Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "
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14.08.2013 |
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Strength training helps women recovering from breast cancer stay attractive and healthy
Study
The experiment lasted 18 months. For the first six months the women did nothing. This enabled the researchers to determine the effect of hormone therapy on inactive women.
In months 7-12 the women did aerobic training. They exercised every day, after warming-up for several minutes doing 40 minutes of moderately intensive exercise. They walked briskly, cycled or ran on a treadmill in a gym, so that their heart beat rose to 65-75 percent of their maximal heart rate.
In months 13-18 the women continued to do their aerobic training, but then added strength training to their regime. They trained three times a week for 45 minutes. A workout consisted of 6-8 plank exercises, a couple of exercises for the upper body (3 sets of 15 reps) and three exercises for the legs (16 reps).
Results
The same was the case for halting lean body mass loss [LBM], which includes muscle. Lean body mass decreased dramatically in the period that the women were receiving hormone therapy but not training, decreased less in months 7-12 and actually increased in months 13-18.
Hormone therapy stimulates the growth of fat mass [FBM]. During the first six months of hormone therapy the women gained almost four kilograms of body fat. Their BMI increased in that period from 22.3 to 24.3. The aerobic training and strength training halted the increase in fat mass, and resulted in a kilogram loss of fat. After 18 months the women's average BMI was 23.5.
The fat that women gain during hormone therapy builds up mainly in the 'wrong places': around the middle of the body and the abdomen. Hormone therapy makes the waist disappear. The average waist:hip ratio [WHR] of the women increased in weeks 1-6 from 0.75 to 0.80. According to anthropological studies men worldwide find a female body with a WHR of 0.7 the most attractive.
In months 7-12 the women's waist:hip ratio fell to 0.78 and in months 13-18 it fell further to 0.76.
Diet
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