Get a lift Out of Life
Hi, all
We subscribe to the truism that muscles are muscles, and the democratic imperatives of the human body dictate that all biceps, male, female,gay, or other, function in exactly the same ways. So, I intend to focus on what happens when you have decided to work-out, alone, at home, away from the gyms’ equipment and motivating forces conducive to obtaining the maximum returns from your investment in time and energy. The Covid-pandemic has forced this upon many of us.
Finding effective means to work out, alone, at home, is an entirely different kettle-bell. You don’t have the pressures to keep up or push harder than those around you in the gym, and cardio exercise is tougher to execute, as there are none of the gym’s pricy machines on hand, which enable you to burn energy without leaving the protective, controlled environment of your health club.
The ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine), in its guidelines to cardiovascular fitness, suggests we need moderate-intensity exercise (40-60% of HRR) for at least 30 minutes on 5 or more days a week, for a total of 150 minutes per week, or vigorous-intensity exercise (60-85% of HRR) for at least 20-25 minutes on 3 or more days a week for a total of 75 minutes per week. For weight loss, 50-60 minutes per day to a total of 300 minutes moderate exercise is recommended.
My recommendation for the most effective and enjoyable means of aerobic exercise in the confines of your home (dress, totally optional), is to invest in a mini- trampoline, or home rebounder, easily available for around the price of R500, at your nearest Makro, or through Lisa Raleigh, for South African readers.
This piece of easily-stored equipment will provide endless hours of varied, enjoyable exercise opportunities, enabling you to remain on the spot, yet developing excellent cardio-fitness, while strengthening all parts of the body with low-impact, non-damaging movements. Using the mini-tramp, your bones and joints are protected from the stresses of high impact activities, found in running and jogging, by the elasticity and ‘give’ of the exercising surface. The home rebounder is designed for safe and controlled bounding and rebounding in one place. Resistance is created by working against gravity so that muscle tone is improved. By increasing the diversity of movements in a 20 minute aerobic routine (you can then use the surface on which to sit or lie, to perform a range of body-part exercises, similar to those using mats or benches in the gym). Cardio-bouncing routines can contain jogging, twists, skipping, kicks, alternate knee raises, bounces, heel raises to front and back, any number of combined manoeuvres to increase pulse rate and energy levels. It is thought also that the body’s lymphatic drainage system is stimulated to work more efficiently to shift fatigue substances such as lactic acid and rid the body of its accumulated wastes, such as toxins and dead cells.
Using your favourite recorded music to accompany your work-out (instead of having to hear that omnipresent background noise with which the gyms insist on polluting the airwaves), you can reinforce the rhythmical pace at which you work, further enjoying your home-alone work-out.
In a recent study, a team of researchers in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Wisconsin-La Cross, compared the intensity of mini-tramp exercise routines with the established guidelines for cardio respiratory- endurance and calorific expenditure. Carefully monitored results showed the tramp-w.out offered sufficient intensity to improve cardio-respiratory fitness over time (all exercise should be practised regularly, over time, to facilitate improvement).
The enjoyment element associated with the bouncing routines, also acted to reinforce the ongoing participation, because the subjects in the study reported that their workouts were at light or moderate intensity levels, while the real, measured HR and VO2max levels were of a higher intensity level. So, while muscles worked hard, the exercisers ratings of perceived exertion were lower, and they were more comfortable, while working hard.
The less jolting effects of training on the rebounder should make this a safer form of impact training. Performing a wide range of movements while reacting to an unstable and flexible surface should develop an enhanced control of balance and coordination. Working at home, you choose time and outfit to suit your needs. Bouncing, naked, should encourage nosy onlookers rapidly to go about their business, and you will possess a home technological device which should encourage creativity in movement, as well as increased cardio-respiratory fitness.
(For rebounder work-out ideas, see
https://cellercise.com/exercises/https://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/1011408-rebounder-workout-youll-feel-over/?slide=1