Beginning an Exercise Program: Keep it Simple

The fitness test is a couple months away and you have not been able to stay consistent with your exercise program. We have all been there for some reason; perhaps work, family, or school has sapped your time and energy. Where do you begin? Here is an idea: keep it simple! Just M.O.V.E.! We are designed to move, not to be sedentary and inactive, as evidenced by the overwhelming prevalence of chronic diseases among Americans today. To get you started think of the word move, or rather the acronym M.O.V.E.

M - Move! Find more ways to incorporate movement into your daily activities. Park further away from work or always take the stairs. Need to run errands over at BLDG 5000 and check the mail? Park in the middle and walk to and from; as long as you are incorporating more movement it will add up at the end of the day.
O - Objective. What is your target goal? Decrease abdominal circumference? Increase your cardio intensity or duration. Want to increase core or upper body strength? Do push-ups with a core ball, followed by regular push-ups, then transition to push-ups on your knees to sufficiently overload the muscles. Set your goal and dedicate your workouts to your objective: your fitness goal.
V - Verify. Verify your measurements to give you baseline measurements or rather a starting point to progress from. Find a friend to measure your abdominal circumference. Test muscle strength by maxing out on your pushups and sit-ups in one minute as well with the mile and-a-half run. You get the idea.
E - Enjoy! Staying active should be at least somewhat enjoyable. Fun activities might include racquetball, basketball, or walking in the evenings. Choose something to elevate your heart rate for 30 minutes a day for a few times per week.

Granted you are medically cleared to exercise and complete the AF fitness assessment, you can do just about any type of resistance training a couple of days per week for a few weeks to achieve results. Once you have achieved your goals you can set new ones or perform a maintenance program. Muscle strength can be maintained in as little as one vigorous workout per week!
Another option would be to try consulting a professional who can create a program for your fitness level to reduce the likelihood of musculoskeletal injuries, and to optimize your workout time. What have you got to lose but weight? There is no need to make it complicated or to procrastinate because you are unsure of what to do to achieve your goals. For an example program to start you off check out the Personal Training Rx site on Facebook.

The track is a good resource at our disposal to for getting a specific and effective workout. The following workout is a means for preparing for the fitness test; I like to call it Four Corners. It is designed to overload your muscles and keep your heart rate up to achieve the cardiorespiratory benefits; training for both the aerobic and muscular strength portions of the PT test. Of course ensure you are medically cleared prior to performing any exercise program, be aware of environmental conditions, and drink plenty of water!

Prevention is Key

Health and fitness professionals alike continually stress the importance of preventative health maintenance. We get regular check-ups with our doctor, quit smoking, eat a balanced diet, and exercise on a regular basis to decrease the likelihood of developing chronic diseases. Chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity can develop throughout all stages of our lives. This is why health professionals continually emphasize the importance of preventative health measures such as participating in physical activity to optimize total health; every little bit adds up over time. Making the effort to stay active and exercise is our number one tool to decrease the likelihood of developing chronic diseases and combat the effects of aging. Recommendations for physical activity would include accumulating 20 minutes per day of aerobic activity to improve heart health and at least two sessions of resistance training per week. Consistently exercising is healthy, but what kind of benefits can we expect to attain? Here are some benefits one could expect to gain from participating in regular physical activity.

Adaptations from Aerobic Exercise
Increase in:
Cardiovascular function with greater blood flow and cardiac output
Maximal oxygen uptake, greater endurance, and delivery of oxygen to tissues
Metabolic function like burning more fat tissue at rest and ultimately decreasing total body fat mass

Adaptations from Weight Training
Increase in muscle mass, total metabolism, and bone density
Decreases in insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and triglycerides.

Exercise has also been proven to aid with reducing anxiety, decreasing mild depression, enhancing overall mood and self esteem, and significantly reducing stress. Other adaptations might include boosted immunity, improved brain function, and so many more. The benefits of regular exercise are numerous and can even save us money in health care costs up to $500 annually! Ultimately exercise is the greatest tool that we have at our disposal to combat developing chronic diseases and maintaining optimal health.

Sources:
American College of Sports Medicine
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
World Health Organization

Invest In Yourself

    Since the dawn of the industrial age to present day, physical activity levels have decreased significantly enough to warrant a concern based on the overwhelming prevalence of chronic diseases. Chronic diseases would include obesity and various forms of heart disease and cancers. Due to society relying more and more on technological advances such as improved methods of transportations we have minimized our activity levels to point of sedentarism. In 1900 the leading cause of death was pneumonia, while in 2000 the leading cause of death was cardiovascular disease; a significant change even with improvements in modern medicine. Scientific evidence indicates that chronic diseases such as diabetes, various forms of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and some forms of cancer can be decreased by simply increasing physical activity levels. Even so lifespan expectancy has increased, but yet the current leading causes of death are preventable through maintaining a healthy lifestyle by consistently exercising, eating a balanced diet, and not smoking tobacco. Notably, the solution to the number one killer in America is obvious and lies in a few modifications that can be easily implemented. Whether it is walking or doing calisthenics, a greater emphasis and responsibility lies in each individual to find ways to stay healthy through increased physical activity.

    Where can we start to make simple modifications in lifestyle to combat aging, the risk of cardiovascular disease, and improve quality of life? Increase physical activity by making time to exercise or even incorporate some simple strategies. A few strategies might be to take the stairs rather than the elevator, park car further away from work, and even walking to and from work. Exercising can be as easy as performing 30 minutes of moderate cardio five days per week; brisk walking that can be done any time of day. Performing physical activity consistently on a long term basis can also increase metabolic rates, lower stress levels, and positively affect hormone production.

    Exercising can have many other benefits besides looking trim and fit, the bottom line is that exercise is our preservative from the natural processes of aging. The body is the greatest tool we will ever own, treat it as an investment and take care of it. Invest in yourself as you would with your vehicle or house; seek out professionals like dieticians or personal trainers that can help you reach your wellness goals. Through regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and stretching we can combat the effects of aging and a sedentary lifestyle.

 

Source

http://www.publicagenda.org/charts/leading-causes-death-1900-and-2004

http//:www.acsm.org