Healthy Exercise

EXERCISE: DESTROY THE OLD & REBUILD

BENEFITS OF EXERCISE As people age, they lose lean muscle, and their ability to utilize oxygen decreases. Joints become stiff, and metabolism slows down. Are these changes inevitable? No. They are directly related to decreased exercise. Through a regular exercise regimen, we can rebuild our muscles, increase our metabolic rates, lower our risk of heart disease, improve our posture, and increase the very quality of our lives. Exercise can be broken down into three main categories: resistance training, cardiovascular exercise, and flexibility. Each type has specific benefits for the body, and some have been shown to increase Growth Hormone levels. Vigorous exercise results in more time spent in deep sleep the night after the exercise. Adults who do not exercise vigorously spend 5 to 40 minutes each night in phase 4 deep sleep. Those who exercise typically spend 90-120 minutes each night in phase 4 deep sleep. The growth hormone is only produced in the pituitary during phase 4 deep sleep. The importance of that is Growth hormone stimulates the production of Insulin Growth Factor in the liver, and IGF stimulates fat cells to release fat stores into glucose and facilitates the transport of that sugar into the bloodstream. Growth hormone stimulates muscle growth and bone growth. The net result is a lower percentage of body fat and stronger bones. The following listing will explain the three categories and the tremendous benefits of each. Still, it combines all three groups that produce a well-balanced exercise program and, consequently, the best results. A personal fitness trainer is suggested for people who have not followed a consistent exercise program in the past. A gym or athletic center can provide the equipment and help create a routine habit for the rest of your life. RESISTANCE TRAINING Resistance training, or weight training, can be found in many forms. Working out with weight machines and free weights is the most obvious option for most people, but rubber tubing can also provide resistance, as can water in a swimming pool. We can use our body weight to add resistance to exercises such as push-ups, standing squats, and crunches. Regardless of which method you find the most appealing, here are some things resistance training can do for you: Reduce Body Fat and Cholesterol Weight training, over any other form of exercise, is the most effective way to bum fat! Strength training is a more effective means of losing weight than aerobic activity because it burns calories while exercising and while one is at rest. In addition to burning calories during a resistance workout, our metabolic rates stay elevated after exercise as muscle fibers are rebuilt. Many of the calories we consume will be used in the repair process instead of being stored as fat. The increase in the metabolic rate can last long after the resistance workout had ended; conversely, after an aerobic exercise, the metabolic rate usually returns to normal shortly after the activity has ceased, producing no significant "after-burn." Once you have succeeded in adding lean muscle tissue to your body, your metabolism will be higher than it was before starting your exercise program, even at rest. Every pound of muscle you add to your body increases the number of calories it needs to get through the day. The human body uses approximately 30 to 50 calories per day per pound of muscle. Therefore, if you add five pounds of lean muscle to your body, it could result in an additional 150 to 250 calories burned per day, even on days you don't exercise. Resistance training assists in raising Growth Hormone (HGH) levels higher than can be achieved through hormone modulation alone. A 1991 study done by Dr. William Kraemer and his associates at Pennsylvania State University showed increased HGH levels associated with weight training. These levels tripled when subjects lifted weights at 70 percent of their maximum capacity and quadrupled at 85 percent of maximum capacity. Resistance training puts added demands on your bones, which increases bone density. This helps to prevent osteoporosis and significantly improve bone density if you are already experiencing problems. A 1988 study from the Washington University School of Medicine concluded that weight-bearing exercise leads to significant increases in bone mineral content, maintained with continued training in older subjects. Weight training can help everyone become stronger—most people, no matter what their age, experience improvements in strength in a matter of weeks. A study conducted by McCartney et al. (Dec 1993) examined the effects of a 42-week progressive weight-lifting program on subjects in their 60's, 70's, and 80's. After approximately ten months, they found significant gains in strength (mean increases up to 65%) in the exercising group but no benefit in their non-exercising control group. The most significant strength increases occurred at 6 and 12 weeks into the program. Reduce Injury Keeping your muscles and joints strong helps one to reduce injury. Muscle strength decreases the stress on bones during impact exercises (like walking, jogging, and tennis) and improves dynamic balance to make a person less susceptible to falls and other mishaps. To quote Dr. Wayne Westcott, a noted fitness expert and researcher, "Stronger muscles lead to stronger bones and connective tissue, all of which work together to increase our functional capacity and decrease injury potential." Make Everyday Tasks Easier For many people, activities like lifting a grandchild require maximum effort. For some, merely stooping down or trying to get up from all fours is a challenge. Suppose, for a moment, that the maximum amount of weight your biceps can carry is 20 pounds, and you need to carry your 20-pound suitcase through an airport. This task would require 100% of your effort. Now suppose we put you in a resistance-training program and increase your biceps strength to 40 pounds. Carrying the same 20-pound suitcase would only require half the effort, making the task much more manageable. Through weight training, you can increase your overall strength, giving you more stamina to accomplish the everyday