Exercise

The benefits of exercise are myriad. It makes you feel good about
yourself, burns excess body fat, grows and maintains muscle,
strengthens bones and joints, helps flexibility, deepens sleep,
improves appearance, creates a high, provides goals to achieve, lifts
depression, relieves stress, increases self esteem, reverses and
prevents disease and helps you feel alive and youthful... that is, if
you do it right.

Exercise would be as normal as breathing in the wild setting. If we
were not industriously finding food, building shelters and fighting
off saber-toothed tigers we would not survive. Under those
circumstances eating was the reward for exercise. In the modern world
we don't have to exercise to any extent to get our food. We may have
cleverly changed our circumstances but we have not changed the rule
that eating is the fuel and the reward for exercise. If you are not
exercising you should not be eating… or at least doing very little
of it. This is a natural law rarely quoted these days. Ignoring and
violating it results in a penalty, obesity and disease.

But today, when essentially all of our needs are met at arm's
length, being sedentary is normal. Getting rewards for physically
doing nothing is also possible. So the decision has to be made to
exercise. Why do it? Because it is what your body is designed for and
health cannot result without it.

Exercise can take many forms. There are four categories: work related,
aerobic, strength and sport. Work-related exercise can burn calories
and bring benefits if it is not extreme and relentless. The same
motions and impacts done over and over, day after day, can actually
tear the body down over time and result in work-related injury. Carpel
tunnel syndrome from merely typing day after day at a keyboard is a
good example. Be careful of excessive and repeated monotonous
activity. Additionally, the body adapts to the same movements and will
not improve unless there is added stress. For full benefit, other
full- body exercise is important even if you have an active job.

The other three forms of exercise take conscious effort. Aerobics –
running, cycling, swimming, fast walking, rapid weight lifting –
helps stimulate metabolism and increase respiratory and circulatory
strength, as well as endurance. Strength training—lifting weights or
the like—maintains or grows strength, improves physical appearance
and increases bone density reducing the risk of osteoporosis and
fracture. Athletic sport can combine aerobics, strength, speed and
flexibility. The ideal is a sport you can prepare for by using
aerobics and strength training. Improvement goals in the sport help
motivate and focus on fitness goals.

Like anything else in life that is worthwhile, exercise benefits take
effort. It may mean some sweat, soreness, fatigue and even an
occasional injury. In fact, if you never experience an injury or
soreness, there is a good chance you do not have enough intensity, and
will not get results either. "No pain, no gain" is pretty true.

Exercise like you mean it – none of the namby-pamby, faking it
stuff. If you do not breathe hard or briefly exhaust muscles two to
three times a week, you are probably not doing yourself any good. Do
you go to a gym and spend lots of time lying on a soft mat stretching
(a proven worthless "exercise")? Did you spend $120 on those Nike
cross-trainers, pay that big club fee and shop for that just right,
looking good leotard workout suit to lie around stretching? (Ya gotta
love this picture!) Do you do nice and easy, slow, partial reps with
five lbs. while gabbing with friends or a trainer? Don't kid
yourself. Nothing comes easy. Yes, you will have to breathe hard and
strain and grunt a little and even experience some soreness.

I know your personal trainer might tell you to take it easy, avoid
getting sore, and the like. If your trainer looks like he or she works
out, they are lying to you because they would never achieve their
toned look without effort and discomfort. If they don't look like they
work out, then they shouldn't be training you.

Recently at a gym I saw a personal trainer who looked as if training
really wasn't a part of her life, instructing a client. Weights used
were miniscule, range of motion far less than it should be, constant
chatter, frequent swigs on a sugared sports drink and lots of long
breaks in between sets. No sweat, no strain, no breathing hard, no
pushing to limits. I believe some trainers make it as easy as they can
to make sure people return. Since most people don't want any
discomfort, these trainers keep workouts easy, comfortable, casual –
and meaningless.

The body is naturally lazy. If the shape it is in is sufficient to do
the exercise without effort, then the body will stay as it is. If you
push, cause some physical stress, try for steady increases and gains,
and even look for the pain, your body will respond with a new and
better body capable of doing what you have demanded. Demand nothing,
get nothing.

