This is the time of year when we make all kinds of resolutions to become more physically active. But it's also the time of year when the weather just happens to be, on average, much less cooperative. So what can you do to keep that New Year's resolution to "get your motor runnin"? First you must fix the reasons for physical activity firmly in your mind. That will affect your resolve and your motivation, which are the keys to both beginning and maintaining your exercise program. Here are some good reasons to get physically active:
Exercise is safe and effective for long-term weight loss. When you first begin, the muscles burn glucose (blood sugar) almost exclusively, but after 7-10 days there is a very important switch in the muscle fuel supply. After that period of conditioning, muscles begin to burn 50 percent fat and 50 percent glucose. This is great news for those who persevere because it means a fat loss of 1-2 pounds per week! That translates primarily into the observation that your clothing seems to be getting bigger as you exercise. Because of this, you may not see weight loss, since muscles, which are heavier than fat, also increase in size due to the increased physical activity.
Physical activity boosts the immune response, and that is especially important during the cold and flu season. Normally the body uses a fever to boost the immune response by releasing proteins called endogenous pyrogens. But exercise has an alternate way to boost the immune response, because exercise burns calories and heats up the body above the normal body temperature. When it does, the body interprets this as a "fever signal", and begins to boost the immune response. You can very often sail thru the winter without getting a cold or the flu if you will heat up the body via exercise three times per week.
Exercise helps protect you from a fatal heart attack. This is particularly important because 50 percent of heart attacks are fatal. If you are an average American, you probably have a cholesterol level of greater then 150, which is where the risk for heart disease begins, according to the Framingham study. If you do have a coronary occlusion or blockage, a program of moderate intensity walking is like an insurance policy against a fatal heart attack. That is because as you walk you put pressure on the area that is occluded. When the body senses the lack of adequate blood supply to the heart tissue beyond the occlusion, it builds brand new blood vessels around the blockage. These new vessels are known in cardiac circles as collateral circulation. This network of new blood vessels can literally save your life by shunting blood around the blockage, should a blood clot form at the site of the blockage.
Physical activity fights depression and anxiety. The post holiday blues are at the highest after Christmas and New Year's Day. For one thing, people generally spend more than they have, and those depressing bills now show up. For another, people usually indulge in sugar and super-sweet foods over the holidays… foods that are often devoid of the B vitamins. This produces depression or "sugar blues". Exercise fights depression by the release of endorphins (mood enhancers) that create a feeling of well being. Endorphins are actually chemically very similar to morphine, and in very small amounts, they produce a sense of euphoria in the exerciser. But be aware that just like the fat-burning enzymes which take several days of physical activity to appear, the endorphins release in about 7-10 days also. That means you have to persevere.
So how much exercise should you get? The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that every adult should get 30-60 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every day of the week, or 20+ minutes of vigorous exercise most days of the week. Exercise does not need to be strenuous, which means that a walking program will do just nicely. Get an exercise buddy to help you with accountability, and "get your motor runnin". That's the best productivity, health promotion, and disease prevention strategy that you could possibly implement for the new year!
Jack McIntosh, Health Educator
and Regional Account Manager |
