completely. That's why running on a joging track is far better than road running and why Nike claims that their Air Max 360's cushion upto 90% of the shock.

Samurai - "cartilage"?

[jassi]

Originally Posted by Samurai

How does it prevent arthritis? In fact it can cause arthritis.

Arthritis pain is caused when bones start touching at the joints. The layer of cushion (for lack for technical term) between joints can takes decades to erode due to impact caused by running, jumping, kicking or punching. One sure way to lessen the effect of impact is to have strong joint muscles. If you have strong joint muscles, they can act like shock absorber. If you don't have strong joint muscles, the cushion between the bones take the beating and over time thin out.

That is why if you are doing impact exercises, make sure you are conditioning the muscles that are involved. If you are running, condition your knee/ankle muscles. I do squats or plain old bhaski for this purpose.

I never said cardio exercises or the micro cracks process I explained is in itself enough to prevent arthritis. Ofcourse you need strong muscles to take the pressure off the joints (no wonder the sprinters/runners have become more muscular over the years). However there is no denying the fact that these micro-cracks can make your bones stronger. Another example is (if you have practiced martial arts) punching a wall will make your bone structure (knuckles, wrists, etc) strong - this is also based on the same principle of micro-cracks and calcium accumalation over the years. The bone density of any martial artist along the bones used for breaking (tiles, etc) will always be exceptionally high!! Joints and ligaments and the cushions in between are a totally different story and if you have muscles to assist in movement, joints will be less burdened and less prone to arthiritis
Anyways I am not a doctor or an ortho, I am just someone who practices a bit of martial arts (was more regular in younger years) and have been into gyming for the last 11 years Am always learning and if my understanding is wrong, I stand corrected.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by vikram18

Samurai - "cartilage"?

Thanks, I couldn't remember the term.

Originally Posted by jassi

However there is no denying the fact that these micro-cracks can make your bones stronger.

I didn't deny the micro-crack part, I was only disagreeing to the Arthritis example which can't be helped by either strengthening of bones or running.

[SohailPistawala]

Ok a Small Concern here from my side, Vikram, shan2anu, jassi, samurai and others.. sudenly from last fridays workout, the soreness in my body has not gone... my schedule from last friday just to understand what was the routine like.

friday Did Arms. saturday was rest, sunday played volleyball for an hour, monday body was giving up in other words.. paining, monday went to the gym and did free hand exercises (dips, Pullup, Pushups), Tuesday rest, wednesday chest- triceps, Thursday rest, today is friday, but the question is this is the 1st time that the soreness has remain in the muscle till last nite. suffering from a little cold last nite so slept with having Vicks Action 500, morning felt better. but the quest to find out why the Soreness?? any reason?? lack of sleep?? lack of food? stress at work?? or what??

Any help is appreciated.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by jassi

I never said cardio exercises or the micro cracks process I explained is in itself enough to prevent arthritis. Ofcourse you need strong muscles to take the pressure off the joints (no wonder the sprinters/runners have become more muscular over the years). However there is no denying the fact that these micro-cracks can make your bones stronger. Another example is (if you have practiced martial arts) punching a wall will make your bone structure (knuckles, wrists, etc) strong - this is also based on the same principle of micro-cracks and calcium accumalation over the years. The bone density of any martial artist along the bones used for breaking (tiles, etc) will always be exceptionally high!! Joints and ligaments and the cushions in between are a totally different story and if you have muscles to assist in movement, joints will be less burdened and less prone to arthiritis
Anyways I am not a doctor or an ortho, I am just someone who practices a bit of martial arts (was more regular in younger years) and have been into gyming for the last 11 years Am always learning and if my understanding is wrong, I stand corrected.

Strong muscles are not to take pressure off the joints. Strong muscles are to aid in more effective and stronger movement of the limbs and the body. Depending upon the kind of movement/surface/activity, joint stress increases or decreases. Assuming you have more muscle mass, if you are jumping then joint stress will increase if you are swimming then joint stress will decrease. Also to note that muscle mass being heavier than fat, a lean muscular individual can cause more damage to his/her joints considering they are able to push their bodies that much more harder.
Conditioning and right effective nutrition goes a long way in offseting the effects of joint stress and cartilage wear. It also improves recovery from wear and tear. Other causes of joint problems include but are not limited to genetics, use of medicines, steroid use for therapy, steroid abuse,etc

While regular conditioning does help improve bone density, prolonged abuse of your joints by punching walls will result in cartilage damage and arthritis as you age. The effect depends on your body constitution since no two individuals respond alike.
Lastly, breaking bricks tiles stones is not a matter of using strong bones. It has got to do more with technique and the harnessing of energy commonly referred to as 'ki' or 'chi'. To attempt 'breaking' with brute force is nothing more than a display of lack of technique and knowledge by any martial artist.

Regards,
J

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by SohailPistawala

Ok a Small Concern here from my side, Vikram, shan2anu, jassi, samurai and others.. sudenly from last fridays workout, the soreness in my body has not gone... my schedule from last friday just to understand what was the routine like.

friday Did Arms. saturday was rest, sunday played volleyball for an hour, monday body was giving up in other words.. paining, monday went to the gym and did free hand exercises (dips, Pullup, Pushups), Tuesday rest, wednesday chest- triceps, Thursday rest, today is friday, but the question is this is the 1st time that the soreness has remain in the muscle till last nite. suffering from a little cold last nite so slept with having Vicks Action 500, morning felt better. but the quest to find out why the Soreness?? any reason?? lack of sleep?? lack of food? stress at work?? or what??

