Do You Need Gloves to Hold onto a Treadmill?
Some people use gloves when holding onto a treadmill, but there’s something they should know about this practice.
And that is:
It’s wrong. I don’t mean the part about using gloves to hold onto a treadmill. I mean the part about holding on, PERIOD. It’s wrong.
As a personal trainer, I forbid all of my clients from holding onto a treadmill.
The only exception was a 70-year-old man who needed a walker to get around anyplace, and I had him holding on—only as much as he absolutely needed to—to the side rails.
I eventually got him off the walker he’d been using for years and to a four-pronged cane—a step-up in control.
But when you see people wearing gloves while they hold onto a treadmill—these are able-bodied women and men, and the gloves are for increased traction or gripping efficiency.
A secondary reason might be to prevent their sweat from getting onto the rails, bar, or wherever they’re holding fast to.
You don’t need gloves to hold onto a treadmill, because you shouldn’t be holding on in the first place.
The exception is to place your hands on the machine to keep from falling off—WHEN you feel you’re about to lose your footing as a result of turning around to greet someone or a shoelace becomes untied.
Another valid reason is when you’re changing the settings, taking water or checking heart rate.
But these actions are transient, very temporary, so that when you’ve completed them, your hands should detach from the treadmill and move naturally.
Gloves can encourage tight holding, and I’ve actually witnessed this.
The user was a man, and his machine was set at 15 percent incline and 4 mph. Now that’s a pretty stiff setting, and if you try to walk this without holding on, you’ll end up stepping off the machine—unless you’re an Ironman athlete or experienced trail runner.
A smarter, more logical approach is to set the speed at 1.5 mph (yes, one and a half miles per hour) and keep your hands off.
Now before you laugh at this, ask yourself what speed you’d walk outside on a similarly inclined trail.
Think about this. You’d be moving at about 1.5 mph, maybe even slower. Imagine a very long stretch of inclined trail, extending endlessly up a mountain.
There is NO way you’d be booking up there at 4 mph—unless, as mentioned, you’re a veteran trail climber with very impressive fitness.
Go ahead, try it before you dismiss it: Walk 1.5 mph at 15 percent incline on a treadmill without any holding on. Go for 20 minutes.
I guarantee it, you’re going to feel a workout that you just won’t get with holding on at 4 mph.
This is because holding on, even at a fast speed, creates a fake movement pattern that’s based on external support. It doesn’t mimic the real thing.
The real thing—outside on a trail—comes without anything to hold onto. Now, fitter people will find that 1.5 mph doesn’t quite challenge them. If this describes you, try 2 mph.
If you can maintain a 2 mph walk at 15 percent without holding on—for 20 minutes—you’re in good shape. Don’t assume these slow speeds are too slow. Try them. For 20 nonstop minutes. No holding on.
The point at which holding onto a treadmill is necessary to prevent dropping off is not determined by a difference of one-tenth of a mile per hour.
I’m betting that you can handle something in between 1.2 and 1.5 mph, while at the same time, feeling a good workout.
There’s also a possibility that 1.2 mph will be too difficult for longer than 10 minutes or even five.
I’ve seen very poorly conditioned people doing the 4 mph, 15 percent, holding-on-with-gloves routine. Just one mph would exhaust them.
That’s okay – go to 0.8 mph, or lower the incline. It doesn’t have to be 15 percent, you know.
You should now know why you don’t need gloves to hold onto a treadmill.
A very slow pace, without holding on, delivers much better results and a far stronger training effect, than does holding on at fast speeds, even with gloves.
Once you’re off the treadmill—there’s nothing to grab onto. So how can holding on improve your fitness or balance? Or cause weight loss? Ditch the gloves and let go of the treadmill.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
Should Older People Lean Over the Stair Stepper Machine?
Are you an older person who hunches way forward, leaning into the stair stepper machine, supporting your body weight with your arms?
Look at the older man in the photo. You don’t have to be a chiropractor to clearly see that this is bad for the back.
Look at how his upper back pokes out. Look at his neck, relative to the spinal column. This can’t be good on the shoulders, either.
If a senior aged person’s objective is to improve any component of their body, then leaning over and into the stair stepping machine will not get them to their goal.
