Title: No pain, no gain? Getting the most out of exercise | Human biology | The Guardian
Headings: No pain, no gain? Getting the most out of exercise
Human biology
No pain, no gain? Getting the most out of exercise
Staying in shape has all sorts of benefits, from maintaining heart health to warding off dementia and cancer
Catherine de Lange
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WEIGHT TRAINING
The latest government guidelines prescribe weekly weight training for all. Is is all strength and no cardio?
Any other benefits?
How much should you do?
What is he looking at?
Doesn't it also boost your metabolism?
Why?
So by having more muscle you automatically burn more calories?
CYCLING
Cycling is fun and easy – but is it good exercise?
If you cycle to work, is that a decent workout?
Can you get the same benefit from a spinning class?
Could spinning be the answer?
On yer bike, then?
RUNNING
Isn't running best left to kids in the playground?
But only if you run in your fat-burning zone, right?
So more intense running is better?
Is it possible to get too much of a good thing?
Is that why some people drop dead during a marathon?
Is there an optimal amount?
What if you really want to do a marathon?
SWIMMING
Swimming is for softies, isn't it?
Any other benefits?
Doesn't swimming just make you feel famished?
So you could lose what you have gained by overeating afterwards?
BIKRAM YOGA
What's it all about?
So is there any evidence to back up the claims?
So you won't sweat off the pounds then?
Could they have got those benefits from yoga without the sweat?
So it's a bit of a washout?
Any other benefits?

Content: Resistance training is important for the elderly because it helps to maintain muscle mass. With the ageing population, one of the big concerns is people getting frail, says Timmons, who is studying weight training with elderly people. "At 60, you don't tend to die of frailty. If you keep going to 80 then you tend to have weak muscles and bones," he says. " If you fall, lose your balance, fracture – that's very much what drives poor quality of life and mortality." How much should you do? The government guidelines on exercise recommend two sessions a week, for instance lifting weights at the gym or merely carrying shopping bags. The subjects in his research spend time weight training at the gym like anyone else. " We take them to the gym three times a week and we do progressive weight training – multiple sets, 6-10 reps," Timmons says. What is he looking at?