From: poo@athena.mit.edu (Claude Poux)
Subject: Re: Building Muscle
Keywords: soloflex, muscle soreness, bodybuilding
Organization: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:19:59 GMT

In article <1992Dec30.223808.3103@afterlife.ncsc.mil> mssmith@afterlife.ncsc.mil (M. Scott Smith) writes:
>Hi..  I just joined this newsgroup, which seemed appropriate, since I just
>bought an exercise machine.  (It's like a Soloflex, in that it uses big
>"rubber bands", but it was much, much cheaper.  (It's a Weider.))

i hope it lasts........:)

>In a couple months I'll be going back to school, and I won't be able to take
>this exercise machine with me.  

well, they take up very little space.  you should try to take it if you can.

>While in school I'm not sure if I'll have
>access to weights (or time to use them, anyway).  Will all of my hard work
>so far go down the drain?  (I guess my question is, if you build up muscle,
>but then don't exercise as regularly, does that muscle go away or turn
>into fat?)

without exercise, your muscles aren't "needed", and will atrophy.  muscles
don't turn into fat, they disappear.  they can be supplanted by fat if you
continue to eat as much during this low-exercise period as you do during
your more active period.  if i could not lift weights for a long period of
time, i might do fairly intense aerobics to keep the fat level in my body low.

>Also, are these cross trainers (like Soloflex) that rely on the flex-bands
>any good?  Any advice on how to use them?

though i do 98%+ of my training with free weights (mostly dumbbells), i do
use my soloflex, which i've had for a number of years, for supplementary
work, or if inclement weather makes it very difficult to get to the gym.
machines like soloflex are very good for beginners in bodybuilding, and for
people who want to firm up their bodies but who aren't interested in
pursuing hardcore bodybuilding.  i use it to work muscles very
lightly when nursing injuries.  i believe that following instructions,
which, on the soloflex, are practical and sensible, is the best way to go.  
bear in mind that if your goal is to move into hardcore bodybuilding, you
will not get there via soloflex or weiderflex.  eventually you will have
to go the gym route to accomplish this.  for even the advanced
bodybuilder, however, the soloflex can serve as a valuable addition for
refinements, etc.

>Finally, sometimes I can exercise on it daily (same exercises) and not get
>sore.  I've heard that you shouldn't exercise muscles that are sore, but is
>it OK to do exercises daily if not sore?  Or does not being sore mean that
>one isn't lifting enough?

you may be using weights (resistances, i should say) that are so light
that your muscles are not being anaerobically challenged.  for instance,
you use your finger muscles daily to pick things up, yet they aren't sore
everyday because you don't use enough weight to really stress them, unless
you pick something up that is unusually heavy and do not use other muscles
to assist the movement (which is unlikely).

at the other extreme is the unlikelihood that you are using very heavy
weights but sleeping the rest of the time.  in that case, your muscles 
may have enough rest to recover enough to be exercised more than twice weekly.

ciao,
poo
Newsgroups: misc.fitness