by Dr. Bill
My car is packed, and I have just enough time to complete this before my wife returns from whatever it is she does just before we embark on a trip. I gave up trying to figure some of these things out years ago, but a trip always requires a certain amount of last minute shopping.
One of the questions I always get from people is: What kind of exercise should I do? Which is always followed by: How much exercise is enough?
Let’s start with the first question.
The first thing to remember is not to overexert yourself, especially if you have been sedentary or are not used to regular exercise. Many people, with good intentions, start off with an exercise program that is too intense for their fitness level and therefore incur pain or injury. This is really your body’s way of telling you that it’s just not ready for what you are trying to attempt.
If you do injure yourself or experience pain, you are most likely to stop exercising. This is not what you want to happen and of course there are no benefits to stopping.
If you have been something of a couch potato until now, you really need to start slowly. Walking is an excellent way to ease into a fitness program and you can begin with as few as ten minutes a day. Stick with that for a week and then increase by five minutes. The next week, increase by five more, and keep increasing as the weeks go on.
This strategy is easier on your body because it gives it time to acclimate to the new routine and you have time for recuperation. If you follow the plan you will be up to thirty minutes of walking per day in one month, and that’s definitely an accomplishment for someone who has been out of shape.
Work up to forty five minutes of walking a day, and then you can add things to your routine. I like bodyweight exercises, and I’ll tell you more about those in the future.
Bodyweight exercises are so convenient because you can do them anywhere, any time. You don’t have to go to the gym and no one will care what you are wearing. Exercising at home or wherever you happen to be is a huge benefit, and bodyweight exercises contribute to a high level of fitness without the investment of huge amounts of time.
But you need to put one foot in front of the other for a time, to get started. Your body will tell you when you can add walking time, and when you can add other exercises to your routine.
So, the question still remains: how much exercise does it take to obtain and maintain fitness?
It really is important to do some sort of exercise each day. It does not have to be especially strenuous, because a little really does go a long way. Walking is a good choice for your everyday exercise, and then on other days you can do other activities that you enjoy, like bike riding, or playing tennis, or whatever is the most fun for you. Always remember to check in with your body so you don’t push too hard.
If you have pain, stop what you’re doing. Pain is a sign that something is wrong. Get it checked out, with your doctor, and then, go back to your exercise routine.
Recently I spoke to a woman who had pain in her knee. In speaking to her, it came out that she had gone from being sedentary to exercising for an hour a day, without taking the time to build up her strength. Of course, her knee pain was related to this, and once I instructed her how to slow down her training her knee pain lessened and finally went away completely.
In addition to slowing down her workout routine, the woman is also talking a very high quality pharmaceutical-grade enteric coated fish oil supplement, and she reports that not only is her knee pain gone, but the pain she was experiencing in her elbow and wrist have almost disappeared as well.
The fact that she is experiencing less knee pain can definitely be attributed to the slowdown of her workout regime, but the lessening of the pain in her other joints is a direct result of her intake of the pharmaceutical-grade fish oil. In about six weeks, with the combination of the slowdown in training and the continuation of her fish oil intake, she should be feeling great.
So the answers to the questions that people ask me most frequently are this: exercise is vitally important, but it’s equally important to start slowly and build your way up. Don’t expect miracle results in a short period of time. Your brain and body will work together to help you, but you have to be a bit patient. Additionally, taking the pharmaceutical grade fish oil will bring everything together to achieve the level of fitness you want, all while “lubing” your joints and muscles at the same time.
About the Author:
To increase health and energy, Dr. Bill recommends you take an enteric coated fish oilevery day.
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