http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=215241936719889083192.0004a0afeea5382184147&ll=2.154872,28.486176&spn=0.581861,0.817108&z=11

(Start to finish and back). I’ve actually done this, so it will be easy. For me.

Oh… what the heck. Let’s do it in the Costa Rican mountains. I need to go back there.

A challenge!!!

May I suggest someplace on the gulf coast this summer? Not quite Africa…

😉

A challenge!!!

he/she is fired.”

Wrong: “They’re fired” is what it should be. Don’t worry, in many varieties of English “they” can function as a gender and number-neutral third person pronoun.

The pec/tricep and lat/bicep combos are difficult to avoid and probably unnecessary to avoid in the beginning (see discussion on taking time off of large muscles to work on smaller muscles)

But this does bring up a whole nuther point that I did not discuss: There are exercises that are more organic (in that they don’t use machines with moving parts) and use more muscles, that are very good for you, and that are excellent ways to track your overall fitness. How much you can chin-up (pull-up) is a function of your lat/bicep strength and your body composition; Pushups (which can be made hard or easy and use your core to stabilize but don’t put a lot of weight on the average person) are another example, as well as dips. And, of course, lifting cars off of people and stuff.

On weight belts. I saw some research on belts that seemed to intimate that they were useful – but this was mainly because they were a tactile reminder to properly activate the core muscles to stabilize the torso rather than directly protect the back. And the big guys wearing them – it’s more likely that they had to do a lot of things correctly in order to get that big.

…one of the main objectives in working out with free weights and machines: Isolate the muscle you are working on and safely, systematically, stress it.

If you want to isolate muscles, stay on the machines. Many free-weight exercises and a few weight machines are multi-joint exercises and therefore use multiple prime movers [i.e. pecs and triceps for bench presses]. And you can do so-called functional exercises that involve multiple joints along with the torso that may mimic sports-specific movements or work-related movements. Something you need a good trainer to start you correctly.

My own preference is ancillary exercise. First and foremost: walk. Walk to the grocery, walk to the post office, walk to the drugstore, walk to the bank, walk to take a break from work, walk to meet a friend, walk for other errands, walk to dinner out. Walking back from all those places becomes almost automatic. And from the grocery or liquor store, one carries stuff. Weight. Two bags of groceries is just about right to do shrugs and arm lifts. As Greg said, protecting the rotator cuff is important. Walk in the park or by a school, and there are benches, for push-ups, and bars, for chin-ups. Seems in my town, those are more used by adults than by kids.

Walking is free. Walking strengthens your back. Walking exercises your core. Walking is how we evolved to get around. Walking becomes daily habit. Walking let’s you see what you otherwise would miss. Walking enough means you can get rid of one car. Then exercise, instead of being a slice of your budget, becomes a source of savings.

My two cents. Greg likely is stronger than me. But I bet I walk further on a pint of water. And I’ve never been in Africa.