8. Love Your Muscles
The human body is an amazing
machine, and muscles are a large part of what drives it. There are about
650 muscles in the body, and they provide all kinds of support and
propulsion. The skeletal muscles, in conjunction with tendons and
ligaments, support the body’s frame and give it shape; smooth muscles
line body organs; and cardiac muscles pump the heart. Muscles are at
work constantly to adjust your posture, move your body parts, keep you
upright, operate certain bodily functions, and generate heat in your
body.
Skeletal muscles work in
pairs so that when you move, one contracts and another relaxes. This
way, all the parts that need to bend can also return to their normal
position. Muscles need the nutrients and oxygen transported by your
blood to keep them functioning; the better your muscles are cared for,
the better they perform. And the better they perform—on a regular
basis—the more you boost your metabolism.
9. Protect Your Muscles
Done properly, exercise
strengthens muscles, helping them to do their job better. If you
overwork a muscle group (even without intending to), you can strain and
even tear your muscles, which can force you to stop exercising until the
muscles heal. To avoid this, treat your muscles with respect. Warm them
up, don’t push them too hard, and help strengthen them properly by
stretching carefully and thoroughly.
10. Strive to Become a Long, Lean, Metabolism-Boosting Machine
Exercise keeps our bodies and all
of their parts working efficiently. When your heart is fit, it beats
more strongly but uses less energy to keep pumping. When your muscles
are fit, they can lift more and work longer without feeling stress or
getting hurt. When your entire body is fit, you burn more calories,
sleep better at night, and have a stronger immune system and higher
metabolic rate. When you exercise regularly and effectively, your body
is lean, sleek, and capable. You’ll need to do 30 minutes of moderate
activity daily (which can be broken up into 10-minute sessions) to stay
healthy, and three or four high-intensity workouts each week to stay
truly fit. The more you exercise, the more calories you burn, and the
stronger your heart and muscles are.
11. Up the Amount of General Exercise You Get Daily
General exercise includes
any activity that requires the use of muscles, such as walking around
the block, doing housework or yard work, and taking the stairs rather
than the elevator. A 30-minute walk can make a significant difference,
as will any other activities that involve total body movement—and we
don’t mean moving your thumb while playing video games or moving your
arms while knitting. Move your body to boost your metabolism and to
vastly improve your overall health.
12. Increase Your Stamina
Exercises that increase
stamina greatly benefit the heart and lungs. These activities require
far more exertion than general physical activity and include running,
cycling, swimming laps, playing tennis, dancing, in-line skating, and
playing handball or racquetball. The goal is to strengthen the heart and
lungs by working both at full capacity. If you haven’t exercised in a
while, it’s a good idea to start slowly and gradually increase the
amount of exercise you do in a week. As your stamina increases, you’ll
find it easier to do more and more. If you’re over forty, it’s also wise
to get a physical exam from your doctor before starting any type of
stamina-building exercise—just to be on the safe side.
13. Improve Your Strength and Flexibility
Exercises to increase strength and
flexibility include weightlifting (whether through the use of free
weights or the kind of weight machines found in most gyms) and yoga,
Pilates, and similar stretching activities. Maintaining strength, muscle
tone, and flexibility is especially important during our middle and
senior years, and there are additional benefits as well, such as
improving bone density and reducing risk of injury from accidents.
Weight-bearing exercises are particularly important for women because
they can help prevent the onset of osteoporosis later in life by
maintaining bone density before, during, and after menopause. And you
don’t have to lift weights until you bulge like Mr. Universe; most
health specialists say 30 to 40 minutes of weight training a week is
sufficient to maintain optimum health.
Strength-training
exercises isolate muscles and muscle groups and build muscular strength
and endurance. Improvements in muscular strength cause the body to burn
more calories, even at rest. These exercises include weight training,
calisthenics, and sometimes activities like yoga or ballet. You
stimulate muscle growth by pushing your muscles a bit beyond what they
are accustomed to. To strengthen muscles, they must experience
resistance, or an opposing force. The terms resistance training and strength training are used interchangeably and simply mean the process (just described) used to produce strength; the term weight training refers to using weight or weights as a form of resistance that produces gains in strength.
14. Choose the Right Exercise
No single physical
activity or exercise approach is right for all populations; the needs
and abilities of men are different from those of women, just as the
needs and abilities of younger people are different from those in their
senior years. The goals of regular exercise are also as varied as the
individuals who engage in it. Some people exercise to lose weight;
others want to increase muscle mass, strength, or endurance. Whatever
your personal goal may be, the key to success is perseverance. It may
take some trial and error before you find the most satisfying and
effective exercise regimen for your individual needs and abilities, but
the time spent is well worth it. As any doctor will tell you, exercise
is one of the key components to adding many more healthful years to your
life.
15. Seek Variety
The fittest bodies and healthiest
people get that way due to a variety of types of exercises, such as
walking, weightlifting, and yoga or bicycling, swimming, and gardening.
The more variety in your exercise program, the more likely it is that
your body will increase in strength, endurance, and flexibility—and the
less likely it is that you’ll suffer from overuse injuries.
A well-rounded exercise
regimen should strengthen muscles, benefit the heart and lungs, and
build endurance. For optimum results, alternate weight training,
aerobics, and circuit training. Relying on only one form of exercise
will not benefit your entire body. For example, weightlifting
strengthens your muscles, but you’ll also need some cardiovascular
activity, such as aerobics, to benefit your heart and lungs.
