Why Not Walk or Jog Instead

Aerobic exercises such as walking and jogging are ideal for improving the fitness of your heart and lungs and the muscular endurance of your legs, but these activities contribute less to shaping your body and improving your overall flexibility, muscular endurance, and upper-body strength. The advantage of aerobic activities over weight training is that they require minimal equipment and can be done almost anywhere. Swimming, cycling, and cross-country skiing, which are also aerobic activities, are better than walking or jogging in terms of building overall flexibility, muscular endurance, and strength, but they still fall short of what weight training programs do for strengthening and shaping specific areas of the body. Weight training programs are more effective than aerobic programs in improving muscular strength, muscular endurance, body composition (ratio of muscle to fat), and flexibility.

For older adults who are inactive, weight training can be an especially important activity because muscle mass declines 5 to 10 percent each decade after age 50. This loss of muscle results in a decline in strength, which is often associated with a variety of illnesses, injuries, and infirmities. Research has demonstrated that younger as well as older adults who follow at least a 6-week weight training program will have significant increases in muscle mass and strength. Similar research has shown that weight training can also lower blood pressure, improve bone mineral density, and help people with diabetes improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance.

Unlike other exercise activities that develop a limited number of muscles (for example, walking and cycling primarily develop the legs), weight train- ing programs can help you develop many muscle groups—especially those that are particularly important to you. Weight training is like going through a cafeteria and picking which foods you want to eat instead of having to eat simply what is served to you. The workouts through emphasize exercises for seven major muscle groups: chest, back, shoulders, front of the arms, back of the arms, core, and legs. (See figure 1.4.) The workouts also condition the smaller muscles of the forearms, calves, and neck.

How well your program is designed and how diligently you follow it will determine your success in achieving your desired outcome. What makes weight training exciting is the rapid rate at which you can see and feel changes in your body. As soon as you start exercising, your muscles feel firmer, and the body sculpting process begins. Regular training will convince you that you have the ability to develop your body in ways that you may never have expected!

Why Not Walk or Jog Instead