Exercise Made Simple & Effective, Part 1

Body movement is the key to exercise.  It does not matter what kind of exercise you do, so long as you do it long enough to be effective.

Fifteen minutes of running, studies show, is comparable to two hours of tennis.

Moderate exercise, on the other hand, extended over a period of time, is best for fat metabolism.  If you walk four hours a day, you can do yourself as much good as running for 30 minutes or exercising with weights for an hour.

Many of us consider exercise only as a means of losing weight, and if we are satisfied with our weight, we leave exercise as important to our overall health.

The need for some form of regular exercise, according to an article in an issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, is based upon the fact that the body becomes more efficient when rigors of regular exercises are imposed upon it.  The heart and circulatory system respond to exercise by improved and more economical pumping action of the heart.  The demand for increased circulation due to extended exercise results in a physiological readjustment which makes this new facility second nature.  Through regular exercise, the organs and muscles get stronger and tire less easily.

Before starting an exercise program, we should commit ourselves to doing it regularly.  And as Editor Rodale of Prevention Magazine puts it, “When beginning a regular series of exercises, people first want to know how much they should do.  They don’t want to hurt themselves by making physical demands that their bodies are incapable of meeting.”  Rodale gives us more reminders on exercising well:

• Stop when fatigue sets in, rest and begin again, or wait until the next exercise schedule.
• Remember that exhaustion is not the aim of exercise.
• Over-exercising is not necessary, for even the slightest increase in exercise effort will become automatic and increase your endurance without being aware of the effect involved. 

Who Should Exercise.  Is exercise good for everybody?  Yes, if the person is in good health and aware of his limitations.  Muscle power increases in most individuals into early adulthood, around the 20’s.  At ages 30 or 40, there is a gradual decline in muscle strength because of the lack of regular exercise.  People avoid walking when they can ride; they never lift something that can be wheeled.  Is it any wonder that their muscle strength declines? Children don’t need any encouragement to run, play, swim, etc., but a middle-ager needs determination to stretch his muscles and do so regularly, as exercise physiologists would advise.

(We’ll share with you more exercise tips next Monday, 26 Nov 2012. – J.P.)