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Exercise
| By: Michael Russell My exercise program is aimed at balancing the positive effects of physical fitness on disease susceptibility against the potentially negative effects of exercise and increased energy turnover on the generation of free radicals. The best exercise program is one that fits readily into your daily life, is varied and perceived as fun, emphasizes endurance and flexibility, does not depend too much on other people, and can be followed throughout your life. The multi method type of training is recognized as superior for middle level athletes, which is about the level we seek. Sticking to only one type of exercise, like swimming or jogging, is not best for your health. Deep adaptive shifts are undergone by the body for specialized performances. Heavy specialization is one of the reasons for the high performance records of Soviet athletes. 22 The elite athlete is thus quite different from the average athlete. But he is not necessarily healthier. Studies performed at the Washington University School of Medicine give us a target range for exercise. Fourteen persons 65 years of age were followed through a 12 month, two part exercise program. All started from a sedentary status. They first completed 6 months of low intensity training, including moderately vigorous walking 3 times per week for a half hour each time. During the second 6 months, they did high intensity training, consisting of 30 to 45 minutes of endurance activity at least 3 times per week. Maximum oxygen uptake, the best indicator of fitness, increased 12 percent during the low intensity phase and 18 percent more during the high intensity program. There was definite improvement in the blood fat and cholesterol levels and in the ability to metabolize glucose. | |
After you have had a cardiovascular fitness examination by your doctor, I recommend spending three or four 15 to 20 minute sessions each week at an aerobic exercise during which your heart rate is at 70 to 85 percent of its maximum. Your maximum heart rate can be determined as part of your initial fitness examination. Subtract your age from 220 and multiply that figure by 0.70 and 0.85 to obtain an estimate of the lower and upper limits of your target cardiac range. For aerobic exercise to be beneficial, it must be continuous and steady. The most convenient method I have found is to use a stationary bicycle upon rising in the morning. An excellent model is the Schwinn XR-7. You may have to work up from 5 minute intervals to the 15-20 minute ride. This morning program will not interfere with your daily activities at all but will gradually bring you to a substantial degree of physical fitness. I believe it is important for top health to vary the exercise pattern. After a time, substitute a 2-mile morning jog for the stationary bicycle ride. As a third alternative, you may walk briskly for 30 minutes. Walk to work, perhaps, or park far enough from your job to necessitate a 30 minute walk. Other forms of aerobic exercise may of course be substituted, although they usually require special effort, such as going to a jazz exercise class, or swimming. But the exercise has to be continuous. Tennis, gymnastics, and other stop and go sports, although acceptable, are not quite as good as continuous aerobics. I also recommend one or two days per week of resistance weight training, for about 30-45 minutes each period. Bone will increase its content of calcium in response to short hard pulls more readily than to long sustained pulls. This means using Nautilus or Universal gym equipment or a regular weight lifters' gymnasium. Previously sedentary persons who do weight training 3 times a week for 45 60 minutes can expect a small drop in blood cholesterol within 12 weeks, and an increase in HDL.
Resistance weight training, or bodybuilding exercises, exerts a favorable influence on the blood fat profiles, altering them in a way that reduces cardiovascular risk. 24 Blood sugar metabolism also improves. There is a good chance that aerobic and resistance exercises in combination are additive in their benefits. You now have an excellent all around physical fitness routine, and except for the weight training, you will hardly notice any interference with your regular life. Tailor your own program, depending upon your interest in sports. But remember that beyond the equivalent of about 15 to 20 miles of jogging per week, you won't gain proportionately in terms of increased cardiovascular fitness, and you may well lose something by the increase in metabolism and generation of free radicals induced by exercise. Don't over exercise unless you are doing it not primarily for health, but for enjoyment. One final point. Once you are on an exercise program, you must stay on it or the cardiovascular benefits quickly disappear. The level of HDL in the blood, for example, drops rapidly if exercise is discontinued.
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