To attain your goals, whatever they may be, you need a plan. To make that plan, take some time to educate yourself, discover your options and finally be realistic about the options you choose. Don’t tell yourself you’re going to bike five days a week if you consider mounting that Schwinn a form of torture. You’re a million times more likely to do it if you find something you can enjoy a little. How’s that for scientific? It’s also important to remember that every time you begin working toward a behavior-changing goal you come closer and closer to succeeding. Even if you return to your old ways, you’ve started once and you know how good it feels to treat yourself well. You will start again and this time you’ll be ahead of last time, if not physically then mentally for sure.
The surgeon general’s guidelines for physical activity suggest that all ages shoot for 30 minutes or more of moderate activity most days of the week. This would include walking or 15 to 20 minutes of vigorous activity such as jogging. Studies show even short bouts of moderate activity accumulated throughout the day significantly reduces risk for heart disease. For example, instead of doing one 30-minute session of walking you can squeeze in three 10-minute walks or six five-minute walks. Both methods equal the minimum recommendation of 30 minutes and may be more easily fit into a jam-packed day.
Women, listen up - the chances of you choosing the form of weightlifting that makes you bulky are very slim. Unless you intend on bulking up, it is very tough to do through most weightlifting routines. However, you might be able to get some Jennifer Aniston arms by adding weights to your exercise regimen.
Everyone, especially if you are over 40, listen up! Resistance training helps you keep some of the muscle mass you will inevitably lose as you age and will most likely help you to live a longer independent life - ‘independent’ being the key word. Having muscle strength helps with balance that prevents falling and also enables you to complete daily tasks such as lifting grocery bags or laundry baskets.
It’s the classic don’t-know-what-you’ve-got-until-it’s-gone syndrome; you don’t realize how much you rely on your strength until you’ve lost it. Weight lifting also helps combat the slowing metabolic rate that many struggle with as they age. Cardio exercise is the best calorie burner; during cardio activities, your metabolic rate increases. Similarly, resistance training is the best post-exercise calorie burner. This is why the two go hand in hand - they are very complementary.
A good beginner’s program for health includes 8-10 exercises that work all your major muscle groups including biceps, triceps, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, shoulders, back and abdominals. For health, not bulk, do eight to 12 repetitions of each exercise and one or two sets. As for frequency, try to do the entire program two or three times a week and leave a day between so your muscles can recover. To choose the correct weight or resistances use your repetition goal for that day as a guide. You want the last three repetitions to be a challenge to complete. Don’t forget to warm up, cool down, and stretch to prevent injuring yourself.
There we have it, folks, just as easily said as done, right? We may not be in Beijing, but you can do it; take the initiative and go for the gold!
Kaci Briggeman is a fitness center technician at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula.
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