One of the most frequent questions I hear from my patients is: “What can I do to feel better?” The answer is usually quite simple: combining a healthy diet (as I’ve addressed in prior columns) with regular exercise will help to improve practically anyone’s general well being.
A wealth of studies have established the benefits of exercise. They lead to two very important questions: What is the best kind of exercise? How much exercise do I need?
Regular exercise or physical activity can do everyone a world of good. It will help maintain proper cholesterol levels, help to cope with arthritis, treat depression, and decrease high blood pressure. It will also prevent heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and accidental falls which result in bone fracture. Lastly, of course, it is a key factor for weight loss and maintenance.
Exercise is beneficial to weight control for several reasons. Clearly, it burns calories while you participate. In addition, it speeds up your metabolism 24 hours per day simply by doing it regularly! This causes you to burn more calories on an ongoing basis. Finally, it turns fat into muscle. Muscle, as it turns out, is biologically active. It performs actions that require energy, and thus burns calories. Fat just sits there and requires very little energy. Given all of this, it is truly mind-boggling that only a minority of Americans get enough exercise. A Harvard School of Public Health study estimates that the cost of inactivity to the United States is at least $24 billion a year. How is this possible? Not only is there a much higher health care cost involved in taking care of inactive people, but that group also misses far more work, resulting in lower productivity.
If you don’t currently exercise and you lead a fairly inactive life, then ANY increase in activity is good for you. Some data suggests that simply walking (plan to cover a mile in 30 minutes) for one to two hours per week (try breaking it down to 15 to 20 minutes a day) will yield noticeable benefits. This would be considered mild exercise, which also might include playing the piano, canoeing, golfing with a golf cart, or slow ballroom dancing. More worthwhile is moderate-intensity exercise. This level of exercise will cause a slight but noticeable increase in your breathing and heart rate. If you are able to exercise hard enough to break a sweat but are still able to comfortably carry on a conversation, then you can consider it moderate-intensity. Examples would be brisk walking (3-4 miles per hour, or a mile in 15 to 20 minutes), cycling, swimming slowly, and golfing without a cart. A vigorous level of exercise includes tennis, fast cycling, skiing, and jogging.
How much exercise do most of us need? The U.S. Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American College of Sports Medicine all recommend that you get moderate exercise on most days of the week for at least 30 minutes. You can do all 30 minutes at once or break it up into 10 to 15 minute periods. Keep in mind, however, that 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity is an excellent starting point, not an upper limit. Exercising longer, harder, or both can bring greater health benefits.
Strength training, also known as weight training or resistance training, includes any workout that uses resistance – like weights – to strengthen and condition the musculo-skeletal system. It includes weight lifting, resistance band workouts, cycling, climbing stairs, and pushups. These types of exercises can improve coordination, balance, and muscle strength. These are precisely the skills that older people need to help maintain their ability to perform functional tasks such as walking, rising from a chair, climbing stairs, and carrying groceries. Finally, don’t forget your bone health: weight-bearing exercise has been shown to help fight osteoporosis.
Let me leave you with some tips to help include exercise in your life:
-Make it fun! Try a new sport like tennis or rollerblading. The more you enjoy exercise, the more likely you are to stick with it.
-Make it sociable. Walk with a friend, your spouse, or your family in the morning or evening.
-Keep an exercise log. It will help to make you more accountable.
-Use 20 minutes of your lunch hour to take a walk.
-We can’t all afford a full-time personal trainer! Try hiring one for a session or two to help you plan your weight and flexibility training. Use their expertise to give you the confidence you’ll need to continue on your own.
-Whenever possible, use the stairs instead of elevators and escalators.
-Park your car or get off your bus a stop or two before your final destination. Walk the rest of the way!
-Consider buying a piece of cardiovascular equipment for your home such as a treadmill, bike, or elliptical machine. Then, don’t use it as a clothes rack.
-Combine normal activities with cardiovascular exercise. Get on your home equipment while watching TV, reading the newspaper or returning phone calls.
-If you have not been exercising up until now, PLEASE consult your physician before beginning.
-And remember, ANY increase in physical activity will improve your health. Your body will thank you.
Tags: Exercise