Monday, March 06, 2000
Exercise other half of lifestyle change
BY SCOTT MacGREGOR
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The days started with pain. For the first few months of my workout regimen, I would awake each morning with some kind of soreness. My chronically bad knees ached, my back was stiff, my leg muscles tight, my arms weak.
Then I would roll out of bed and ignore it. I had no choice.
I was exercising six days a week, for as much as two hours a day. It was probably a bit much, but I wanted to push myself as far as I could.
The soreness went away after a while, and now my body expects hard workouts. I still have some pain, but being fit makes it worth it.
Target heart rate
My fitness specialists at the Duke University Center for Living say to be fit, a person needs to exercise at his/her target heart rate for 20-to-40 minutes per day, four-to-five times a week. If you consult a physician or trainer — as you should — before beginning an exercise program, you should be able to determine your target heart rate and what program works best for you.
Fitness experts recommend aerobic activity to be healthier, as simple as walking briskly. Jogging, biking or using some kind of exercise machine, like a treadmill, stair climber or elliptical cross-trainer, are good ways to burn calories.
Obviously, the harder you work, the more calories you will burn. If I walk for half an hour, I might burn 150 calories. If I use a cross-trainer — which makes me work harder — for the same 30 minutes, I'll burn as many as 500.
How much you get out of it depends on how much you put into it.
I go to the gym each day when my schedule allows. It doesn't matter when you go; going is what counts.
I use what's called a Precor EFX (elliptical fitness cross-trainer). It's a fitness machine that uses your body's natural resistance to work your muscles, meaning it seems a lot easier than jogging, for instance. I love it because it puts little stress on my knees or back, and because I burn so many calories.
I begin with a five-minute warmup by walking or shooting a basketball. At the height of my zeal, I'd use the EFX for 45 minutes a day. Now, I go for between 20 and 40 minutes and have cut back from six days a week to five.
Get active
Variety is good. I'll jog once in a while, especially if I'm traveling. I take full advantage of opportunities to walk — like walking up stairs instead of taking the escalator — and I play pickup basketball games at least once a week and occasionally tennis.
I also do strength training two or three times a week. It's important to maintain strength as you lose weight; you want to lose fat, not muscle.
The trick with exercising is to find something that works for you, that's comfortable yet challenges you. If you're looking to be fit for a lifetime, you must find something you can do for a lifetime.
Good nutrition
The other thing you must pair with a good exercise program is good nutrition.
The great fallacy about weight loss is that you have to starve yourself. That's not healthy. If you don't have energy, you're going to feel weak. You just need to make sure you're eating good, healthy foods, not high-fat junk.
Work hard. And arm yourself with information. Knowledge makes it manageable.
For most people, healthy living is a simple matter of nutrition and exercise. Do the right kind of both, and you'll be on the way to a lifetime of health.
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