Common Sense for Exercise

Yesterday, my sister told me  about a presentation at her work regarding fitness.  She was telling me how  "over the top" the speaker's recommendations sounded.  I was truly amazed at the unrealistic and outright silly things he encouraging.  He was literally giving them body-builder advice.  It was not good advice for the average person looking to get fit and lose or maintain weight.  Here are two essential things to consider when talking about fitness, diet and exercise:

1.  Everyone can workout, but not everyone can do the same workout.
2.  Dietary recommendations related to training are not the same for everyone.

Some of the recent fitness trends are pretty extreme.  P90X, Crossfit and Boot Camps have become very popular.  These workouts are great for some people, but there are WAY too much for a good portion of the population.  They contain a lot of high impact moves, plyometrics, chin-ups, rope climbing and more.  For the young and healthy, this can be a fun way to change things up.  For those of us with arthritis in our hips and knees, they can be a quick road to pain.  I long for the days when I could run suicides, but I also know that they are over if I want to walk without a limp.

You need to choose a workout that suits you.  Who cares if you neighbor can run a marathon!  What can YOU do safely and consistently?  You don't need to train everyday, but you should work out a minimum of 3 days per week.  On the days you don't work out, try to get a brief walk or some physical housework in (or something similar) in your day.

Your workout should contain 4 things:
1.  A warm-up of about 5 minutes where you do whole body moves that get your body ready for activity (for example, walking in place, mini squats with reaches and/or knee lifts with arm pull downs).
2. Cardiovascular activity for 20-60 minutes.  You may need to start smaller but you should aim for 20-60.
3. Resistance training or weight training 2-4 days per week.  You do not need a gym membership for this.  A pair of dumbbells will do.  Resistance bands are great too.
4. A cool down that includes stretching.  This should last 5-10 minutes and allow your heart rate to return to near normal and include stretching for the legs, back and upper body.

If you are not training for a marathon or other distance event, body building or some other sort of intense activity, you do not need to add any special things to your diet.  Protein shakes are not necessary, neither is carb loading or Gatorade or any of the other things that get pushed at you as essentials for being "in training."  Those things will sabotage most people's diets and slow weight loss.  Eat a healthy diet.  Period.  Drink lots of water.  Period.  Skip the post workout smoothie- you don't need it.  Fill up your water bottle and eat an orange if you want a post workout snack.

Have a GREAT WORKOUT!  Enjoy what you can do and don't worry about anyone else.