What is Exercise? You Gotta Know!
Benefits of exercise: energy, weight control, heart health, endurance, strength, longevity, libido and
anti-depressant. Everyone needs regular exercise at every age.
To make a muscle fit, we work it slightly harder than
usual use for a sustained period of time on a regular
basis. Because the most important muscle in your body
is the heart muscle, which is always pumping, you must
exert your heart muscle by raising the heart rate for
thirty minutes four times weekly, over its normal workload.
This is exercise! This does not mean gardening or walking,
Tai Chi or Yoga, which are great activities, and good
for the soul but little or no impact on the heartbeat.
It means we have to do something relatively vigorously to
get our heart rate up, such as walking vigorously for
15 minutes away from our home and then 15 minutes back
to your home. Or you could stand still and lift weights,
or ride a bicycle, or do push-ups and sit-ups on the
floor... anything that is weight bearing, slightly exertive,
and done consistently for 30 minutes, regularly for 4
times weekly.
No matter what your ability, you can always
creatively exercise your heart muscle. If you are above
your ideal body weight, you can expend 300 calories by
doing one hour of exercise activity. If you calorie-restrict
by only 300 calories daily, you will lose one pound/week
and achieve or maintain a great cholesterol, reduce risk
of breast and colon cancer, avoid osteoporosis, improve
blood pressure, reduce heart attack and stroke risk,
reduce depression and feel like a million. Participation
in sports activities promotes balance, joy and longevity!
(Anderson, Arch Int Medicine, 2000). Go to Weightwatchers.com and
read any of the books about The Zone.
As long as you are alive, you need to exercise!
Just 2500 calories of exercise/week halves heart disease
and cancer risk! Do it! ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!
Start at the lower HR for 15 minutes and work up to 30-60 minutes, longer if
weight loss is goal, four times a week, up to the higher heart rate.
| |
Age |
Target
Exercise
Heart Rate
Per Minute |
|
Activity |
Calorie
Expenditure
Per Hour |
|
| |
20-40 |
110-150 |
|
Bed-Rest |
100 |
|
| |
40-60 |
100-140 |
|
Strolling |
200 |
|
| |
60+ |
90-130 |
|
Brisk Walking |
300 |
|
| |
|
|
|
Jogging, Climbing
Stairs |
400 |
|
| |
|
|
|
Dancing, Cycling |
600 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weight Watchers has been proven in research to
be causal in successful weight loss of over 25 lbs.
when one attends meetings for over two years.
If you are serious about weight reduction,
then you will commit to going to meetings. FYI: everyone
thinks they are not the “meeting type”.
Guess what: if you really want this time to be a success,
you'll go.
|