Any help is appreciated.

It seems your problem is that of recovery.
Let me explain that recovery is not just recovery from the pain of soreness.
Recovery has also got to do with the recovery of your nervous system.
Training is a specific science. If you are training regularly - say 4-5 days a week- the cumulative stress on your nervous system adds up. Note here that the nervous system is also responsible for performing functions of your normal body - brain, digestion,etc,etc - . The total stress on your nervous system increases when you add up all the physical, mental, physiological, emotional,psychological stresses, etc. Now among all these stress physical stress is the last item on the recovery schedule because all other functions are far more important.
So in addition if you have a cold or are sick, then it is safe to assume that you need to give your body adequate rest in order to allow you entire system to recover and not just muscle recovery.

A few days off the gym should get you charged up completely.
Regards,
J

[jassi]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

While regular conditioning does help improve bone density, prolonged abuse of your joints by punching walls will result in cartilage damage and arthritis as you age. The effect depends on your body constitution since no two individuals respond alike.
Lastly, breaking bricks tiles stones is not a matter of using strong bones. It has got to do more with technique and the harnessing of energy commonly referred to as 'ki' or 'chi'. To attempt 'breaking' with brute force is nothing more than a display of lack of technique and knowledge by any martial artist.

Regards,
J

agreed on the technique aspect and I have done a bit of breaking and its certainly not brute force My point on bone strength was also influenced by this some series on martial artists on discovery

Originally Posted by SohailPistawala

Ok a Small Concern here from my side, Vikram, shan2anu, jassi, samurai and others.. sudenly from last fridays workout, the soreness in my body has not gone... my schedule from last friday just to understand what was the routine like.

friday Did Arms. saturday was rest, sunday played volleyball for an hour, monday body was giving up in other words.. paining, monday went to the gym and did free hand exercises (dips, Pullup, Pushups), Tuesday rest, wednesday chest- triceps, Thursday rest, today is friday, but the question is this is the 1st time that the soreness has remain in the muscle till last nite. suffering from a little cold last nite so slept with having Vicks Action 500, morning felt better. but the quest to find out why the Soreness?? any reason?? lack of sleep?? lack of food? stress at work?? or what??

Any help is appreciated.

Sohail - one point I can make is, if the muscle that you have worked out is sore the day after or even 2 days its fine. However if for example you have worked out chest and some completely different muscle aches (eg lower back), then its a sign of wrong technique. Your muscles normally get used to the workout and stop getting as sore as they initially used to - which is why you need to lift more or change the order/combo of exercises to "shock" your muscles into growth. Infact I normally expect soreness (in the correct muscles) a day or 2 after every workout as a sign of a good workout However if you are sore for anything more than 2 days, you are pushing too hard and gotta hold back a bit - as there is a very fine line between shock and recovery and complete failure and injury !!

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by jassi

- as there is a very fine line between shock and recovery and complete failure and injury !!

I fail to understand this, can you please explain. To me shock and recovery are two completely different things - how can there be a very fine line between them?
Comments appreciated.

[jassi]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

I fail to understand this, can you please explain. To me shock and recovery are two completely different things - how can there be a very fine line between them?
Comments appreciated.

what I meant was pushing to the edge and/or shocking your muscles just enough VS going over the edge where the muscle fails completely and can't recover on its own (i.e. an injury)

[harry10]

Originally Posted by shajufx

I felt the same thing while I was doing it. But I did not know how the grading was going to be based on the time factor. Later I saw the Physiotherapist marking my time as 15 mts for 1.6 kms and grading as 'poor'. If I knew about this part, I would have increased my speed to 7 or 8 and finished it within 10 mts flat. But my strong feeling is, if I walk 1.6 kms in the outdoors, I might not take even 10 mts, not sure, just a feel ! This is based on my 'getting-used-to' delay factor of the electric tread mill. I have always used a manual one, never tried an electric till yesterday.

From my experience i can just state if you are doing a treadmill run then try to jog at a good pace or run. Walking will lead you to nowhere.
And try to variate speed between 8-10. Below 8 wont be of much use and above 10 will tire you quickly.
As per your body stamina just keep variating between 8-10 speeds. Also do a 15 min Running before workout atleast and 30 minutes after workout. Will help you shed calories in the best way.

Originally Posted by theMAG

Actually, outdoor cardio exercises are more difficult to do than the same cardio exercises indoors, due to the hardness of ground outside and resultant higher impact on knees.

Thats right and Outdoor is also more efficient so try doing in the parks whenever you can.

[bblost]

my take:

If you don't break a sweat then you are not doing anything.
If you are so out of breath that you cannot even talk for a minute then you are rushing it.

weights:
if you can do 15 reps with ease then its too light.
if you can barely do 4 reps and with a lot of strain its too heavy.

[pranavt]

Originally Posted by bblost

my take:

If you don't break a sweat then you are not doing anything.
If you are so out of breath that you cannot even talk for a minute then you are rushing it.

weights:
if you can do 15 reps with ease then its too light.
if you can barely do 4 reps and with a lot of strain its too heavy.

Depends on the purpose of lifting weights. If you are into increasing power, 3-5 reps is fine and will yield good strength gains. Anything above that and below 12-13 is for 'show' bodybuilding. Anything way more than that (say, 15-25) is for endurance. Again, the last one is if you're working out regularly with those reps. If you're doing 20 reps for a variation every once in a while, it'll generally shock your muscles and result in muscle growth.