A Case for Exercise

What is the greatest investment you can make in yourself that requires no cash outlay, 150 minutes per week, gives you an edge, makes you feel stronger and happier, saves you medical expenses, promotes your good health, provides you with energy, inspiration and confidence?  

Answer:  Exercise.   

Exercise is a natural antidepressant.  Physical activity enhances your overall wellbeing.  One good thing positively affects another.  We truly cannot compartmentalize areas of our lives; and that is the mind, body, spirit connection.    

Most of us know exercise is good for us.  The hard part is getting started.  If you are thinking about getting started and looking for motivation, keep reading.  Focusing on what you want is a good strategy.  Allow me to build a case for you.

Why are we sedentary?

• Sedentary jobs have increased 83% since 1950
• Physically active jobs now make up only about 25% of our workforce
• Average work week is 47 hours (164 more than it was 20 years ago)
• Mass transportation
• Technology

What does that mean, in general?

• We are physically inactive 
• We are overweight (68% of adults are overweight or obese)
• We are not setting good fitness examples for our children
• 1 and 10 adults are depressed (depression is tied to chronic disease and overweight-vicious cycle)
• We see more preventable chronic disease (heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure...) than ever before (employers pay $225 billion a year in health related productivity losses)
• Our healthcare costs and quality of life are greatly affected (including our very own wallets and time that we enjoy our life)
• We are making poor choices by not exercising 
• We need to “manufacture” what we call exercise today

What is recommended?
The American Heart Association recommends 30-minutes of moderate activity most days, or 150 minutes per week.  There are other options such as being active for three 10-minute periods a day and that is almost, but not quite as beneficial to your overall physical fitness as one 30-minute session.  The ten minute push is about getting started, and that something is better than nothing.  Ten minutes is achievable, it gets you moving, and success breeds success.  Getting started and achieving will help you sustain.  There is a natural progression in taking one healthy step, literally.  Good things follow.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans describes “Physical activity” as any bodily movement that enhances health. 

• Low activity is activity beyond baseline (refers to the light-intensity activities of daily life, such as standing, walking slowly, and lifting lightweight objects) but fewer than 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) of moderate-intensity physical activity a week or the equivalent amount (75 minutes, or 1 hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous-intensity activity.
• Medium activity is 150 minutes to 300 (5 hours) minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week (or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity a week). 
• High activity is more than the equivalent of 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week.

Proof:
The Women’s Health Study, published in April 28, 2008 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at 39,000 women free of Cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes at baseline.  The study found that women who were normal weight and physically active had the lowest risk of developing Coronary Heart Disease over more than 10 years of follow-up.  Next up with good results were women who were lean, but not physically active and then finally, women who were overweight but physically active.  It is worth pointing out that the findings demonstrated that having a healthy body weight might have more significance in your health than physical activity, although both play a role in lowering the risk of heart disease in overweight or obese women.  

YOU WANT TO CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE YOU START ANY EXERCISE REGIMEN.  SEE YOUR DOCTOR FIRST.

After you are cleared, your goal is to start and sustain.

How to start and sustain:

1. Choose something you enjoy doing (your preferences matter)
2. Know your motivators so you remember whay you started and stay on track
3. Use the buddy system (accountability and friendships flourish)
4. Consistency- plan for the same time each day or most days of the week to create a habit (you will eventually not want to miss your time to feel amazing)
5. Focus on what you want (you get what you focus on)
6. Read a book that inspires you to stay on track
7. Know all of your numbers so you can measure improvement (waist circumference, BMI, cholesterol (HDL,LDL,Triglycerides), blood glucose, weight, and know your goals)
8. Water, water, water

All activity counts.  Find what works for you and focus on how good you feel after achieving.  Find your meaningful motivator to get started.  It could be those hard dollar cost savings, or it could be that you feel amazing, or that you look and feel sexy!  

Top 5 Reasons and Motivators to Exercise: 

1. Improves your general well being 
2. Better mind-body coordination
3. Boosts your mental wellness and stimulates your brain 
4. Relieves tension, anxiety, depression and anger
5. Promotes optimism
6. Improves your physical wellness and overall health
7. Better quality of life and longevity 
8. Prevents disease and lowers risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and some cancers
9. Prevents bone loss 
10. Increases muscle mass and strength
11. Helps maintain a healthy weight
12. Promotes a peaceful sleep 
13. Increase your sex drive, better body confidence and arousal

What's your motivator?  

Health Inspires.

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