A Walk a Day
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The popularity of walking as a fitness activity is growing by leaps
and bounds. Low risk and easy to start, walking has proved its health
benefits in numerous studies.
An eight-year study of 13,000 people found that those who walked 30
minutes a day had a significantly lower risk of premature death than
those who rarely exercised.
A regular walking program can help:
- Reduce blood cholesterol
- Lower blood pressure
- Increase cardiovascular endurance
- Boost bone strength
- Burn calories and keep weight down
Get ready
A walking program is simple to start. All you need are comfortable
clothes and shoes. Layer loose clothing, keeping in mind that exercise
elevates the body's temperature. Shoes specifically designed for
walking are best.
Every workout should begin with a brief warm-up and a few simple
stretches. Walk around the house or in place for a few minutes to get
the blood flowing to the muscles before you attempt to stretch them.
Although walking primarily works the major muscles of the legs, don't
forget to stretch your back, shoulders and arms. This will help to
loosen up any tension you may be carrying and make your walk more
enjoyable as well as more effective.
Get moving
Beginning walkers can make their workouts less strenuous by limiting how fast and far they walk. Keep in mind the following:
Walk short distances
Begin with a five-minute stroll and gradually increase your distance.
Forget about speed
Walk at a comfortable pace. Focus on good posture, keeping your head lifted and shoulders relaxed.
Swing your arms naturally
Breathe deeply. If you can't catch your breath, slow down or avoid hills.
Be sure you can talk while walking
If you can't converse, you are walking too fast.
Get fit!
Walking is one fitness activity that allows you numerous options.
Once you have reached a point where you can walk a few miles with
relative ease, you can start to vary the intensity.
Walking hills, in addition to increasing your cardiovascular
endurance, is a great way to tone the legs. Concentrate on lengthening
your stride or increasing your speed. And don't forget to reward
yourself after each workout with a few minutes of relaxing stretches to
help prevent sore muscles.
Listening to lively music while you walk is also a great way to
energize your workout. But if you wear headphones, keep the volume down
and watch out for traffic that you may not hear.
Keep track of your progress. Many experts recommend that you walk a
minimum of 20 minutes a day. But there are no hard and fast rules. Fit
walking into your schedule whenever you can. That may mean two
10-minute walks each day, or even hour-long walks two to three times a
week. The best schedule is one that keeps you walking and keeps you fit!
Link to ACE website www.acefitness.org
Spin It: What You Need to Know About Group Indoor Cycling
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Some call it torturous,
others exhilarating. But there's no denying the popularity of group
indoor cycling. What sets these classes apart from the usual boredom of
stationary cycling is the visual imagery provided by instructors.
Participants are led on a "virtual" outdoor road race complete with
hills, valleys, straight-aways and finish lines. But before you reserve
your spot (many classes are so popular that reservations are a must)
and start composing your victory speech, there are few questions to ask
yourself, as well as a few precautions to take, to make your first ride
a smooth and enjoyable one.
What Kind of Shape am I in?
This question is crucial. Despite its heavy promotion as a
workout for even the most uncoordinated, indoor cycling is by no means
for everyone. The intensity levels of many classes are far beyond what
most novices or part-time exercisers can achieve and maintain,
particularly for 40 minutes or more (see sidebar, right).
It's easy to get caught up in an instructor's chant of "Faster
RPMs!" and "Don't sit down!" even if your body is telling you
otherwise. And because not all fitness facilities are able to offer
classes tailored for beginning exercisers, it's important that
participants either be in very good cardiovascular condition, or have
the ability to monitor and adhere to their body's cries for moderation.
Get in Cycling Shape
Just because you may not be ready for a cycling class now
doesn't mean you can't be in the very near future. Consider doing some
cycling-specific training before you take your first indoor cycling
class. Spend some time on a stationary bike, but make it interesting by
creating your own virtual experience by "traveling" some of your
favorite road trips in your mind as you listen to music. You can
increase your endurance by interspersing periods of higher-intensity
cycling (faster speed, greater tension) with more leisurely pedaling.
In just a few short weeks you'll be ready to sign up for your first
indoor cycling class.
Indoor Cycling Essentials
The following helpful tips can make your first cycling experience a positive one:
- Don't make the dreaded mistake of showing up in running shorts or
heavy sweats there's no better way to make your ride unbearable. Opt
instead for bike shorts, preferably padded ones like most outdoor
cyclists wear. While this won't eliminate the possibility of chaffing
and discomfort altogether, it helps a lot.
- Your second most important item: a full water bottle. Get
ready to consume plenty of fluids before, during and immediately
following your workout.
