Between sets, I mean. I've had several readers writing in to say that despite following fairly regular weight-training schedules at the gym, they don't see any growth in their muscles or changes in the way their bodies appear. Now, ironical as it may seem, one reason for this could be the lack of resting between sets of exercise. I've seen some people who exercise furiously and relentlessly, moving seamlessly from set to set. This inevitably makes them feel more exhausted quickly (and many may equate that feeling with a good workout) but it doesn't help. In fact, doing sets without resting properly between them can inhibit muscles from growing stronger. Weight-training puts extra stress on your muscles and if you don't rest between sets, your efforts to do subsequent sets can deliver below par results. Just how much time should you rest between sets? The thumb-rule: 40-60 seconds. That's just a minute. Incidentally, here's a rough description of how weight-training works. When you lift or pull weights, your muscles suffer tiny ruptures. When muscle cells re-generate to repair those tears, they grow stronger. And your muscles grow bigger.

It's important too to vary your exercises and surprise your muscles. Muscles get used to the same exercise if it is repeated over and over. Little tweaks to basic exercises can get you disproportionately big gains. Take the simple biceps dumb-bell curl. Here's a twist to the basic format. Hold the dumb-bells with your palm facing you (instead of outward in the conventional curl). Now, as you flex your fore-arm towards your upper arm, twist your arm so that your palm now faces outward. Complete the curl and go back to position one. Try to keep your elbows close to your body and do not swing your arms or body. Try it to feel the difference. For help, see the illustration.

-Muscles Mani
write to musclesmani@intoday.com

ALL ABOUT CFIDS

Feeling unbearably tired and exhausted all the time? Don't just take rest and hope it will go away. It could be Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome (CFIDS), popularly known as "yuppie flu", and it could hurt. Here's the lowdown:

Symptoms: Unbearable fatigue, extremely poor stamina, problems with concentration and short-term memory, and flu-like symptoms such as sore throat, headache, anxiety, etc.

Who's susceptible: Affects more women than men. People aged between 20-45 years and who live in urban areas are more susceptible. However, it is not hereditary.

Treatment: Says Dr. Arjun Rastogi, Consultant Physician, G.M. Modi Hospital: "It's best to be under cognitive behaviour therapy. Ayurveda and yoga are other approaches to cure CFIDS." If you're feeling exhausted for too long, it could be a symptom of a bigger malaise. You would be well advised to take a break, and yes, see the doc.

-Indrani Rajkhowa