Resistance Routine

[GershonSurge]

I'm posting one of my daily resistance routines for comments and to stimulate a crossflow of information. Except for the bodyweight exercises, I use one dumbbell. When I start a cycle, I do six reps of all exercises. Each week, I increase by one rep until I get to 12 reps. Then I increase the weight where possible on all exercises and go back to 6 reps.

I only do one set of each exercise. I vary the speed so I work to exhaustion, which I define as barely able to maintain good form. 

This routine is short on bicep exercises, so I do some extra sets of curls during the day.

The routine takes about 16 minutes at 6 reps and 30 minutes at 12 reps. I don't take any rest breaks as one arm is resting while the other is working. 

1	Four count jumping jacks
2	Four count toe touches
3	Push-ups
4	Lunge pass through
5	Neck Raises on all fours
6	Neck Raises on back
7	Bench Press – Left arm
8	Bench Press – Right arm
9	Fly aways - left arm
10	Fly aways - right arm
11	Inclined Bench Press – Left Arm
12	Inclined Bench Press – Right Arm
13	Inclined Bench Fly aways - left arm
14	Inclined Bench Fly aways - right arm
15	Seated Concentrated Curl – Left Arm
16	Seated Concentrated Curl – Right arm
17	Wrist Curls (Left) Palms in
18	Wrist Curls (Right) Palms in
19	Wrist Curls (Left) Palms forward
20	Wrist curls (Right) Palms forward
21	Wrist Curls (Left) Palms back
22	Wrist Curls (Right) Palms back
23	Wrist Roller (near side) (6=1, 9=2, 12 =3)
24	Wrist Roller (far side) (6=1, 9=2, 12=3)
25	Grip Left (3 sets)
26	Grip Right (3 sets)
27	Seated Dumbbell one-arm Triceps extension – Left arm
28	Seated Dumbbell one-arm Triceps extension – Right arm
29	Arnold Press – Left arm
30	Arnold Press – Right Arm
31	Seated Side Lateral Extension – Left Arm
32	Seated Side Lateral Extension – Right Arm
33	One arm vertical row – Left Arm - Raise Left Leg
34	One arm vertical row – Right Arm - Raise Right Leg
35	Leaning vertical row – Left Arm - Raise Left Leg
36	Leaning Vertical row – Right Arm - Raise Right Leg
36	Glutes Walk Right Leg
37	Glutes Walk Left Leg
38	Goblet Squat
39	Single Leg Raises (Bench) – Left Leg
40	Single Leg Raises (Bench) – Right Leg
41	Leg side raises. (Bench) – Left Leg
42	Leg side raises (Bench) – Right Leg
43	V-up (Bench)
44	Dead Lift
45	Side Lean – Left side
46	Side Lean – Right side
47	Heel Raises
48	Alternating Toe Raises

[Dominique]

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@GershonSurge wrote:

The best source of information I could find was from Nathan Pritikin in this PDF page 137.

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I’m not sure why you would produce some obscure writing by Nathan Pritikin from decades ago as the "best source of information" on the subject at hand. What were his credentials in this field? Was he doctor? OK, I know you don’t trust doctors (except for the good Dr. McDougall you keep quoting over and over again), but doctors still tend to have a better understanding of the way the human body works than the general population. Did Pritikin have a background in exercise science? I don’t think so.

You said you’ll stay away from heavy weight lifting, because of its potentially dangerous effect on blood pressure. OTOH, you believe (quoting the expert Pritikin) "healthy arteries don’t break" (now, I will also agree with this statement). So given that you are following a diet that guarantees healthy arteries (in fact, the only one that does so, according to you), why would you be worried about the risk? Surely your arteries could withstand the temporary elevation in BP induced by heavy lifting just fine, couldn’t they?

[GershonSurge]

@Dominique

First, I would like to dispel some misconceptions you have. I don't only use Dr. McDougall as a source. I've mentioned others like Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. Esselstyne, Dr. Ornish, Dr. Cooper, Nathan Pritikin. They all have something in common. They have spent decades researching diet and exercise. They are mostly old and healthy. They all have published works that tie together mountains of research in a way an average person can comprehend. They are all treating patients with seemingly miraculous success.  All of them link the research of the past to the present and identify the healthy thread of information. 

If you choose to cast aside research that is decades old, then you must cast aside today's research because soon it will be decades old. When I study a subject, I do an archaeological dig through the information. Along the way, I find centers of information that haven't significantly changed their conclusions over time. They are deep in bibliographic references so I can see how the arrived at their conclusions. I can follow these references back to find the previous centers of information. I can also pay attention to current studies where the researchers have built on a solid foundation. Note: I did not say the same information.

Searches through PubMd or other research sites can provide good information. Let's look at a statement in one of your studies:

Over the past 10 years, nearly two dozen cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown a direct and positive relationship between the effects of resistance training and bone density.

It's more like over the last 120 years or so. You can find the references in Pritikin's work. So, on one hand, I'll accept the conclusion as true. On the other hand, studies over the same number of years show consumption of dairy products causes signficant bone loss in spite of exercise. You'd have to combine the two findings to obtain optimum results.

Let's look at another study you referenced:

Resistance training may assist prevention and management of type 2 diabetes by decreasing visceral fat, reducing HbA1c, increasing the density of glucose transporter type 4, and improving insulin sensitivity.

Pritikin referenced the same type of results in his work. The caveat is it only occurs during the exercise and for a short period afterwards. Corrected: The effect is longer term. This finding is insignificant if you know type 2 Diabetes can be cured in a week or two with a whole food plant based diet.

You said this is an obscure document. You are correct. There were only 50 copies printed. They were given to other researchers and libraries. However, you would not be correct in suggesting the information is obscure. Nathan Prikin published best-selling books outlining it. You can choose to ignore them because they were published decades ago, or you can choose to read them and see his conclusions have been confirmed by modern research. In fact, EVERY study you referenced simply repeated Pritikin's work you can find in that obscure publication and his books. That should be enough credentials for you to at least be interested.

You asked if Pritikin is an exercise scientist. Yes, he was. One year he trained six athletes to complete in the Ironman Triatholon. They took the first six places. You would have to listen to his tapes to find that. Maybe I'm off by one. I'll put this in a category where I'll have to go back and check my facts. I'm sure he had some people helping on the training for each sport. 

On to weight training. I haven't found a center of information yet. Pritikin is close. He does establish that resistance training is good, but too much weight may cause some issues. Cardio training is another matter. He doesn't address any resistance training techniques that I saw.

In my own situation, I've only been somewhat strictly eating a whole food plant based diet two or three years. It takes about five years to completely reverse heart disease. The risk of a cardiac event becomes low within a short time for normal exercise. I don't want to press the limits by lifting heavy weights where I have to huff and puff. Besides, I don't like doing that. 

I'm comfortable saying people who have a known or suspected compromise of their cardiovascular system shouldn't lift heavy or do high intensity cardio. This would include anyone with a total chloresterol over 135 to 150 (there are different limits depending on the source), blood pressure over 140/80, or is obese. The deaths during exercise or in the hours after make the news, but a blood clot can take days to cause a problem.

I think I answered all your questions except why I don't trust doctors. They don't get nutrition training. They are disease mongerers who want to give everyone a drug for a cure instead of removing the cause. They are constrained by the protocol of the group they work for and can't even suggest diet or exercise cures. There is more, but I don't want to write a book for here.