Strength Training

by Rujuta Diwekar

Strength training is defined as use of resistance (for example, in the form of weights) to induce muscular contraction to build strength, anaerobic endurance and size of skeletal muscles.

Now for the diabetic capital of the world (I am talking to you) we must know that the biggest precursor of insulin resistance (high blood sugar) is loss of muscle strength.

strength training only employs resistance to induce muscle contraction.

Why should you strength train? Because it uses the anaerobic pathway, therefore creates a bigger after-burn and therefore continues to burn fat even 48 hours after the workout.

Weight training has always been and will remain a great way to preserve youth, vigour, muscle, strength and bone density, but now it has also proved itself to be immensely useful as a heart-protecting and sugar-lowering drug.

The most important thing that you need to remember about strength training, however, is intensity.

Exercise should recruit maximum number of muscle fibres

This is the golden principle of weight training — the more muscle fibres you recruit, the more you can lift. The more you lift, the more calories you burn both during exercise and as after-burn.

legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms. And within legs you would prioritize multiple joints exercises like squats before leg extension. And with the chest you would chest press (higher intensity, more exhausting) before doing the flies. And with the back you would want to do a bent over row, which is done using ‘free weights’ like the barbell, and is of higher intensity, before doing a seated row. Use of machines reduces the intensity (and so the exhaustion) even if the muscle group employed is the same as in the example of bent over row and seated row.

Allow for adequate recuperation (two days at least) between two weight training sessions (to allow the body to repay oxygen debt, re-synthesize glycogen and repair wear and tear to the muscle tissue).

What should you do then? Rest? No, that would make it worse. The thing to do then, is more activity, more specifically an aerobic workout, a light jog, walk or cycling for half an hour. This is because the muscles, liver, heart and even kidney tissue in the presence of oxygen can use up the lactic acid.

once the glycogen stores are over, then the body will burn its proteins to keep up with the exercise.

one gym session perform about 8 to 10 sets (excluding warm-up) that train major muscle groups. ix. Perform 8 to 15 reps per set, with good form and to a point of fatigue (fatigue is reached when you know you can’t do another repetition with the same weight without compromising on form). x. Use both multi- and single-joint exercises.

The pushing muscles are chest, anterior deltoid (front portion of your shoulder) and triceps (the back of your arm), and the pulling ones are your back, posterior deltoid (back of the shoulder) and biceps.

At any point of time, if you can lift a weight comfortably for the suggested number of reps, then it’s time to increase the weight.

Immediately post exercise, our muscle cells have heightened insulin sensitivity. Which means that we have a brilliant window of opportunity for 45 minutes post exercise, where we can push maximum nutrients into our muscle cells.

R – Rehydrate: Have a glass of water to quench your thirst, and then have another one. Remember that thirst is not a reliable signal during and post exercise; the body is in a dehydrated condition post a workout, so even if there’s no thirst signal present or even if it vanishes after a sip of water, continue to drink.

R – Replenish: Eating a fruit like banana or having a boiled potato will replenish your glycogen stores and your blood sugar levels.

– Repair: A good protein shake made out of whey protein can provide the body with all the required amino acids to carry out its repair work and arrest further tissue damage.

– Recover: The free radicals generated during exercise (or any physical activity) are chemically unstable and cause a lot of damage that can come in the way of the body’s recovery from exercise.

rice is rich in BCAAs but you learnt to classify it as ‘carbohydrate’ in school.

Whey is a derivative of milk, the white precipitate that curdles to the top while making curd or paneer.

Btw, everyone needs protein, even a ‘kidney patient’. There is absolutely no basis to this fear that protein shakes, especially well-timed protein shakes, can harm the kidneys.