By Staff
Question of the week: I have seen advertisements and signs up for this "Power Pump" class. Can you tell me what is it, who is it for and what are the benefits of it?
Answer: This is an excellent question. Power Pump is a newer class that we offer at the Niles-Buchanan YMCA and it is for everyone. One great thing about this class is that it does not matter what level of strength you have anyone can do it. It is a group exercise class, which involves weight lifting.
Each participant will use a three-pound barbell and weighted plates to each person's ability. It is an hour-long class, and within that hour each muscle group will be targeted and your heart rate will go up. Even though it is primarily a weight lifting class, you will still receive some cardiovascular benefits.
Benefits of Power Pump:
Increased bone density
Improved body composition (less fat, more muscle)
Improved muscular strength and endurance
Increase in caloric expenditure
Increase in flexibility
Improved quality of life
Provides a group setting
Supervised exercise with a trained instructor
Accommodates all fitness levels
Easy to learn and follow
Great class for men and women
Let's look at a few facts about why weight training is so important.
Increased bone density - Weight training has shown to help increase bone mineral density. This is important because it helps in the treatment of osteoporosis.
Weight training increases your percent of lean body mass, which is a positive considering more than 50 percent of Americans are overweight.
For every pound of lean muscle mass you gain, it is estimated that you will increase your metabolism between 30 and 40 calories. This is a pretty good deal. If you were to gain five pounds of muscle, you could increase your caloric intake to a possible 200 calories per day. But beware - if you stop resistance training and lose those five pounds of muscle, then you are down those 200 allowable calories per day.
Weight training can help the average everyday person with everyday tasks such as: lifting groceries, doing housework, caring around grandchildren.
With all of this in mind there in no reason why we all should not be doing some type of resistance training. Power Pump is the perfect class to achieve these results. Of course you still need to keep up the cardiovascular and healthier eating routine. This all might seem like a lot to do, but just imagine how much better you could feel. For all of us who are too busy, you can do a beneficial routine including both resistance training and cardiovascular training within one hour. That is not a big price to pay for your health.
Thought of the week: Take time to work, it is the price of success.
Do not be late signing up for boys basketball league and the First Source Bank/Niles-Buchanan YMCA Thanksgiving day run!