Though I’m a personal trainer, I don’t even have to draw upon fitness expertise to see what goes on when a person, especially a senior, slumps forward into the stair stepping equipment. Come on, look again at the image.
I see this huge mistake all the time at the gym, and it’s not just seniors committing it.
Many people in their 20s and 30s lean into cardio equipment, supporting their body weight on their forearms, butt sticking out. This is very impractical and has no carry-over to real life movement.
When you walk up a flight of stairs, even if your hands are on the rails, your body is erect, for the most part. It certainly isn’t as slumped forward as the man is showing in the photo.
There are several reasons why an older person may want to use a stair stepping machine.
One is to improve cardiovascular fitness, in combination with a preference for this type of cardio equipment over a treadmill or stationary bike.
Another is to just be fitter and have more energy, which overlaps with the first reason.
Of course, weight loss is a common goal. Other goals include lowering blood pressure and improving glucose metabolism.
Regardless of the reason, leaning into the machine and supporting one’s body weight with the arms is a very inefficient, non-efficacious way to exercise—even if you’re of senior age.
Stand straight on the machine, as you would if you were walking down your street.
Just stand straight. If you can’t do the stepping unless you’re leaned into the machine with your butt sticking out and using your arms for support…then you have the steps moving too fast and/or the tension is too rough.
Set the speed slower so that you can stay upright; upright spine, good alignment with your neck to your vertebral column: an erect posture, not a folded-in posture. Reduce the stepping tension.
Adjust the machine to a good-postured body, rather than maim your body’s posture to adjust to difficult settings on the machine.
Maintaining the best posture possible is of utmost importance to seniors when they do cardio exercise.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
Why Women Should Do Farmer’s Walks
Why don’t more women do farmer’s walks?
Though women in strongwomen competitions do farmer’s walks, you’ll rarely, if ever, see a woman performing farmer’s walks at a gym or health club.
Why is this?
I don’t even see personal trainers having their female clients doing farmer’s walks.
And that’s really strange, because this physical activity is probably the easiest strength training routine out there.
The farmer’s walk is easy because this routine does not require special form, balance or coordination.
All you do is walk around carrying weights in both hands, arms straight. How easy is that?
Freepik
There is no bending or unnatural positioning in this exercise.
There is an exceedingly low risk of injury, and minimal strain on the joints.
And there is no jarring, no jumping, no impact.
Farmer’s walks are very safe, and women should do them. The question is simply the amount of weight that should be used.
The weight should be heavy, so that the exercise is difficult right from the beginning.
The weights should be heavy enough so that going just 100 feet, or 1-2 minutes nonstop, is strenuous.
Farmer’s walks will strengthen a woman’s shoulders, back and legs.
This exercise will translate to daily living, in that carrying luggage will become much easier.
So will carrying weighty groceries – the kind of bags that you carry with handles and straight arms.
Do farmer’s walks on a regular basis, and carrying anything heavy straight-armed will become significantly easier.
Any kind of weight can be used for this exercise.
This means dumbbells, of course. But a woman can also hold onto weight plates.
Some makes of rubber-coated weight plates have openings that make holding them a lot easier than the non-rubber-coated weight plates.
Kettlebells can also be used. And of course, a woman can use barbells.
However, barbells will be cumbersome and require more room and an element of balance.
You can try sticking with the dumbbells, plates or kettlebells — even though there are also contraptions that are meant for the farmer walk. It really boils down to personal preference.
Start out with lighter weights first.
What’s your biceps curling dumbbell weight? Add 10 pounds each side and do a farmer’s walk for two nonstop minutes with this weight.
So if you normally curl 20 pound dumbbells for 12 reps max, then do a farmer’s walk with 30 pound dumbbells for a nonstop two minutes.
If this wasn’t that difficult, or if you know you could have gone longer than two minutes, then increase the dumbbell weight. Or use weight plates.
Farmer’s walks will not give women hulking shoulders, even though it will feel that way as you move around with a heavy weight load.
It is exceedingly difficult for women to build up their trapezius muscles.
Farmer’s walks won’t do much to change a woman’s appearance, but they will sure make a woman a lot stronger.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Shutterstock/DisobeyArt
Why Slow Walking Is Bad for Body Health
Slow walkers may seem more relaxed, but this habit is hazardous to one’s health.