Begin an exercise program that will make a difference. Learn how to do
resistance (weight) training. Emphasize compound movements like
squats, dead lifts, bench presses and Olympic lifts. Avoid exercises
under weight load that are not normal movements regardless of what you
see in a magazine or gym. Examples include stiff legged dead lifts,
behind the neck pull downs and behind the neck presses. Concentrate on
good form and technique to begin and don't rush into heavy weights.
Set goals, achieve them and set new ones. Stay with it. A workout that
matters is one that leaves you with little left over. For me that's
about twenty to thirty minutes. If you can work out for hours or can
chat as you are doing your reps, then you do not have the intensity
you should. Three times a week of intense exercise will create
dramatic results if you stick with it.

You ladies who stay away from the weights because you "don't want
big muscles" need to find a better excuse. You will not grow big
muscles unless you start taking male hormones. Similarly an adolescent
boy or man in his eighties cannot make themselves look like Arnold no
matter how much weight lifting. For the young boy that is because the
anabolic male hormones have not kicked in, and for the elderly man it
is because those hormones have ebbed. Weight lifting for women will
improve appearance, stimulate strength and perhaps most importantly
help increase and maintain bone density so as you get older you will
not be as likely to develop osteoporosis or fracture bones. Weight
levels for women should be chosen so that by the time you do 15-20
reps you are at failure. Don't try to push yourself with big
weights. Move weights up slowly as your 15-20 reps get too easy.

In this regard a word of caution is in order for you guys wanting to
use mega-weights to pack on Herculean slabs of muscle. If you are
hoisting much more than body weight you are putting enormous stress on
joints, cartilage, ligaments and tendons. Over time the wear and tear
will come back to haunt you with arthritis of other limiting joint and
back injuries. You want staying power, not ego stroking or just a
flash in the pan puffy body. Although most muscle gurus will tell you
that you cannot gain serious muscle without using serious weight, the
evidence does not bear that out. It may be true that if you are taking
anabolic steroids and want to look like an Angus bull you may need to
lift extraordinary weight. I'm not sure on that but I am not talking
about freak show here, but rather fitness and health for a lifetime.
Even moderate exertion for a body part over time can greatly increase
its size and strength. Although I have lifted for decades (both sides
of my body equally), my right shoulder and arm are dramatically larger
than the left from tens of thousands of overhand swings of a badminton
racket weighing only a few ounces. Many athletes develop significant
musculature in the legs without ever lifting heavy weights. Softball
pitchers can develop strength and size in the pitching arm almost
double that of the other. Assuming you are reasonably lean, your
weight reflects the capacity of your frame. A 150-pound person lifting
250 pounds is asking for trouble because 150 pounds is designed to
hold 150 pounds.

Pull downs of 150 pounds is reasonable. Bench presses of 150 pounds
are reasonable. Dead lifts and squats of 150 pounds are reasonable.
Why? Because your frame already is handling 150 lbs. when you squat
and rise (squats), pull yourself up on to a branch (chins) and push
yourself up off the floor (push ups). To safely increase musculature
it is much better to increase reps than to increase the load over body
weight. Stick with it, be patient, have the long view and you can stay
strong and look fit for a lifetime. Start swinging around the
mega-weights and the right injury could sideline you for a lifetime,
giving you an excuse to be weak and flabby. (I say excuse because one
can always do some form of exercise regardless of their condition or
limitations.)

Two or three times a week, do 15-30 minutes of aerobic work. Do it
intensely enough that you breathe hard and work up a sweat. Be careful
of long distance jogging, since the impact on joints can be
counterproductive. If you like to run, do short sprints instead. Be
careful of intense aerobics on the same days as the resistance work.
Your body needs recovery.

Find an active sport you can participate in. The exercise, challenge
and camaraderie of this activity can be one of life's greatest joys.

I am not just telling you, this is what I do. Exercise and sport have
always been a part of my life. I have tried about everything and have
suffered with injuries from mistakes. But to this day I lift
respectable weights and continue to set new goals, run sprints at good
speed and compete with guys less than one third my age in difficult
sports like two on two sand volleyball and one on one competitive
indoor badminton (not the back yard version but the indoor, 220 mph
smash kind). My ability to do these things brings great joy to life by
giving me something physically to achieve, camaraderie and the sense
that I am still alive and capable. Even after umpteen gazillion
decades of life I am still challenging myself with weights and
pressing myself with aerobics and tough sports. And yes, I do get
injured. I've had them all, it seems. I'm presently recovering from
overdoing it with stiff-legged dead lifts (lifting a heavy barbell
from the floor by bending over with the legs stiff—the reason I told
you above not to do this) coupled with heavy full squats (barbell on
back and squatting up and down). These are difficult weight lifting
movements to help increase running speed. I just recovered from
shoulder and elbow injuries from too many smashes in badminton and
jump serves in beach volleyball. I'm not complaining nor bragging,
just letting you know that I practice what I preach. The benefits I
derive, in spite of the inevitable set backs and injuries, I would
like everyone to enjoy.

