The Joy of Exercise

Now, you have a good start on your exercise program. You’re faithfully working those selected exercises three to five times a week. You’re starting to feel the muscles pull in and tighten.

Great!

We move ahead to the Second Step in the program, burning off some of that ugly fat. As we talked about before, the abdominal muscle exercises are not designed to burn off excess fat. They are to tone and strengthen the stomach muscles so you can have that hard, flat belly when the excess fat is gone. (more…)

It’s simple, inexpensive, can be done anytime, anywhere, and it can be done alone or with somebody. No waiting for a tee time, no trying to get a tennis court, no looking for a hoop to use for your round ball practice, and no trouble with not getting the team together to practice. Walking is not a team sport. Hooray!

How’s your heart? Over the past 30 years, heart attacks have tapered off a little. This is due to many factors, including fewer smokers and more exercise. (more…)

No matter how well adapted to water we are, no matter how strong at swimming or how expert at life-saving, which of us hasn’t stepped back at some point in our life and imagined the unimaginable: slowly sinking down to the bottom and never coming up. But then again, if iron and steel can remain at the surface when hammered thin and beaten into shape, it’s a fair bet that even the down-and-out `sinkers’ in our midsts will be able to float — with a little extra lift where it matters most.

Sinker — one adult male in 20 who finds buoyancy a let-down. (more…)

I don’t want to bore you with all the physiological changes that occur in the body when you exercise, but knowing something about the very practical benefits of exercise may convince you that it’s well worth the time and effort.

Exercise burns calories

The best reason to exercise is to burn off calories. (more…)

`It is impossible to find costumes which are modestly cut, still in attractive colours, and not made for the larger person. Petite, slim women don’t necessarily want to parade around the pool as though in a beauty pageant …’

When all you actually need to take the plunge is some water and a swimsuit of some description, it is ironic this begins by looking at all the different water equipment now on offer. After all, in this `natural gymnasium’, so perfectly adaptable to so many different needs, what could be more liberating, what more invigorating than the wonderful simplicity of water and skin? (more…)

Besides previous four primary factors (which mentioned on the my previous post), exercise exerts several secondary, indirect factors that help control weight. For some people, these indirect factors are even more important than the four direct factors. For example, exercise often decreases depression, which can be a significant factor in weight gain. In the early 1990s, I had a patient who suffered from depression, and who responded to it with food binges and subsequent weight gain. When she started to exercise, though, her depression lifted. This is not uncommon. Several studies have indicated that exercise is as effective for depression as antidepressants and counselling, because it increases levels of the neurotransmitters that dispel depression. When my patient’s depression cleared up, her food binges stopped, and she became slender and fit. On a few occasions she suspended her exercise programme, but when she did, she became depressed again. For her, exercise was very much like an effective pharmaceutical drug, because it improved the balance of her neurotransmitters. (more…)

You will probably never have the kind of body you want if you do not exercise. Diet alone will not do it.

A few of my patients who refused to exercise did reach their goal weights, but still didn‘t like how they looked. They were not very overweight, but their bodies were still flabby, puffy in places, and dimpled with cellulite. Their skin seemed to hang on them like a suit that didn‘t fit, and they just didn‘t have that shining spark of vitality that only exercise can ignite. Even these patients, though, were better off than most patients who refused to exercise. As a rule, when people have failed to exercise, they have failed to reach the weight they want. (more…)

Oxygen is the ignition factor in the burning of energy from the foods you eat. A good supply is always necessary for your body’s metabolic processes to take place efficiently. When your cells (particularly the cells of your brain) have an adequate supply, you feel well, have stamina, and don’t tire easily. If you tend to feel tired often, get depressed easily, or have trouble thinking clearly, it is likely that your body is not getting all the oxygen you need. In short, you are physically unfit.

Unfit people find themselves breathless after climbing stairs, lack concentration when they get involved in a demanding mental task, and are often too weary in the evenings to do anything but plunk themselves in front of a television set. They also tend to rely on stimulants or depressants such as alcohol to relax or to keep going. (more…)

If it has been a while since you had a complete physical and you don’t know exactly how fit you are for your age, why not book an appointment with your doctor or at a fitness assessment clinic — a medical one, not your local gym. Most private health insurers have these clinics, and are usually willing to provide this check-up service even if you are not a member of their scheme. The service does not come cheap; but it is worth the price.

The American fitness guru, Dr Kenneth Cooper (the man who coined `aerobics’), recommends a fitness stress test as part of any annual physical. This is where you are linked up to an electro-cardiogram while doing exercises such as walking, riding an exercise bicycle or running on a treadmill. By means of this test, doctors can see if any of the arteries to the heart are under strain or blocked. Even if you are a ‘fitness freak’, after 40 you should have this test done every two years, according to Cooper. (more…)

In the last few years there has been a redefinition of what it takes to project success. Not only do you need to look smart but you must also look healthy. Being fit and ‘in shape’ has become a metaphor for being in control of yourself. The logic extends to being in control of your career and therefore successful.

Sedentary readers may be ready to flip to another section. ‘Spare me another lecture about losing weight, taking up jogging or pumping iron. I am too busy and, quite frankly, beyond it.’ But take heart; the experts no longer recommend vigorous, sweaty pursuits as the only way to tone- up but small changes to your sedentary lifestyle that can strengthen your vital organs (your heart especially), make you look more alert — and feel more energetic. (more…)