Habitual slow walking, regardless of reason, is bad for your health.
This doesn’t mean that if you decide to move slowly while walking your new puppy or while sightseeing, that something bad will happen to your body.
What it means is that habitually walking slowly, concurrently with no cardio exercise to offset this bad habit, can shorten lifespan.
This conclusion comes from University of Pittsburgh researchers who analyzed nine studies involving about 35,000 participants 65 years or older.
For each increase in speed of gait of one meter per second, came a correlating 12 percent reduction in risk of death.
Translation: Faster walkers live longer.
Subjects who walked slower than 1.36 mph had an increased risk of mortality.
Those who walked faster than 2.25 mph lived longer.
This is scary news for elderly people as well as younger people who habitually walk slowly.
It’s easy to blame slow walking on advanced age.
But look around you: You’ll see 20-somethings moving like turtles – everywhere.
Watch crowds of people crossing a street. Most are not senior citizens, yet the crowd crawls, whether there’s five people, 10, 15 or 30.
Even pairs of people lethargically move. How often do you observe even a solitary person briskly walking across a street? It’s a rare sight, even if they’re wearing sneakers.
You’ll find slow walkers all over shopping parking lots – ranging from 20-something to 50-something. This slow walking continues into their senior years.
How well can you walk 400 meters?
In study subjects 70-79, those who couldn’t walk one-fourth a mile were less likely to still be around six years later, and more likely to suffer disease and disability prior to death (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006).
Another study showed that men 71-93 who could walk two miles a day had 50 percent the risk of heart attack of men who could only cover one quarter mile or less.
Maybe it’s too late for your great grandma to put some spring in her step, but how did she get this way in the first place?
Lack of structured cardio exercise is sure in her history.
It’s not far fetched to expect the next generation of “old elderly” to be able to walk with a perk, being that more and more people in their 70s and 80s are completing long-distance walking and running events!
I’ve been on backcountry hikes exceeding five miles with people over age 70.
So certainly, the sooner you make fast walking a habit, even if it’s just going from your car to the store entrance, the more you’ll lengthen lifespan.
How to Become a Fast Walker
Shutterstock/sirtravelalot
Simply make the decision to. However, as a former personal trainer, I recommend the following:
- Make sure your shoes are comfortable. Wear walking footwear as much as possible in public.
- Swing your arms more when you walk.
- At least once a week, spend a little time on a treadmill at a walking pace that’s faster than what you’re used to. Walk this pace for 10-15 minutes at a level incline. DO NOT HOLD ONTO THE TREADMILL.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Source: pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2011/01/05/study-walk-fast-live-long/
Why Fat People Can Bench Press So Much Weight
Find out the truth behind why it seems that fat people can bench press more weight than smaller individuals.
On a general Q & A site, someone asks, “At my school, the people who bench press the most are the fat people — why is that?”
I’m a former personal trainer, and I have the answers.
There are several reasons why it seems that fat people can bench press more weight.
If you believe that, in general, being fat makes people strong so that when it’s time to bench press, they can out-lift leaner folks, I must urge you to take a closer look at these big guys (and gals).
Are they just blobs of fat, or does there appear to be a lot of muscle under all that adipose tissue?
If a person overeats and thus has a lot of excess bodyfat, this will not stop them from gaining muscle (and thus strength) if they work out.
The muscle mass is there, hidden under the excess fat — but not entirely hidden. Look again.
Compare these individuals to the average “fat” person you see on the street, at Walmart, at the county fair, at Burger King, at Costco.
I guarantee it, if you randomly select a fat person from Walmart or the cotton candy line at the amusement park and put them at a bench press station, they’re not going to be lifting very much.
But what if they train?
Shutterstock/LightField Studios
Won’t they gain strength at a faster rate than a 170 pound person? If you’ve never trained before, you need adequate calories to gain muscle.
If you’re skinny and start a strength building program, you’re going to need more calories.
If you don’t increase your caloric intake to accommodate the training, you will make slow progress.
Even a skinny guy who eats like a horse has to adjust his diet if he wants to pack on muscle.
A fat person already gets the calories needed to gain muscle. He has a headstart when training.
