Step Two: Exercise

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You were afraid this was coming, didn’t you? By “exercise,” we don’t mean the “feel the burn” “no pain, no gain” types of exercise. While there are a number of excellent ways to give your body the exercise it needs, walking is the most natural and normal activity most people can do. If you’re not already moving your body regularly everyday let’s start with walking.

Walking requires little time and no equipment, and research has shown that walking (brisk or power walking) can be beneficial and effective to overall health.

The benefits of exercise vary from burning excess body fat to preventing conditions that are likely to diminish functional capacity, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. In addition, recent studies have shown that a regular exercise program significantly improves mental capacity.

In fact, walking and other exercise leads to the release of the body’s natural happy drugs—endorphins. Many physicians recommend adding regular walking and exercise as a natural treatment to relieve a bout of depression.

Regular exercise is a vital part of any arthritis treatment program because it increases strength and mobility, and reduces pain at the same time. The joint movement from walking strengthens cartilage—the material that protects the ends of bones—by transporting nutrients and waste products to and from it.

You can be creative about walking and exercising. For example, park further away from work or the store. You’ll be amazed how much stress you relieve by not having to find close parking. Take the stairs next time instead of the elevator. Offer to take an evening walk with your spouse, kids, or dog.

Of course, if you’ve been sedentary lately, you’ll benefit from any increase in activity. Start with 30 minutes of walking a day. If you can’t do 30, start with 20, or 15. Start right now. After you’ve walked into the kitchen to get another drink of water, keep going right out the door and around the block!

The Journey to Optimal health begins with your first step--then add 9,999 more!

Perhaps a time goal leaves us vulnerable to an all-or-nothing attitude. If we can’t fit in 30 minutes or an hour of exercise, we may give up. Wearing a pedometer, on the other hand, may help us see how seizing each opportunity to be active adds up for our health.

A clinical study* compared the actual physical activity between women who followed a 30-minute per day of exercise guideline, and women who tried to reach 10,000 steps a day.

Before the study, both groups walked less than 7,000 steps each day. The women who aimed for 30 minutes of exercise reached 9,505 steps on the days in which they included a 30-minute walk.
But on the days without this walk, they reached less than 5,600 steps a day. In contrast, the women who tried for 10,000 steps averaged 11,775 steps when they met their goal. Even when they fell short, however, they still averaged 7,780 steps.

Clip a pedometer on right now and start counting your steps. Falling short of 10,000 steps a day? It will be easier to try increasing by only 2,500 steps per day increments.

* May 2004 issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise?, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Exercise increases energy levels and increases serotonin in the brain, which leads to improved mental clarity.
Recent US government guidelines say that to lose weight and keep it weight off, you should accumulate at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. But half an hour a day is all you need to reap the health and disease-fighting benefits of exercise.
Research has shown that exercise can slow or help prevent heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis (bone loss), and loss of muscle mass.
Regular walking triggers the release of substances that improve the overall condition of arteries and increase their flexibility. Researchers have found that walking alone can improve artery elasticity up to 35 percent. One study monitored 24 sedentary postmenopausal women, ages 60 plus, walking 40 minutes a day, 5 days a week. After 12 weeks, these women improved the elasticity of their arteries to the same condition of someone 28 years old.
—Dr. Kerrie Moreau, University of Colorado
Walking has the power to reverse the aging process and safeguard your heart. As you age, your arteries lose up to 60 percent of their stretchiness, leading to an increased risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, and stroke.
Aerobic exercise of any kind has the power to calm jangled nerves and improve bad moods. When it is done every day, it can enhance self-esteem and combat depression. Research has shown that a brisk 20-30 minute walk can have the same calming effect as a mild tranquilizer.