Fitness
Fitness is a combination of physical strength and overall health.
To be fit is to be physically strong and in good health.
How do you become fit?
A Healthy Diet Based on Sound Nutritional Principles, Exercise and Recovery, and Proper Rest
If you’re like me, you feel confused about fitness because we’re bombarded with so many health and fitness messages. My intention is to shed light on fitness by exploring Diet and Weight Management, Sleep and Rest, as well as Exercise in its many forms and its effects on the body.
At one point, I loaded up with books on weight loss, exercise and fitness at a huge new and used book store. After reading them all, I concluded that exercise made an important difference in losing and maintaining weight. But . . . there are some caveats to this.
Exercise We Must: I’m convinced that we all will do better health wise if we create an exercise routine. The late Jack LaLanne recommended at least 15 minutes a day. I workout 30 min a day.
Worldwide, exercise is a trend. Because we’ve shifted from less physically demanding work to sedentary office work, mechanical transportation, labor saving home equipment and inactive forms of entertainment, we need to plan time to move physically. Increasingly, you see people walking, running and going to gyms for daily workouts. Our poor health and obesity issues drive it.
According to a short blurb I heard on the radio, people who stay slim and healthy do three things. They eat breakfast, exercise at home, and weigh every day. Sounds simple, like something I could do. I’ve committed and changed that today—the day I wrote this article.
I have to be realistic because if I make my routine too involved, I won’t do it. For my diet, I’m careful to eat a high percentage of raw fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I’ve outlined my plan of eating in my book, Diet of Light and Life found at www.mybeautycode.com. I work to go “early to bed” because I do better with the “early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” part. I take carefully selected natural supplements as well.
After all this study, I feel very good about my exercise routine which is 15–30 minutes on my Gazelle, which is similar to a tread mill, but requires me to make it function with my running weight. I really like the fact that it has handles that exercise my upper body as well. This meets my agility, aerobic, and some of the weight training requirements. Two other pieces of equipment that work my whole body are my mini-trampoline and a sit-down aerobic rider. Some stretching and strengthening exercises from my friends, Mark Basil and Seth Fesler, complete my program. I’m sharing this to encourage you to take a realistic look at your lifestyle, then create your own plan.
Here’s knowledge that I hope will be helpful for you to be successful as you create and maintain your fitness plan.
People Come to Fitness from Different Places: People are different in their need for and approach to fitness. Some are more physical; they enjoy exercise and thrive on physical activity. Some are more mental that physical; they require mental challenges. Others float somewhere between the two. Some have coordinated bodies; some don’t. You have to know yourself to realistically carve out a plan for yourself.
Results Vary: Not everyone benefits equally from exercise. We vary greatly in the results we get. Take aerobic exercise, for example. Most people get a moderate increase in endurance. Some will double their oxygen uptake, while others can never improve their endurance. Similarly, only a few people show significant muscle growth after prolonged weight training, while a larger proportion will experience improvements in strength. This genetic variation in improvement from training is one of the key physiological differences between elite athletes and the larger population.
Studies show that exercising in middle age leads to better physical ability later in life. Childhood obesity is a growing concern in developed countries where children sit in front of computers, TV and other large parts of their day. Whether you want to have a fitness plan or not, you’ll be healthier if you have one.
For my own plan, I start with diet. I wholeheartedly believe in eating ample fresh, raw fruits (I never cook my fruits), raw and steamed vegetables, lean meats and whole grains, nuts, and seeds is of prime importance in staying active and fit.
I also believe daily exercise is valuable. I have a very hard time putting it into my schedule because it bores me. The only way I enjoy exercise is in front of a TV. I have a few pieces of exercise equipment that carry me through the basic three types of exercise in 30 minutes while I watch a scripture study class.
That’s IF everything at home and the office is running smoothly. If we have deadlines and pressing projects, I admit that my exercise is the first thing to go. However, I walk around home and the offices, up and down stairs so I’m not stagnant. I think about exercise a lot, well-intentioned to get back “on track.” That alone tells you I’m more mental than physical. Because looking good is important to me, I work to maintain my weight through my plan of eating that I described above. I’m sharing this because others of you reading this probably feel the same way. You, like I, may feel guilty when you don’t exercise.
Physical Exercise
Physical exercise has many proven benefits including strengthening muscles or athletic skills, improving cardiovascular and immune function, and losing or maintaining weight. Some of you exercise for fun, you enjoy it.
Exercise raises your endorphins which makes you feel happier, more mentally alert and balanced as opposed to feeling depressed. The raise in endorphins promotes good self-esteem and can even heighten sex appeal.
The Types of Exercise: Strength training and agility training are the two main categories of exercise. From there exercise is grouped in three classes or groups by how they affect the body. 1) stretching exercises to keep your body flexible, 2) aerobic exercises which strengthen cardiovascular endurance, 3) anaerobic exercises such as weight lifting for short-term muscle strength.
Stretching: A friend of ours competed in the Olympics. She feels daily stretching is central to staying fit. Martial arts instructor, Matt Fuery, has a set of stretching exercises he distilled from his studies in the ancient Chinese grappling art of Shuai-Chiao, the oldest style of kung fu. When my husband and I work through Matt’s stretches we feel definite strength in our bodies.