So it’s not the obesity that directly gives him the edge; it’s the caloric surplus that’s already in place, though for best results, he or she should replace the junk food with healthy calories.
Powerlifting vs. Bodybuilding
The next reason why fat people seem to bench press more than leaner individuals is that often, the hefty trainees at a gym who are very strong are training for powerlifting competitions.
Or, they are more interested in simply being a strong powerlifter, whereas the smaller but chiseled, lean guys with the fitness model physiques train for appearance first, and trying to break a personal best record in the bench press is secondary.
The 180 pound lean man probably has a different training scheme than the 280 pounder who easily puts up 285 lbs. for 10 reps with the bench press.
If you want muscle mass and a lean, sculpted physique, focus on an 8-12 rep max and a clean, controlled diet.
Those who are gunning for maximal strength rather than a chiseled physique and have done their homework know that a four or five rep max will get them there.
In fact, many non-competitive powerlifters, unlike bodybuilders (yes, there’s a striking difference in these disciplines) will concentrate on a 2-4 rep max.
Another Reason…
Also — realize that a fat, slow-moving individual may find the bench to be quite enticing.
After all, he gets to lie down while exercising, doesn’t have to use his legs, jar his knee joints or huff and puff, and knows that he’s on an even playing field with the thinner, fitter guys he envies.
He becomes hooked on the bench press and runs with it.
Multiply this scenario over and over, and it creates the illusion that “fat people can bench press more weight.”
Range of Motion Advantage
Perhaps this is the biggest reason why fat people apparently can bench press more than leaner people; we must consider range of motion!
Watch a fat person bench press. What immediately jumps out at you?
If they’re fat enough, they only need to lower the bar about three-quarters as far down, to get it right on their chest, when compared to a skinny person! The excess fat cuts short their range of motion.
A proper bench press means bringing the bar down to your chest but not resting it there.
If your chest sits up high because there’s a lot of fat there, you’re bringing that bar down a shorter distance and then pushing up from that point.
This is akin to a skinny person bringing the bar down only “half-way” for every repetition, which allows for a much heavier bench press.
A fat person cannot bring the bar down further than where his or her chest rises up to.
As a result, their arms may be bent at only 90 degrees by the time the bar reaches their chest.
A thin person, to get the bar to his chest, must bend their arms considerably, such that their elbows are much closer to the floor, and then push ALL the way up from that point.
“Mass Moves Mass”
This may seem like the case with the bench press, but it’s actually more of the case with the deadlift and back squat due to the incredibly stable support base that a very heavy body provides during the pull.
A support base to the floor does not apply to the bench press.
Final Thoughts
To put it simply, it’s a heck of a lot easier to push 285 pounds 12 inches than it is 18 inches!
But even then, the average “blob” type of fat individual off the street won’t be much stronger, if at all, than the average medium weight person off the street.
As a fitness professional, I don’t believe for a second that I can randomly choose a fat person at Walmart, stick them under a 200 pound bar, and watch them bench press it even once, even with their much shorter range of motion.
How much a person, fat or lean, can bench press is very multifactorial (I haven’t even covered anthropometrics here).
I’ve seen many lean or only moderately overweight individuals bench press enormous amounts of weight, and have also witnessed very portly men and women benching unremarkable amounts of weight.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
Lateral Raises (Dumbbell Side Lifts) Injury Prevention
Here’s how to make lateral raises, a.k.a., dumbbell side lifts, safe to avoid injury.
Lateral raises can be done safely without threat of injury, by following my guidelines. There are different ways to do lateral raises.
The most common way is with a dumbbell in each hand, with the palms facing downwards, or partially downwards and partially towards your front.
Subtle differences in body position can increase, or decrease, risk of injury from doing lateral raises, which target the deltoid (shoulder) muscles.
If you have a good pair of shoulders (solid tendons), it’s not likely that lateral raises will cause injury.
The lateral raise is a relatively safe routine, but this doesn’t mean it can’t create problems in someone who has a pre-existing problem with their shoulders.
If you have pre-existing rotator cuff issues, then yes, lateral raises can be a problem.
To minimize rotator cuff pain, and to minimize getting any first-time rotator cuff problems, keep your hands in either neutral position (palms completely facing towards your front while holding the dumbbells), or in a supine position (facing ceiling while holding dumbbells).
