peterants

Dr. Mark Stengler has said it better than I could. This except is taken from his pamphlet, Free Medicine and Penny Cures from the Future:

GETTING STARTED

The first step to a successful exercise program is to get motivated. Think of the health improvements you can get by exercising. Also, think how the quality of your life will improve when you loose weight, gain muscle and have an abundance of energy.

With more exercise, many areas of your life can improve, including relationships and work. Exercise is also an effective way to increase sex drive and libido naturally in men and women.

Next, think about what will happen if you don’t exercise. See yourself as out of shape, having less energy, and your body “falling apart.” It’s not a pleasant sight. ……

Besides motivation, compliance is everything when it comes to getting the benefits of exercise and sticking to an exercise program long term. By choosing one or two forms of exercise that you really enjoy, you increase your chances of sticking with it. Exercise should be something to which you look forward. It’s something from which you can gain energy.

CHOOSING THE MIX

When choosing your exercise program, focus on aerobic work first. By this I mean walking, jogging, biking, swimming, tennis, dancing-any activity that keeps you constantly moving.

By contrast, there is also anaerobic exercise-such as weightlifting-but it’s secondary. For example, weightlifting can improve muscular strength, muscle mass and bone density. It is also good for the heart and cardiovascular system. However, I recommend beginning with an aerobic exercise program and then adding an anaerobic exercise like weightlifting.

A combination of cardiovascular training like walking or swimming (or many others) plus some form of resistance training like weights is best. This works all the systems of the body.

Don’t feel that you have to engage in vigorous physical activity to get the benefits of exercise. A study of more than 72,000 female nurses found that women who walk briskly five or more hours a week cut their risk of heart attack by 50 percent.

FREQUENCY AND LENGTH OF EXERCISE

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In general, moderately healthy people should start with 10 to 15 minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week and work up from there.

Over time, the length of the exercise period can be increased to 30 to 45 minutes, and the frequency should be four to six times a week. …..

With aerobic exercise, the goal is to get your pulse rate to about 80% of its theoretical maximum. Theoretical maximum pulse rate is 220 less your age, so a 60 year old person would have a theoretical maximum pulse of 160. That person’s goal would be to get their pulse to the 128 to 136 range.

The goal with anaerobic exercise is different. It is for muscle strengthening purposes. The trick here is to repeat strengthening exercises and to do them fairly slowly. Start with a strengthening exercise that is relatively comfortable for you to do, and repeat it slowly 15 to 25 times.

Dr. Stengler concludes his article with a list of the proven benefits of exercise, which include:

–Regular exercise is helpful for anyone in a detoxification program. It promotes increased circulation and lymphatic drainage. It also causes sweating, and thus stimulates detoxification.

–Exercise increases insulin activity, reduces total cholesterol and triglycerides, and increases the good HDL cholesterol in those who have diabetes. ….. However, anyone who has diabetes should be monitored by his or her doctor, and follow an exercise program under medical supervision.

–By expending energy, you can actually increase your energy and vitality level. This is the paradox of exercise…..

–It is well known that exercise reduces the risk of most cardiovascular diseases.

–Regular exercise has been shown to reduce the number of hot flashes that women experience during menopause.

–Exercise done in moderation strengthens the immune system. For example, breast cancer risk is reduced in women who exercise. ….. Balanced exercise is the key.

–Exercise is one of the most effective techniques to alleviate the effects of stress on the body and mind.

Life Extension Foundation summarized the benefits of exercise this way:

Exercise has been shown to increase life span by an average of one to four years for people who engage in moderate to difficult exercise routines (Jonker JT et al 2006; Franco OH et al 2005). Better yet, those additional years will be healthful years because exercise benefits the heart, lungs, and muscles. Even moderate levels of exercise have been documented to stave off many dreaded diseases of aging.