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?