If you choose the supine position, make sure not to bend your elbows too much; this might happen instinctively.
But doing this will take recruitment away from the shoulders and transfer some of it to the biceps.
Another way to minimize injury is to do lateral raises not completely laterally, but rather, slightly angled towards the front.
Imagine the lateral line as the 90 degree mark, and imagine that directly in front of you is the zero degree mark.
Raise your arms so that they are smack in between these two imaginary markings — at 45 degrees. This is not quite a lateral raise, but not quite a frontal raise, but rather, a fusion of the two.
But to get more of the lateral aspect of the raise, you can lift your arms out at between the 45 degree and 90 degree mark…say, at about 70 degrees.
This modification of the angling will take some stress off the rotator cuff tendons.
Another way to make lateral raises safer is to use a lateral raise machine, rather than dumbbells. However, I don’t mean use this apparatus the way it’s “meant” to be used.
The way it’s designed is for the user to lift with the upper part of the arms, while their lower arms are bent, forming a 90 degree angle at the elbow joint, the lower arms parallel with floor at the top of the lateral raise movement, palms facing floor at this point also.
(Depending on the machine, your hands may be gripping handles.) This indeed is a lateral raise, but this kind of arm position can be hard on someone with rotator cuff problems.
Do this instead: Lift the pads with biceps against the pads. This means that at the start, your palms will be facing the ceiling. If the machine has handles, don’t use them.
Nobody says you must grip these handles. Minimize the bend at the elbow joint. Now lift.
You will immediately feel less strain on the shoulders, yet at the same time, you will feel your shoulder muscles getting worked.
Keep lifting till your upper arms are parallel or a little past parallel with the floor.
You just did a modified lateral raise that is much easier on the rotator cuff tendons.
Another variation of the lateral raise is to use a dual pulley system.
The negative segment is much easier on shoulder tendons, though the positive phase can be quite challenging.
When doing standing lateral raises, always keep feet flat on the floor, legs slightly bent and shoulder width or so apart. Keep shoulders as relaxed as possible; don’t tense them.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained clients of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: GeorgeStepanek
Is the Deadlift Dangerous for Obese People?
Getting into position for the deadlift.
Obese people should perform the deadlift (above) to burn fat.
The deadlift is one of the best fat-burning exercises a person can do, yet extremely few obese people do this exercise.
If you were to round up all the clinically obese people who perform deadlifts, the vast majority of them would be football linemen, wrestlers (fake or real) and competitive powerlifters.
Hardly any of the obese men, and especially women, who do deadlifts are your average very overweight people who are not involved in competitive sports in which size can be an asset.
If only obese men and women knew how much fat-burning power the deadlift has.
It has a potent fat-burning effect because #1, it works practically the entire body all rolled up into one movement, and #2, the nature of the movement allows you to lift a considerable amount of weight.
Because so many muscles work at once in the deadlift, a hormonal response is generated that triggers fat-burning for hours.
But the weight moved must be heavy enough to induce this effect. Heaviness is relative; it must be heavy to that particular person.
Many obese people believe that lifting heavy weights will make them bigger.
Lifting weight, of any amount, will NOT make your fat cells bigger! Intense weight lifting works marvelously to reverse obesity. Handling light and easy weights will not shear off body fat.
When a beginner starts out with the deadlift, one should practice with a light barbell to master the form.
For many obese exercisers, this movement is no more dangerous than for skinny people.
What makes the deadlift potentially unsafe is bad form, which can be committed by someone of any size. So form must first be mastered before moving on to challenging loads.
Once form is mastered, you should gradually increase the amount of weight that you can lift for 8-12 repetitions. Increases will come slowly. Do not hurry.
By being consistent, you can increase the amount lifted quite a bit, over time.
And why try to keep increasing the amount? Because this progressive resistance will build lean, sleek muscle, which will eat away at excess stored body fat — even for the morbidly obese.
Muscle tissue is demanding and hungry, and will feast on stored fat in your stomach, thighs, hips, wherever it’s stored in excess.
Those 8-12 reps should be done with a load that’s difficult but not to the point where you must strain.
You should be breathing heavily at the end of a set.
