Exercise

Exercise

Written by Dave Barth, 2003

Why exercise?

It has been established in our culture that exercise is important for continued health. As the aging process moves forward, it is easy to adapt to a sedentary lifestyle, but exercise should be continued as long as possible to maintain good health.

It has also been established that the mind and body interact and are symbiotic, dependent on each other. Physical exercise is believed to cause the release of endorphins into the brain that imbue us with good feelings.

Which exercise? The choice of which exercise to engage in is up to the individual, with the consent of their doctor, and it may change several times during a lifetime to accommodate less endurance and reduced strength that are a result of injury or the aging process. Most children have a desire to exercise and be active, a key to healthy growth. However, cultural, employment, and aging considerations tend to cause people to reduce the amount they exercise as they get older. Injuries can also cause a slowdown in a person's exercise regimen. Even after a person is completely healed from an injury, with no continuing pain, he or she may not be motivated to return to their previous exercise program.

Exercise programs Although the term "program" elicits thoughts of a difficult, supervised exercise regimen to be accomplished at specific times, an individual should be willing to participate in a "program" that suits him or her.

For example, body builders often have a strict program that requires regular workouts, a strictly controlled menu, and a trainer to guide them and supervise their conditioning progress. This approach usually involves muscle stress machines and weights. It can be tailored to strengthen any group of muscles in the body. While this approach to good health usually results in a muscular, low-fat, attractive body, it is usually too involved and time-consuming for the average person to undertake.

Exercise choices Persons who wish to do some exercise on a more informal basis have many possibilities available to them including walking, sidewalk roller skating, jogging, swimming, bicycling, ice skating, etc.

Walking Walking is usually the safest form of exercise because a person is used to walking, it is done a slow speed, and the person can maneuver easily to avoid obstacles. There is usually no need to wear any sort of protective clothing other than sunscreen to prevent sunburn. An advantage of walking is that it can be done nearly anywhere: around the neighborhood, in a mall, in a park, in the country, or in the city. Some people prefer walking in a mall because there are no dogs, it is usually safe from criminals, sunburn isn't an issue, the floors are smooth with a minimum of unevenness, and the air is cool and has been filtered. Walking can be done in concert with other activities such as shopping. A walking workout can be intensified by carrying or wearing weights, but caution is in order to prevent joint injury. Although walking is excellent exercise for the legs and lower back, it does little for the upper body, neck, and arms. Swinging the arms vigorously during walking can help in this respect. Some doctors recommend walking over every other type of exercise.

Sidewalk roller skating Although sidewalk roller skating can be excellent exercise, it is potentially dangerous because of the ability to skate fast, the possibility of rolling over uneven surfaces such as tilted sidewalks and curbs, small obstacles such as stones which can trip the skater, hills, and the difficulty of stopping quickly. Even accomplished skaters have had close calls or accidents.

It is important to wear protective gear on one's head, hands, knees, and elbows. A mouthpiece may also be a good idea to prevent teeth from being knocked out and to cushion the jaw in the event of a fall or collision. In a high-speed fall, even these protections may not be enough. Unlike walking, roller skating is somewhat restrictive because if a person wishes to stop to shop or drive somewhere, they must remove their skates.

Jogging Jogging is a vigorous, health conducing activity. Like walking, jogging is a flexible activity that may be combined with other, non-exercise activities such as shopping. Jogging can be combined with walking, and a short sprint across a parking lot, between a store and the car, can boost cardiovascular system (heart and lung) activity. As in walking, weights can be carried or worn to accentuate the workout.

But jogging has negative aspects. Joint damage to the lower extremities can occur from the pounding when a foot hits the ground. Bones, joints, tendons, and muscles in the feet, ankles, knees, hips, and lower back can be injured over a period of time. Because of long-term wear on the body, jogging is often not recommended, except for short sprints.

Swimming Unlike jogging, and even walking, swimming has the least amount of joint impact compared to most other forms of exercise, except perhaps, isometrics. Swimming uses different muscles than walking or jogging, so it should not be used as the sole method of preparing for competition that uses other muscles such as a marathon or triathalon.

Although walking and jogging employ an action of bending and flexing the ankle, knee, and hip against the weight of the body, swimming emphasizes a kicking and pulling motion against water resistance.

One area where swimming is superior to most other sports is in the upper body workout where the arms are used in concert with the legs to propel the person through the water. Swimming is next only to weight lifting, pull ups, push ups, and arm workout machines in developing upper body strength. Serious, competitive swimmers usually work out with weights and machines to develop and maintain their upper body condition.

Bicycling Bicycling is a favorite sport because it can be used for transportation as well as for exercise. China and Holland have an unusually high ratio of bicycles to automobiles. As an exercise tool, the bicycle requires an even, cyclic pressure on the joints, making it a desirable exercise device for those who have joint problems or don't want to experience the pounding that results from jogging. Unlike roller skating, bicycles are usually easy to stop and control. A helmet should be worn and the bicycle should be equipped with lights, especially if the cyclist rides along a highway or street.

Ice Skating Ice skating is similar to roller skating. A disadvantage for ice skating is that an ice surface must be available. An advantage of ice skating compared to street roller skating is that an ice surface is smooth and level. A person who falls on a smooth ice surface can slide without getting abrasions. An ice skater doesn't encounter hills, curbs, or other obstructions. Vehicular traffic is not a concern on an ice surface except for the occasional resurfacing machine.

Although music can be a pleasant addition to any exercise period, artistic possibilities make it especially desirable for ice skating. A personal music device can be carried, including a Walkman-type tape player, a music CD player, a solid-state MP3 player, or an iPod. iPod and MP3 players can be very small and lightweight. There are no moving parts required to play music because the storage medium is solid state memory, and their power requirement is mimimal. A person can download from the internet the music he or she wants to use and port it to the player.

Achieving an exercise Lifestyle As in most repetitive activities such as eating and exercising, the goal should be to do it in a healthy way. Too much eating can make a person obese and unhealthy, and too little exercise can also cause a person to be unhealthy. Exercise can be achieved in a person's everyday life by walking fast, running for a few yards when crossing a parking lot, using stairs instead of always taking an elevator, and learning to go up and down stairs with gusto. A person can use a bicycle to ride around the neighborhood. A hand weight can be used to develop arm and shoulder muscles when watching TV. Sit ups, deep knee bends, and pushups are also exercises that can be done at home while watching TV.

A person who is interested in developing better health and maintaining it should embrace those activities that he or she enjoys enough so that they can be integrated into the person's lifestyle. In concert with a good diet, exercise should be a life-long project to ensure the well-being of an individual.

Disclaimer All exercise regimens and programs should be approved for an individual by the person's physician to ensure that a person is healthy enough to do them, and that they are safe.