When you exercise, when you challenge yourself with exercise – not
just coast with motions – you send a signal to the body that it
needs to be alive and healthy. Your body responds to the call.

On the other hand, it can be overdone. It's easy to figure that if a
little bit helps, a whole lot will transform us more quickly into the
Adonis or Venus to which we aspire. Much more than three vigorous
workouts a week can yield negative results and increase susceptibility
to injury. Be particularly careful of impact activities such as
running on cement or the like. Although you may feel fine while doing
it, your bones, joints, ligaments and tendons are being unduly
stressed and eventual crippling injuries can result. If in doubt, note
the career of almost any professional athlete. They peak in their
twenties and retire almost always not because of lack of skill or
desire, but because of overuse injury.

Keep the prototypical wild model I continue to harp about in mind. In
the wild you might occasionally have to totally exhaust muscle and be
unable to catch your breath running after prey or running from or
wrestling with a predator. These events of extreme exertion and
exhaustion are not without potential damage from the shower of
physiological free radicals created when demands exceed metabolic
capacity. Free radicals are like sparks in the fireplace. If the fire
is modest there are few and they are contained. But if you stoke it up
to roaring the sparks spitting out into the living room could set the
house afire. Extreme exercise is like a roaring fire and the free
radicals created can damage body structure and lead to premature
aging, structural damage, immune suppression and disease. Although
pushing toward the limits once in a while may help increase exercise
capacity, doing it too often can, over the long term, work the
opposite effects. It can be a matter of too much of a good thing.

This may seem like I am sending mixed messages, and I am. First I tell
you to buck up and go at exercise like you mean it and even expect
some soreness, sweat and huffing and puffing. Then I tell you that
intense exercise can cause damage. How we approach exercise mirrors
life: nothing good comes easy and going to extremes is dangerous.
Wisdom and judgment are necessary. Besides using the wild archetypal
model, listen to and observe your body. No change means you are
probably being too wimpy. Dramatic change, weakness, constant
exhaustion and injury may mean you are overdoing it.

You will also have to make accommodations for age… but not before it
is absolutely necessary. No "too old" excuses before your time.
You can be fit and athletic in your fifties and beyond. But with time
everything does wear and become more fragile and thus break more
easily. You cannot force your body at 70 to be what it was at 18
regardless of exercise and diet. You can most certainly reach new
physical levels in your 30's through 50's. What age takes away in
physical vigor, it gives in desire and commitment. The danger is
imposing an overly ambitious will on a body without a capacity to
match. With age you will notice that exercise that is too intense will
feel like you are tearing down, not stimulating growth. It is. The
fine line between improving or maintaining strength and fitness, and
doing damage gets thinner and thinner with age. So listen to your body
and adjust. Be content with being the best you can be, not trying to
be what you cannot possibly be. No ninety-year-old has ever won an
Olympic event or set a world's record.

Think about the long term. You want staying power. You want to be able
to exercise for life, not for a short spurt and then be incapacitated.

Your body is a gift and responsibility. It is a moral duty to take
care of it. Exercise like you mean it but use the wisdom of
moderation. Enjoy the health that results and the wonderful,
feel-alive dimension that is added to life as well.

For further reading, or for more information about, Dr Wysong and the
Wysong Corporation please visit www.wysong.net or write to
wysong@wysong.net. For resources on healthier foods for people
including snacks, and breakfast cereals please visit
www.cerealwysong.com.

_By: *Dr. Randy Wysong*_

*About the Author:*

Dr. Wysong: A former veterinary clinician and surgeon, college
instructor in human anatomy, physiology and the origin of life,
inventor of numerous medical, surgical, nutritional, athletic and
fitness products and devices, research director for the present
company by his name and founder of the philanthropic Wysong Institute.
http://www.wysong.net. Also check out http://www.cerealwysong.com.