Perhaps you’ve seen huge people deadlifting tons of weight. I won’t lie: In order to deadlift enormous loads, big muscles are usually required.
However, the average obese person who wants to lose significant amounts of body fat doesn’t have to worry about one day deadlifting 500 pounds!
That’s because enormous strength, and the massive muscles that come with it, don’t happen by accident.
The average woman who’s never strength trained before can deadlift only about 75 pounds for 8-12 reps.
An obese person should do deadlifts twice a week, 4-5 sets excluding a few light warm-ups.
Trust me on this: Deadlifting will do far more for slashing fat in an obese individual’s midsection and legs than will the inner and outer thigh machines and the crunch machines.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
Rid Belly Fat Fast, Cut Heart Disease & Cancer Risk
The faster you get rid of belly fat, the faster you will cut your risk of heart disease and cancer.
Excess abdominal or belly fat means a higher risk of cancer and heart disease.
A report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (July 2013) explains that where you carry extra fat makes a big difference, and excess fat in the stomach poses a greater threat of cancer and heart disease than if it’s concentrated in the thighs.
The JACC study used CAT scans to measure abdominal fat. The body mass index (BMI) does not differentiate location of excess fat.
This study sought a link between location and risk factors for cancer and heart disease.
Even after adjusting for other risk factors, the researchers found that excess belly fat was linked to higher incidence of cancer and heart disease.
The paper states that the presence of excess belly fat improved the predictability of cardiovascular disease.
Why Excess Belly Fat Is Linked to Heart Disease
Depositphotos.com
“Belly fat/waist size is part of the criteria for metabolic syndrome which has clear association with both diabetes and cardiovascular risk,” says Yaser Elnahar, MD, a cardiologist with Hunterdon Cardiovascular Associates in NJ.
“Associations in medicine is very common. Proving direct causality is obviously not as easy.
“Hence, not every obese person has heart disease, and likewise, not every skinny person has a normal heart. It doesn’t work that way.”
Another way to look at this is that the obese person who has a normal heart is still at much increased risk for acquiring heart disease in the future, especially if there’s a lot of fat in the midsection.
Dr. Elnahar explains, “Belly obesity is associated with metabolic syndrome/DM [diabetes mellitus], which means you have a higher chance of developing diabetes.
“DM is considered a coronary artery disease risk equivalent. Meaning, if you have DM, you have a similar risk of developing heart disease when compared to someone who has already known heart disease.”
Best Way to Lose Belly Fat
When I was a personal trainer at a gym, one of the most common questions I was asked was: “What’s the best way to lose belly fat?”
The first way is high intensity interval training instead of steady state aerobics.
The second way is to strength train — intensely — and to do mostly exercises that target the legs, back and chest, such as the squat, deadlift and bench press, respectively.
Incline bench press. Freepik.com
By targeting the body’s biggest muscles, you will create the biggest energy deficit (for post-workout recovery).
When the body is in an energy deficit, it pulls from fat reserves — as long as you don’t overeat and as long as you DO stick to a plant-based diet and control your portions, which is the third way to lose belly fat.
Dr. Elnahar has publications in the Journal of Atrial Fibrillation, the Journal of Clinical Medicine and Research, Reports in Medical Imaging, and more.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified by the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained clients of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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Top image: Freepik.com, yanalya
Source: sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130710182944.htm
Can You Build Muscle Clapping Between Pull-ups?
How can something as difficult as clapping pull-ups NOT build muscle?
After all, the clapping increases the recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fiber, which has the potential to grow in size.
It makes sense that if jumping (feet) exercises (not jumping jacks but drills involving high stools, boxes, hurdles, etc.) are encouraged for muscle-building athletes as an adjunct to their weight lifting, then why not also do jumping from the upper portion of the body for a similar recruitment of fast-twitch muscle fiber?
In order to clap, imagine how strong the back must be to pull this off. Forces are amplified as the hands return to the pull-up bar.
The top position, then, of the pull-up is intensified and requires more strength when it follows a clap, when compared to just simply rising up there and then lowering.
You can have all the agility in the world, but in the end, strength and muscle power are needed to perform the clapping. When you build strength and power, you build size.
