Jo,
> Long ago, I'd rest only one day between total body workouts.....
> .... I "progressed" into intermediate and advanced routines, I
> continued to ignore slightly sore muscles because I knew the next day
> or later in the afternoon I would be working on a different body part.

Liza,
This kind of routine can in fact work - but you have to be willing
and able to spend the extra time resting and sleeping. You need LOTS
of sleep, and LOTS more food, to pull this off successfully. But it
is very possible to train this way.

Jo,
> In hindsight, I know I could have gained faster with longer intervals
> of rest;

Liza,
Not necessarily longer intervals, just more sleep. Doesn't leave a lot
of time left for anything else but training, eating, and sleeping. :)

Jo,
> My sessions nowadays are very short, intense total body routines and

Liza,
Ah! Training the evolutionary-fitness way! :)

Jo,
> so I'm not too surprised that I need the extra 2 or 3 days for the
> soreness to dissipate COMPLETELY.

Liza,
The soreness doesn't have to dissipate completely. That's the lactic
acid build-up, and that will disappear as soon as you start your
next work out. Usually, people don't have this soreness once they
are as conditioned as it sounds like you ought to be, after all the
years of working out. Usually what people feel is "stiffness,"
(meaning they need lots of stretching), but not soreness anymore,
after a month or six weeks of training. And by the way, that
soreness, the lactic-acid build-up, is a function of your overall
cardio-vascular efficiency, not the strength or condition of the
muscle group. So to get rid of the soreness, you might consider more
aerobic training.

Jo,
> Now, if, through a change in diet, my recovery capacity increases,
> and I find my muscles begging for more stimuli after four days, then
> I'll make adjustments to my training schedule. Right now, I find that
> a week is the right waiting period.

A WEEK????? Wow! - that sounds awfully long! You mean to say that
you're doing one hard full-body work-out each week, then waiting a
full week to go back again? (And I KNOW that's not because you're
one of those dastardly "weekend warrior" types heh heh..). So you
actually feel okay, and feel you're gaining strength, on a
once-a-week routine?

Martha,
> I'd like to add to the list of "excuses", that some people,
> when working full time, don't want to turn around and leave
> the kids with a sitter so they can go out to exercise.

Liza,
THANK YOU!!! Yes, children DEFINATELY present one more totally
important challenge to figuring out how to fit it in. Hey - don't
call it an excuse!! :) It's a totally legitimate reason that
contributes to many people just deciding that the benefits of
excercise just don't warrant all the convolutions that you have to
do to your own and your family's life.

Martha,
> Less of a problem for married folks but still not a non-issue.

Liza,
Thank you again. Well said. For example: One of my clients,
25-yr-old gal Sonya wakes up at 4:30 every morning, leaves the house
around 5, gets to work at 6:30, works till 6, 7, sometimes 8 at
night (she's a bookkeeper), TRIES to get to the gym by 8:30 or so
but sometimes only can get there at 9:30 or 10, and to do this is
faced with either eating her dinner in the car on the ride home, or
after her work-out (late at night, and not good after a work-out
anyway). This kind of schedule leaves no time during the week for
ANYTHING else (necessary chores and errands of modern life), and not
enough time for sleep. And many times she's required to work
weekends, either at the company office, or bring work home.

Martha,
> I go to Jazzercize & step classes 4 times a week (yes, a lycra
> legionnaire),

Liza,
YAY!! Hey - lycra is flattering. I'll bet you look gooood.
Re-e-e-aaally good. :D

Martha,
> but pay a price for it, in terms of resentful spouse, later meals for
> the kids, etc.  Also, I get pretty crabby myself if something comes
> along  to mess up my workout schedule (like currently, t-ball).

Liza,
Thanks again for the personal illustration of the problem. I could
add loads of other real-life stories, people that I know that really
have to struggle to fit it in. It's hard, no two ways about it.

JL,
> There is a risk of injury in most sports: professional tennis players
> often have injuries in the knees, in the elbow or in the back. In
> general, I consider that these three parts are fragile, regardless of
> your age (many ex-athletes have permanent damage in one of these areas),

Liza,
Don't forget shoulders!! Notoriously susceptible to injury.

JL,
> hard physical training is not excluded for older people, but they
> should take it easy in the beginning, and build up *very* slowly, like
> start with light weights, increase weight *very* carefully and *not*
> workout until exhaustion.

Liza,
In my opinion, not just older people but _everyone_ should start out
with a "conditioning phase," meaning light weights, less
repititions, lighter cardio work for shorter time, fewer times per
week (frequency/intensity/duration). In my experience, the biggest
challenge and adjustment during this period is what the rest of the
posts in this thread have been discussing - and that is the
challenge of actually fitting it into your schedule. The "initial
conditioning phase" is just about GETTING TO THE GYM, in my opinion.
I tell people, they don't have to even DO anything once they get
there! That they can consider themselves completely successful, and
I will be completely pleased and proud of them, if they just manage
to GET to the gym in work-out clothes (street clothes don't count :)
) and stay there for 30 minutes. :D

JL,
> After a certain age, if you have never practiced any sport in your
> life, it is of course too late: I don't think my grandmother will ever
> be able to do squats with 100 lbs (she is 96).

Liza,
Never say never. Maybe not with 100 lbs, but I'd bet she could
probably do squats, and with some amount of weight on a bar. I've
trained older folks (never a 96-yr-old, though, I'll admit :D), and
I think you would be totally surprised at how easily they can adopt
a new excercise program, and how quickly they begin to see _major_
improvements in energy, strength, flexibility, and overall
well-being. It's wonderful. :)

Love Liza
--
[log in to unmask] (Liza May)