WASHINGTON -- Question: What are wind sprints and what are there health benefits?
Answer: "Wind sprints" is just another name for interval training: Short bursts of intense exercise (where you get winded), followed by longer periods of active recovery, says Leigh Crews, a certified fitness instructor a certified personal trainer. An example, she says, would be for a jogger to increase the intensity of the jog (either by going faster or increasing the incline) for 30 seconds, then going back to a comfortable pace for 2 minutes, repeating this sequence several times. There are many benefits of interval training. According to the Reebok University Program Development Team, interval training can increase your aerobic endurance (this means that you are capable of working aerobically for longer periods of time and at a more intense level), burn more total calories per exercise session, maximize your time in training, and provide variety to your workout.
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Question: I seem to have stalled on making gains with my flat-bench press. How can I move forward?
Answer: The most common reason for which people reach a weight plateau in their bench presses is that they've been doing the same routine (same weight/same number of repetitions) for too long or their triceps are too weak, says Mitchell Shechtman, director of fitness operations for BodyScapes in Boston.
"In order to break through your plateau you need to actually take a break from the flat-bench press for up to four weeks. You need to prioritize strengthening your triceps with a close grip bench press (hands positioned so that when you stretch your thumbs out along the bar, they touch) at about 85 percent of the weight you use in your normal press," he adds.
Concentrate on "exploding" from your chest with the weight. He recommends that you add a series of dumbell incline presses to work not only your triceps, but also your shoulders and pectoralis minor muscles. Make sure to work them as well by adding such exercises as pull-ups and bent-over rows.
"Make sure to keep your feet flat on the floor and keep your shoulder blades pinched together as you lift, while always keeping them on the bench," says Shectman Joe Downie, a certified fitness coach with SparkPeople.
"Exercises that build the shoulders, arms and upper back work especially well such as shoulder presses, curls, pull-ups, triceps dips." He also recommends super-set the flat bench workout with some push-ups.
(Send your questions to Steve Infanti at scinfanti@earthlink.net .)
