Muscles and bones

[Guest guest]

Believe that higher intensity weight lifting should help maintain or

even improve bone density and muscle strength and maybe mass. Why?

Well to increase my bench press results I have to add on more weights

and then I see improvements in muscle strength. On the other hand

doing numerous push-ups while maintaining the status quo, does not

improve maximum strength at all.

Microscopic analysis of the limb bones of our prehistoric ancestors

shows that their bones were usually much stronger than those of a

person of today, probably due to the current genetics but also due to

demands associated with high intensity muscle output. (I'm of course

assuming that when one was running from a cave bear or bashing a rival

over the head with a club that it took significantly high intensity

muscle output.)

Don't believe the namby-pamby aerobic routines utilizing some rather

small weights (2 pounds) or walking weightlessly on a " treadmill "

(NASA Space Station) will help maintain musculature or bone density

very much. Also have read a scientific article recently stating that

higher intensity exercises were more effective for preventing bone

density loss. Was concerned with this because the wife had shown some

signs of incipient osteoporosis.

So personally today I'm going to add some more poundage to my workout

and try to stress the system a little bit more. Nothing drastic

though, especially at my age.

So far with the CRON diet have reached a BMI of about 25 (down from

25.5) but at the same time, after resuming some weight training, also

feel significantly stronger. There shouldn't be any reason one can't

be a strong and lean individual simultaneously. Of course not strong

to the extent of a body builder but still able to bench press well

over 200 pounds, etc. Extending one's life via CRON is a great idea,

but if you're body has become weakened too much and you suffer a

serious injury such as in a car wreck, get mugged, slip on some ice,

fall off your chair, or whatever, your lifestyle and life span might

suffer greatly. So in my humble opinion, it a good idea to factor in

a few more possibilities than planning on living to a greatly extended

age completely safe and free from injury like some of the CRON test

mice or monkeys do. They were pretty safe in their cages unlike those

of us who live in the real world. CRON without some fairly stressful

exercise is a mistake IMHO.

Disclaimer. Am new to CRON, am not and have never been in the medical

profession, and some would say don't know my a** from a hole in the

ground. :-)

Aequalsz