challenges of life. Promote Emotional Stability One exercise session, 20 minutes or longer, generates 90 to 120 minutes of the relaxation response. Some people call this post-exercise euphoria, or the endorphin response, which is caused by exercise-stimulated neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals in the brain that mediate our moods and emotions. They can make us feel better and less stressed. The American Council on Exercise recommends 20 minutes of exercise (cardiovascular, resistance training, or flexibility), six to seven days a week, to help promote emotional wellness. Avoid Muscle Atrophy Most people over 20 loose one-half to one pound of muscle mass each year due to inactivity. The good news is that you don't have to fit the statistic. You can maintain and increase lean mass through resistance training. In combination with hormone modulation and sound nutrition, a well-balanced strength-training program is your best defense against muscle deterioration. Improve Body Composition We know there is no way to "spot reduce." Burning calories and reducing overall fat intake will get the fat off your abdominals, not doing sit-ups. However, you can "spot shape" through weight training. You can directly target and build shapely arms, legs, abdominals, etc. while adding lean muscle to your body in the process. Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat and will, therefore, have a positive effect on your metabolic rate. CARDIOVASCULAR EXERCISE Cardiovascular exercise is the most popular form of exercise today. It includes any activity that causes an increase in heart rate for a sustained period, e.g., walking, cycling, swimming, and aerobic exercises; of any type are all examples. The many benefits of cardiovascular exercise are discussed below. Increase Life Span Support for moderate physical activity has come from various research, including a study of Harvard alumni who followed Harvard grads over 30 years. The study found a decreased death rate from coronary heart disease and other causes of death among moderately active alumni, i.e., recreational sports, climbing stairs, or gardening. During aerobic exercise, our bodies utilize both stored carbohydrates and fats for fuel. The longer and more rigorously we work, the more total calories we burn. Decrease Risk of Heart Attack We now know that one mechanism in reducing the rate of arteriosclerosis is by lowering insulin levels. A low insulin level corresponds with a low blood glucose level, which protects against glycation of proteins, including LDL lipid particles in the blood. High insulin levels correspond to higher rates of arteriosclerosis. Physical exercise lowers these levels, helping lower the risk of heart attacks. Increase Heart Fitness Cardiovascular exercise helps decrease blood pressure, reduce stroke risk, and prevent coronary, circulatory, and respiratory problems. The American Heart Association has stressed the importance of a minimum of 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least three days a week for years. Study after study has shown activity to be one of the most effective means of lowering blood pressure. Aerobic exercise strengthens the heart muscle, enabling it to circulate blood throughout the body with less effort. Increase Growth Hormone Levels A 1991 study performed by Dr. William Kraemer and his associates at Pennsylvania State University showed that moderate to high-intensity cardiovascular exercise might increase HGH levels from 140 to 266 percent. Reduce Stress Cardiovascular exercise 20 minutes or longer in duration at moderate intensity has been shown to reduce stress significantly. Increase Endurance Regular aerobic exercise helps increase muscular endurance making us more able to perform everyday activities, like shopping or walking a flight of stairs, without becoming winded. Improve Quality of Sleep Researchers at Stanford and Emory Universities and the University of Oklahoma reported that older people who participated in brisk walking or low-impact aerobics four times a week fell asleep faster at night than their inactive peers. After four months, those who exercised regularly reported that they fell asleep in less than half the time and slept almost an hour longer than before. FLEXIBILITY Flexibility can be defined as "the range of possible motion around a joint." Flexibility is increasingly recognized as crucial for complementing muscular strength, facilitating proper posture, and ensuring full range of motion in our joints as we age. It can also help to reduce stress, alleviate low back pain, and significantly reduce the chance of injury. A stretching program can be as simple as stretching your major muscle groups upon waking in the morning or as involved as a power yoga class. Although only using your muscles helps lengthen them to some extent, the recommended method to increase flexibility is through a regular stretching program 3-7 days a week. The benefits of flexibility training are discussed below. Alleviate Low Back Pain Lack of flexibility is the most common cause of low back pain. Some experts believe that stretching can alleviate up to 80% of low back pain cases. For example, since one common cause of lower back pain is short-tight hip-flexor muscles, a stretching program to lengthen these muscles may reduce the risk of lower back pain. Additionally, both flexibility and a full range of motion in joints are vital for good posture. The American Arthritis Foundation advises that we move our joints through their full range of motion every day. Normal daily activities caution, DO NOT move joints through their full range and, therefore, should NOT replace range-of-motion exercises. Reduce Stress Michael J. Alter, a former gymnastics coach and author of The Science of Flexibility, states, "One of the greatest benefits of stretching is that it can help reduce stress. From a purely physiological perspective, relaxation is the cessation of muscular tension. Tension wastes energy; a contracting muscle requires more exertion than a relaxed one. Everyday experience has shown that a relaxed muscle is less susceptible to fatigue and aches and pain."

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