Another way of looking at the whole entire pull-up concept is that, as mentioned, this action is not what our body is designed to do, so imagine the shock to your muscle fibers when they are forced to do something so unnatural.
They have no choice but to get hard, thick and big. Ever notice that anyone who can knock off every pull-up variation in the book has spectacular back musculature?
The wider the grip, the more latissimus recruitment. The narrower the grip, the more arm recruitment. Regardless of grip, the lats (and other back muscles), arms and shoulders play a big role.
And by the way, if you’ve been wondering why your biceps haven’t been growing despite vast amounts of time spent doing concentration curls, preacher curls, cable curls, spider curls, etc., start doing some pull-ups (include a lot of chin-ups and neutral hand placements to recruit more of the biceps).
And then over time, as you get stronger with the pull-ups, see what happens to your biceps.
In fact, ever notice the bulging biceps of Olympic male gymnasts, who do tons of pulling-from-hanging positions?
You need not train like a gymnast to grow impressive biceps, but the point is clear:
Pulling from hanging positions will not only stimulate back growth, but biceps growth, especially when you add some clapping.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik.com/ Racool_studio
How to Make Your Kids Stockholm-Proof
Are there certain ways to raise a child such that they’d be highly resistant to getting Stockholm syndrome if ever taken hostage as a teen or adult?
I asked the following questions to Dr. Nancy Zarse, associate professor in the Forensic Department, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, whether or not parents can train their children to be resistant to Stockholm syndrome.
Is there a correlation between how close a parent is to a child, and whether or not that child would ever develop Stockholm syndrome? Assume the child, at time of abduction, is at least 10 years old.
Dr. Zarse: Stockholm syndrome has more to do with conditions of the hostage situation than with the relationship with the parent.
Stockholm syndrome reduces injuries and death, so professionals would rather deal therapeutically with the victims following their release than encourage hostages to resist forming a bond that might save their lives.
What can a parent do to make the parent-child bond as powerful as possible so that no abductor could put a dent in it?
Dr. Zarse: It is both the bond with the hostage taker and fear of greater injury or death that prevents an escape.
The bond between hostages and their family may well sustain them in the darkness of their captivity, giving them strength and hope to endure.
Further, the love of family may be exploited by the hostage taker who threatens to harm or kill loved ones as a means to control hostages.
Are kids who are “brainwashed” by their own parents to subscribe to the following principles, at much higher risk for Stockholm syndrome? Children should be seen and not heard; Always be respectful to adults; Never talk back to an adult; You have no rights until you’re an adult.
Dr. Zarse: Children who are taught to be respectful of adults are not more likely to develop Stockholm syndrome.
The formation of Stockholm syndrome is more about the conditions of the hostage situation than with the personality of the hostages.
Are kids who are encouraged by their parents to express their feelings, show disapproval, carry on a debate, stand up for themselves, be assertive, take on challenges, and not be afraid to disagree with adults, at much lower risk for Stockholm syndrome?
Dr. Zarse: The personality of the hostage will influence the relationship that is formed with the hostage taker, and thus the possibility of Stockholm syndrome.
However, Stockholm syndrome decreases injury and death, so it has a positive outcome.
In a hostage situation, the danger and emotional volatility are extreme, so survival is more important than expressing anger at the hostage taker.
A hostage who is unpleasant, obnoxious or threatening to the hostage taker may well be killed.
Survival is key — we can deal professionally after the release of the hostages with the emotional scars.
But isn’t a gamble involved, then, on the part of the parent? On one hand, teaching kids resistance to Stockholm syndrome can ultimately lead to an escape when the captor is absent.
On the other hand, teaching kids that Stockholm syndrome may save their lives may produce an outcome where the parent never sees their child again because the child spends years as a sex slave, and come adulthood, is too psychologically damaged to make contact with the long-lost family (it’s interesting to speculate if Jaycee Lee Dugard would have ever contacted her family, had Phillip Garrido never confessed his crime.).
Dr. Zarse: A hostage situation is a frightening and confusing possibility for a parent. Although you want to encourage your child to escape, that same action might endanger the child’s life.
Teach your child not to actively cooperate, but also not to agitate or anger the hostage taker.
Teach your child to hold onto the image of your loving face, to do what is necessary to survive and that you will never cease in your efforts to find and save your child.