Dynamic and Static Exercise: Knowing the effects of the types of exercise will help you choose the right kinds of exercise for you. “Dynamic” exercises, such as steady running, tend to lower diastolic blood pressure during exercise because of improved blood flow. Diastolic blood pressure refers to the time when the heart fills with blood after systole (contraction). Conversely, static exercises like weight-lifting can cause systolic pressure to rise significantly during the exercise session. So if you’re plagued with blood pressure problems, choose more aerobic exercises rather than extreme weight lifting.
Fitness as a Preventive Measure: Physical exercise contributes positively to a healthy weight and bone density, muscle strength, and joint mobility. Exercise reduces surgical risks. It has shown to reduce cholesterol. Adversely, exercise also reduces cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that builds fat in the abdominal region, making weight loss difficult. This is why simple walking is often recommended.
Aerobic Exercise: Frequent and regular aerobic exercise has been shown to help prevent or treat serious and life-threatening chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, insomnia, and depression. Endurance exercise before meals lowers blood glucose more than the same exercise after meals.
Exercise and Emotions: Some evidence indicates that vigorous exercise is more beneficial than moderate exercise because vigorous exercise such as running can increase opioid endorphins. Endorphins together with other neurotransmitters cause exercise-induced euphoria and can be addictive. Also, it increases testosterone and growth hormones. You don’t get this affect with moderate exercise.
Opioid Peptides are amino acids that mimic the effect of opiates in the brain. They may be produced by your body or be absorbed from partially digested food. Brain opioid peptide systems are known to play an important role in motivation, emotion, attachment behavior, the response to stress and pain, and the control of food intake. More recent research highlighted in Wikipedia indicates that anandamide neurotransmitters may play a greater role than endorphins in the “runner’s high.”
Exercise and Cardiovascular Health: The effect of exercise on the cardiovascular system is well documented. Both aerobic and anaerobic exercise increase the mechanical efficiency of the heart. They increase cardiac volume (aerobic exercise), or myocardial thickness (strength training). If these changes occur from exercise, then they’re generally beneficial and healthy.
Physical Inactivity: There is a direct relation between physical inactivity and cardiovascular mortality. Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease. There is a dose-response relation between the amount of exercise performed (from approximately 700 to 2000 kcal of energy expenditure per week) and all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality in middle-aged and elderly populations. The sedentary person who becomes moderately active is often the one most at risk for shortened life. You can reach the most beneficial effects of physical activity on cardiovascular disease mortality through moderate-intensity activity (40% to 60% of maximal oxygen uptake, depending on age). Persons who modify their behavior after heart attacks or other to include regular exercise have improved rates of survival. People who remain sedentary have the highest risk for all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality.
Effects of Exercise on the Immune System: Medical evidence, after hundreds of studies on exercise and the immune system, suggests that moderate exercise benefits the immune system whereas extreme exercise impairs it. The immune systems of athletes and non-athletes are generally similar. Moderate exercise has been associated with a 29% decrease in upper respiratory infections. Daily deep breathing also helps this.
Brain Function: Exercise increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain, promotes synaptic plasticity, and increases new nerve cells. Increased chemicals in the brain that are produced during exercise (such as dopamine, glutamate, norepinephrine, and serotonin) help cognition.
A 2008 review of cognitive enrichment therapies (strategies to slow or reverse cognitive decline) concluded that “physical activity, and aerobic exercise in particular, enhances older adults’ cognitive function.” Exercise reduces the risk of developing dementia.
Exercise and Mood: Endorphins act as a natural antidepressant and pain reliever. When you exercise, your levels of both circulating serotonin and endorphins are increased. These levels can stay elevated even several days after exercise is discontinued, possibly contributing to improvement in mood, increased self-esteem, and weight management. Exercise alone is a potential prevention method and/or treatment for mild forms of depression.
Sleep and Rest: Evidence is replete that most people need 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep in every 24 hours. Exercise affects the kind of sleep you will receive at night. When your body is physically exhausted, it slips easily and longer into the best kind of sleep, REM or Rapid Eye Movement.
Public Health: Because chronic diseases including obesity are at such a high rise, communities have started campaigns to encourage walking and the use of stairs as a way to increase public exercise.
Fitness Myths and Misconceptions
Excessive exercise can cause immediate death. Fact: Death by exercise has a small basis in fact. It is possible to die from a heart attack or similar affliction such as a thrombosis or aneurysm if you are not at a good level of fitness for a specific exercise/activity, or if you have an undiagnosed rare condition. This is why you should consult with a doctor before any radical changes are made to a current exercise routine.
Water Intoxication results from prolific sweating (producing electrolyte losses) combined with consumption of large amounts of plain water and insufficient replenishment of electrolytes, especially salt and potassium as when running a marathon. Fact: Water intoxication, hyper-hydration or water poisoning is a potentially fatal disturbance in brain functions that results when the normal balance of electrolytes in the body is pushed outside of safe limits by over-consumption of water. Normal, healthy (physically, nutritionally, and mentally) individuals have little reason to worry about accidentally consuming too much water. Nearly all deaths related to water intoxication in normal individuals have resulted either from water drinking contests, where people consume excessive amounts of water, or long sessions of intensive exercise where people don’t properly replenish their electrolytes, yet they still drink excessive amounts of fluid.
