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muscle gTowth, two basic items are needed. There must be muscle stimulation such as a high-intensity or muscle fatiguing exercise like Nautilus and, just as important, a proper diet. In muscle growth, stimulation always precedes nutrition. Muscle stimulation or its contractions result in the formation of creatine, the chemical responsible for turning on the RNA (ribonucleaicacid) fibers in the muscle cells which increase the cells' size, resulting in muscle growth. This process in turn stimulates the muscles to form myosin, one of the contraction proteins within the muscle fiber. Simplified, when the muscle contracts, the resulting creatine production causes the muscle to form myosin. enabling it to handle greater weight or contractions. This process is continuous. The body contains three types of .muscles:· the voluntary or skeletal' muscles: the involuntary muscles (digestive tract): and the heart muscle. Our body movement is the result of over 434 skeletal muscles - what we are concerned with while exercising. These are composed of 20 million smaller units, the muscle fibers, and make up about 40% of ·our body weight. Another 20% is fat content. Fat's major function is the long-term storage of energy, plus heat insulation and pr!>tection of the inner organs. Chemically analyzed, a pound of fat and a pound of muscle contain water, fats and proteins but at entirely different levels. Muscle is 70% water while fat consists of over 70% fatty tissues with the remainder being 22% water and only six percent protein, compared to muscle content of 22% protein and only 7% fatty tissues. Excess fat hinders muscle strength. The fat located in the muscles actually restricts their movement during exercise by serving like a friction plate against the muscle fibers. Obviously. the less fat content, the easier the increase in muscle strength and growth, which is one reason for Nautilus. For stimulating muscle growth the Nautilus program is perhaps the safest way to train; with faster results, and it involves less time consuming workouts. The Nautilus weight program is formulated around the "direct resistance" theory. To achieve this "direct resistance" through the entire weight lifting movement, a cam is used. The cam's size resembles that of the muscle group that particular machine is exercising. The cam maintains a constant, even resistance, exercising the toial muscle - not just part as in bar~1I exercise. Your pushpulling force is levered over the cam to the weights resulting in a smooth flowing action instead of the usual jerking action associated with barbell exercising. . Another plus for the Nautilus program, if not the mos.l important 'aspect for motorcycle riders. is the enhanced muscle flexibility due to the cam's rotary movement. This rotary/ constant-resistance movement is only found on the Nautilus equipment. The rotary action develops long smooth msucles, as opposed to barbell "short bulk" muscles, due to the stretching action of the unit. This muscle flexibility offers the rider greater protection from muscle strains, pulls and dreaded tears because of the muscle's already greater rotating movement. This also minimizes the threat of broken bones with the protection of a greater muscle mass to pad the bones. And if an unfortunate accident does occur, the rehabilitation tiine should be much shorter due to muscle conditioning. The Nautilus workout has been designed ,to be a complete blow-out. Our first exposure to the program left us ungodly sore for ~bout two to three days afterwards. The purpose is to break down the muscle groups completely - the larger groups first (leg, chest, arm) and then the smaller, specialized muscles (wrist, calves, etc.). The program usually uses 12 machines involving about 14 exercises depending on your personal need. Each machine as stated earlier, is a blow-out, and will completely fatigue a given muscle group to the point of exhaustion at which time you move to the next machine. The usually recommended eight to' 10 repetitions should be increased to 12 to 15 reps because of greater muscle endurance needed by competition motorcycle riders. Research has shown that, for building muscular size and strength, lowering the resistance is far more improiant than raising the resistance, which means the hard. part of the exercise should be bringing the weight back to the starting position. The Nautilus count is usually two seconds lift and a four second count back to the starting position. However. the weights are not to be rested at the start position - the temptation can be alleviated in some instances by positioning the seat height, which is fully adjusta ble on most of the machines that work the larger muscle groups. This takes the body a little getting used to if you haven't been exposed to a previous training program. The frequency of the workouts should differ with' the riding season. Blackwell recommends that beginners go three or four sessions in the: first week to completely break down the muscles, then a rest of a week or two, then a three times per week program for pre-season and a two day workout schedule during the actual competition season to maintain maximum body and cardiovascular strength. For the beginner Mark recommends going through four 'machines, then rest, then four more, etc., until' yo body can ada pt to the exercise load. 1 2 4 6 The Program Before the machines are used your pulse rate should be around 180. This is accomplished with the use of a stationary bicycle or treadmill, giving your body a 10 minute warm up. The machines are next. The accompanying 'illustrations show you the entire 30 minute rou,tine. Have fun ... The Nautilus program, when used correctly can be of enormous value, both physically and mentally. There will be a. thousand and one excuses per week not to train. Granted, any scheduled workout will take a certain amount of willpower, b.ut it all comes down to one idea - how bad do you' want to win. or more importantly, how important is your health? The decision is up to you, the means are readily available_ However, the Nautilus program should only be viewed upon as a training supplement. It will not make you more talented at your given sport whether that is motocross, speedway, running or rugby. Only hours of practice in those special fields wiU make you a winner. Nautilus will help you reach your peak and help maintain your state of health to a high degree but it can never replace. in our instance, actual riding time. For more information, contact your local Nautilus center or see Johanna Stenersen for a trial session. Nautilus Newport 8780 Warner Ave. Fountain Valley. CA 7141847-3011 • 7 10 12 Here's part of the Nautilus system: 1. ,hip/back; 2. leg extension; 3. leg curl; 4. pullover; 5. multi exerciser; 6. pulldown; 7. rowing torso; 8. double shoulder; 9. shoulder shrug; 10. four-way neck; 11. bicepl tricep compound and bicep plate; 12. multi exerciser.