- Adjust the seat to the appropriate height. If the seat is too
low, you won¹t be able to get enough leg extension on the downstroke
and your legs will tire out faster. If it's too high, you'll be
straining to reach and might injure yourself. Here's a good rule to
follow: Your upstroke knee should never exceed hip level, while your
downstroke knee should be about 85 percent straight. And don't grip the
handlebars too tightly, as this will increase the tension in your neck
and shoulders.
- Ask your instructor about his or her training. In addition to
cycling knowledge, they should have experience teaching group exercise
and have earned a primary certification from an organization such as
ACE. Look for an instructor who encourages perceived exertion measures
and/or heart-rate monitoring, and is willing to get off their own bike
to coach beginners.
- Above all, concentrate on exercising at your own pace. Don't
be intimidated by the high speeds and furious intensity of your cycling
mates. Listen to your body and adjust the tension and speed
accordingly, and don't be afraid to slow down or take a break when
necessary.
| What a Workout!
An ACE-sponsored study revealed that exercisers in a typical group
indoor cycling class reported an exertion level in the high teens
(using Borg's Rating of Perceived Exertion, a scale from 6 to 20)
throughout most of the class. In addition, heart-rate measurements
indicated that participants were exercising close to their maximum
heart rate, which validated their perceptions that they were working
hard. Clearly, group indoor cycling classes provide a challenging,
high-intensity workout.
|
Don't Deprive Yourself of the Rewards of Exercise
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Individuals who exercise regularly are less likely to develop:
- Heart disease
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol levels
- Certain forms of cancer
- Osteoporosis
Individuals who exercise regularly are more likely to:
- Maintain a healthy body weight
- Effectively control the pain and joint swelling that accompanies arthritis
- Maintain lean muscle, which is often lost with increasing age
- Have higher levels of self-esteem and self-confidence
- Continue to perform activities of daily living as they grow older
- Experience overall feelings of well-being and good health
Talking to committed exercisers about the benefits of physical
activity is like introducing a dedicated shopper to the joys of a
Nordstrom's anniversary sale. After all, those who exercise are no
strangers to the freedom elicited by movement, to the sense of
accomplishment felt at the end of a long walk or a strength workout.
Those uninitiated in the pleasurable rewards of regular physical
activity, however, remain skeptical. After all, how can something as
basic as exercise not only improve one's life today, but perhaps even
save one's life tomorrow?
Why should you exercise?
Researchers have sought to answer this question for years. In 1996,
the first Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity was released,
detailing the research behind the benefits associated with exercise.
This report goes beyond the anecdotal ''it-just-feels-good'' reason for
exercising.
What follows are the conclusions of years of research on the health benefits of physical activity.
Who is exercise good for?
While not all types of exercise are appropriate for everyone,
everyone can benefit from some type of exercise. After all, exercise is
not limited to running or aerobics.
You can try water workouts or seated-chair classes. You can play
softball or squash, go in-line skating or even take a turn or two
around the mall, provided you don't spend all your time lingering in
front of shop windows. And if you think activities such as ballroom
dancing or tending the garden don't qualify as exercise, think again.
The primary factor in choosing an activity should be whether or not
you enjoy it. Of course, an okay from your doctor also is advisable,
particularly for individuals over 40, or those with special medical
conditions or risk factors for heart disease.
How much exercise does it take?
How much one exercises is an individual decision, but numerous
research studies indicate that hours of intense exercise are not
necessary to reap the benefits detailed in the box to the left. In
fact, health specialists now recommend that most adults accumulate 30
minutes or more of moderate physical activity on most days of the week.
By moderate activity we mean any activity that raises your heart
rate and gets the blood pumping without leaving you out of breath or
exhausted. So, rather than blocking off a large portion of one's day,
10 minutes of walking at lunch and another 20 minutes after dinner, for
example, is all it takes.
For those who are so inclined, exercising at slightly higher
intensities for longer periods of time can bring about even greater
health benefits.
Less important than the intensity or duration of each exercise
session is making the commitment to do some type of physical activity,
whether you focus on aerobic, strength or flexibility training, every
day. Soon, the exhilaration of movement, the empowerment that comes
with greater fitness and health - these things will have you hooked on
exercise.
It won't happen overnight, and there may be some aspects you find
less enjoyable (some people just can't get over the sweating part of
it), but the sense of feeling better, of feeling healthier, will
overpower any negative attitudes toward exercise you may still be
harboring.
Don't worry. These, too, will pass. So, isn't it about time you got started?