It’s possible to injure muscle tissue by physical, chemical or biological factors. Damaged muscle cells release their residue into the bloodstream; some of these, such as the protein, myoglobin, are harmful to the kidney and may lead to acute kidney failure. This might require intravenous fluids, dialysis, or hemofiltration.
Weightlifting makes you short or stops growth. Fact: Normal weightlifting doesn’t affect growth. However, a highly debated caveat is that heavy weight training in adolescents can damage the epiphyseal plate of long bones.
Spot Reduction The belief that exercising and training a particular body part will reduce the fat on that part. Fact: Fat can’t be reduced from one area of the body to the exclusion of others. Most of the energy derived from fat gets to the muscle through the bloodstream and reduces stored fat in the entire body, from the last place where fat was deposited. Exercises such as sit-ups may improve the size and shape of abdominal muscles but will not specifically target belly fat for loss. Such exercise might help reduce overall body fat percentage and shrink the size of fat cells.
Muscle turns into fat once a person stops exercising. Fact: This is not literally true because fat tissue and muscle tissue are fundamentally different—but the common expression that “muscle will turn to fat” is truthful in the sense that catabolism of muscle fibers for energy can result in excess glucose being stored as fat. To explain, in catabolism, large molecules such as polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins are broken down into smaller units such as monosaccharides, fatty acids, nucleotides, and amino acids respectively.
The composition of a body part can change toward less muscle and more fat, so that a cross-section of the upper-arm for example, will have a greater area corresponding to fat and a smaller area corresponding to muscle. This is not muscle “turning into fat” however, it is simply a combination of muscle atrophy and increased fat storage in different tissues of the same body part. The muscle is being replaced by fat. Another element of increased fatty deposits is that of diet, as most people who have been very active will not significantly reduce their diet in order to compensate for the lack of exercise/activity.
Assorted Bits of Information about Exercise
Excessive Exercise: Too much exercise can be harmful because exercise stresses the body. Exercised body parts exercised need at least a day of rest, which is why some health experts say one should exercise every other day or 3 times a week. Without proper rest and nutritional support, the chance of stroke or other circulation problems increases. Because muscles may develop slowly, people trying to “push” results may cause harm to their health. Some doctors advise that expectant mothers should never exercise two days consecutively.
Stress of Exercise: The stresses of exercise have a catabolic effect on the body. Catabolic effect is the breakdown of complex molecules to form simpler ones. In this case, contractile proteins within the muscles are consumed for energy, carbohydrates and fats are similarly consumed. Connective tissues are stressed and can form micro-tears. However, given adequate nutrition and sufficient rest to avoid over-training, the body will adapt and renew tissues at a higher level than what existed before exercising. The results are all the training effects of regular exercise: increased muscular strength, endurance, bone density, and connective tissue toughness.
Inappropriate exercise by the individual can do more harm than good. For example, running when you’re not in condition to run. Over-exercising induces serious performance loss. Unaccustomed overexertion of muscles leads to muscle damage most often seen in new army recruits. Over-training is an intensity of training that exceeds the body’s capacity to recover between sessions.
Sudden Exercise Stops: If you stop excessive exercise suddenly, you invite feelings of depression and agitation due to the withdrawal of natural endorphins. Learn to control your exercise in accordance with your body’s inherent limitations. One person may have joints and muscles that not only tolerate but enjoy multiple marathons whereas another person’s body may be damaged by 20 minutes of light jogging. Too much exercise will cause some women to miss their periods.
Recovery including proper rest and nutrition are a vital part of exercise. If not included, the body exists in a permanently injured state and will not improve or adapt adequately to the exercise. Remember to allow adequate recovery between exercise sessions. It is necessary to refill the glycogen, secondary long-term energy storage in the skeletal muscles and liver.
After exercise, there is a 30 minute window critical to muscle recovery. Before doing anything else, drink something for recovery. Several studies show low-fat and chocolate milk are effective recovery beverages because of their ideal 4:1 combination of carbohydrate and protein that best fuels and replenishes our muscles.
Wisdom in exercise can be compromised by psychological compulsions such as eating disorders (which include exercise bulimia, anorexia, and other bulimias), misinformation, a lack of a good plan, or a lack of motivation and commitment. These all lead to a decreased state of health. Sore Muscles or DOMS, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, can occur after any kind of exercise, particularly if the body is in an unconditioned state relative to that exercise.
History: The benefits of exercise have been known since antiquity. Marcus Cicero, around 65 BC, stated: “It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor.” However, the link between physical health and exercise (or lack of it) was only discovered in 1949 and reported in 1953 by a team led by Dr. Jerry Morris. Dr. Morris noted that men of similar social class and occupation (bus conductors versus bus drivers) had markedly different rates of heart attacks, depending on the level of exercise they got: bus drivers had a sedentary occupation and a higher incidence of heart disease, while bus conductors were forced to move continually and had a lower incidence heart disease.