Reassure your child that you will work together, upon release, to get the professional help needed to address any damage suffered at the hands of the offender.
What about teaching kids (if old enough) to PRETEND to bond with the abductor?
And a hostage (older child) with his or her wits would never behave obnoxiously towards the abductor, but instead would con them (this is often depicted in movies and TV).
Are there real-life examples where the victim pretended to bond with the captor; tricked the captor into lowering his guard; and successfully escaped?
Dr. Zarse: Most people do not actively encourage development of Stockholm syndrome. Any hostage is highly encouraged to act in such a way as to diffuse the intense emotions of the hostage taker and minimize anger.
There are instances in which captives escaped after long periods of being held hostage, so do not give up hope.
Are “bratty,” outspoken or bully-like kids more resistant to Stockholm syndrome?
Dr. Zarse: Stockholm syndrome does not develop because the hostage likes the hostage taker; it forms out of complete dependence, lack of control and terror.
You cannot compare a hostage situation to any other kind of interpersonal situation, because of the traumatic nature of the hostage situation.
It’s explained that Stockholm syndrome occurs when the abductor isolates the victim and makes them dependent for bare essentials.
But why does the victim feel dependent upon the abductor, if there is opportunity to escape?
“Escape” opportunities could range from climbing the fence in the middle of the night; dashing away from the abductor while in public; yelling out to a nearby neighbor; actually visiting the neighbor; and alerting people via e-mail and phone, to which some abduction victims have access.
Dr. Zarse: Stockholm syndrome does not form merely because of basic necessities like food and water; it is also borne out of feeling unable to control the situation and dread.
The hostage taker uses threats against the hostages and their families to control even when not present.
What specifically can parents do to inoculate their kids from acquiring Stockholm syndrome? Of course, the older the child, the more effective any method would be.
Dr. Zarse: Stockholm syndrome reduces injury and death, so is not necessary to protect against.
In fact, in training to groups at higher risk for being taken hostage, strategies are taught to increase the possibility of forming an attachment to the hostage taker to minimize the risk of harm to the hostages.
Are there cases where a juvenile hostage was murdered as the result of an escape attempt?
Dr. Zarse: I do not know of any such instances, but we know of young people being murdered by their abductors, so it is a reasonable assumption.
How successful can parents be at convincing older kids that if they’re ever taken hostage, that the captor is bluffing when he says, “I’ll kill your parents if you ever escape”?
How many captors have ever followed through on their threats? I’m specifically referring to men who kidnap kids/teens, versus a man who beats his wife, then kills her parents when she leaves him.
Dr. Zarse: There is an assumption in this question that the hostage taker is bluffing when threats to harm the hostage’s family are made; this is a dangerous assumption. It is risky to teach potential hostages that threats may be unfounded.
If the hostage feels the potential of injury or death in the threat to be real, chances are good that the hostage will act accordingly to protect loved ones.
If physical and/or sexual assaults accompany such threats, the possibility of harm to others is made much more real by virtue of the actual and immediate injury to self.
How much of an anti-Stockholm syndrome effect would it have, for parents to begin teaching their children about this at an early age?
After all, parents are encouraged to talk to their grade school kids about drugs, sex, “good touches” and “bad touches,” etc.
Seems to me that the more well-versed a child is in the mechanics of Stockholm syndrome, the less likely he or she will develop it.
Dr. Zarse: Parents certainly need to teach their children to resist harm, but there are extreme circumstances in which being aggressive might increase possibility of injury or death, so one must be very cautious.
An escape attempt increases the emotion of the hostage taker, thereby heightening danger for the hostage.
Stockholm syndrome reduces injury and death, so it would not be wise to teach methods to prevent its formation.
Isn’t it true that if enough “anti-Stockholm syndrome” is drilled into a child from an early age by a parent, that the parent can effectively “brainwash” that child so that the learned material cannot be overridden by a captor (depending on child’s age)?
Dr. Zarse: Parents need to teach their children to protect themselves from harm, but a hostage situation is unique and dangerous so caution is recommended. Remember, Stockholm syndrome is not about a weak personality type; it is about extraordinary conditions of complete debility, dependence and dread, and surviving.
