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| The Road to 100 Fit Tip #18, 2008 —
Drop the Weight
Today we are going to discuss one of my pet peeves; walking, or worse, running with hand weights. This is a dangerous practice that accomplishes no training effect and can only lead to injury. The torque created by a weight at the end of your arm is much greater than you realize. And, considering the fact that the shoulder joint is the most unstable joint in the body, there is a real danger of inflaming the biceps tendon when your hand goes past the vertical plane of the body, as on the backswing of the arm. That is just technical talk for "hurting your shoulder!"
If you are trying to increase your cardio training effect by caring hand weights, simply walk or jog faster or farther or swing the arms more. Without the torque created by the weight, this is perfectly safe!
If you are trying to gain more strength by carrying hand weights you are misguided. You must overload a muscle to get any strength training effect. That means you must work it to fatigue. You would be much better off doing three sets of bicep dumbbell curls with heavier weight. This would take all of five minutes.
So, whatever you do, DROP THOSE WEIGHTS when walking! (There I go again, cleverly working the title of the fit tip into the copy!)
(To see a video representation of this concept,
CLICK HERE. The video is easy to open, requires no download and will not affect the performance of your computer in any way.
Answer to last week's fitness quiz:
How many feet long is the average small intestine?
The average small intestine is 22 to 25 feet long.
Answer to last week's Question of the Week:
What would you not take money for? (These are REAL people and REAL answers!)
EG: The relationships with my friends and family
GP: Health, my boys, my pictures, my integrity.
LR: My relationship with my Mom, she is worth more than money, gold, and etc.
This week's fitness quiz:
What is an erythrocyte?
This week's philosophical Question: Again, What would you not take money for?
(Selected answers will be published. All answers will be posted on the Uncle Vic Message Board. Please answer in two sentences or less. Please include your first name or if you wish to remain anonymous, your initials)
Corny Joke of the Week:
What clothes does a house wear?
Address.
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