Exercise Is Not About Vanity: Really

Geezer will not argue that everyone who exercises regularly is vanity-free, but the charge that exercisers would rather look good than feel good just makes them look bad, if that makes any sense. Whatev.  In the New York Times, Gina Kolata offers up a doctor and a pair of exercise physiologists who discuss the folly of building bulk, and the wisdom maintaining muscles that do what you want them to do, like open jars and give you the control of balance you had when you were young. William J. Kraemer, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut, tells Kolata that most effective way to stimulate muscles is with a system known as
progressive resistance. This approach, he says, can take about three hours a week
and includes days, once a week or so, when you lift weights so heavy
that you can do only three to five repetitions before your muscles are
too tired to lift again. Other days, says Kraemer, should be devoted to moderate
resistance, with weights you can lift 8 to 10 times. And then you
should have some light days, with weights you can lift 12 to 15 times
before your muscles tire.
Read more from Gina Kolata in the New York Times.