Get Healthy Guide 2024
Embracing Exercise
In this segment of my Get Healthy Guide 2024, I’ll be focusing on the importance of incorporating regular exercise into your routine to achieve and maintain optimal health.
Many people exercise mainly to lose weight, but this shouldn't be the only reason. While regular exercise helps burn calories and maintain muscle mass, it's not as impactful as your diet when it comes to weight loss. Makes sense, right? For example, it takes 20 minutes on a treadmill to burn the calories in one medium sized chocolate chip cookie.
If weight loss is the main goal, it's harder to stay motivated to exercise if your scale stops moving. Embracing exercise for its many other health benefits helps keep you engaged.
Types of Exercise
There are five types of exercise that are recommended for a well-rounded fitness routine. It's important to incorporate and alternate all of them to reap the comprehensive health benefits.
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Cardiovascular Exercise: This is also known as ‘aerobic’ exercise and includes any physical activity that increases your heart and breathing rates. Brisk walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, or aerobics classes are just some examples.
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Strength Training: Also known as weight training or resistance training, strength training involves the performance of physical exercises that are designed to improve strength and endurance. It is often associated with lifting weights but can also include bodyweight exercises (such as power yoga), isometrics (i.e. doing planks), and plyometrics (i.e. burpees, jumping rope).
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Flexibility and Stretching Exercises: These types of exercises improve muscle elasticity and joint range of motion. Yoga, Pilates, or simple stretching routines are examples.
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Balance Exercises: These types of exercises help reduce the risk of falls and improve stability. This is especially important as we age as our fall risk increases. Tai Chi, yoga, and specific balance-focused exercises can be beneficial.
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Functional Exercises: These activities mimic everyday movements to improve overall functional fitness. This could involve exercises that help with bending, lifting, reaching, and other activities relevant to daily life. By improving these movements, you enhance your ability to perform everyday tasks more efficiently and with reduced risk of injury. Many functional exercises also engage core muscles, improve coordination, and promote better balance and stability.
Now, let's look at each type of exercise in more detail....
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular (CV) exercises are vigorous activities that rhythmically and repetitively engage the large muscle groups in your body. The rise in heart rate and respiration enhances blood flow and raises oxygen levels to your most vital internal body organs.
Health Benefits of CV Exercise:
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Improved Heart Health: Cardio exercises strengthen the heart muscle, improving its ability to pump blood efficiently. This helps in reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure.
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Better Circulation: Regular cardio workouts enhance blood circulation throughout the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to tissues and organs more effectively while aiding in the removal of waste products.
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Increased Lung Capacity: Cardio workouts improve lung function and capacity by enhancing the efficiency of oxygen exchange. This leads to better endurance and stamina over time.
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Better Mood: Cardio activities stimulate the release of endorphins, the body's natural 'feel-good' hormones. This reduces stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression, and promotes an overall sense of mental well-being.
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Better Sleep: Regular CV exercise can improve sleep quality and help regulate sleep patterns, leading to more restful and rejuvenating sleep.
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Boosted Energy Levels: Engaging in regular cardio activities can increase overall energy levels by improving the body's ability to efficiently use oxygen and fuel.
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Reduced Risk of Chronic Diseases: Besides benefiting the heart, CV exercises lower the risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, certain cancers, and metabolic syndrome.
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Improved Brain Health: Cardio workouts can enhance cognitive function, memory, and overall brain health by promoting better blood flow to the brain and encouraging the growth of new brain cells.
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Longer Lifespan: Studies have suggested that regular participation in cardiovascular exercise is linked to increased longevity and a reduced risk of premature death.
Recommendations for CV Training:
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week for adults. This translates to around 30 minutes per day for five days a week for moderate-intensity exercise, or 25 minutes per day for three days a week for vigorous-intensity exercise.
Here's a breakdown:
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Moderate-Intensity Exercise: Aim for 150 minutes per week. Examples include brisk walking, cycling at a moderate pace, water aerobics, or dancing. OR...
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Vigorous-Intensity Exercise: Aim for 75 minutes per week. Activities like running, swimming laps, cycling at a high speed, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) fall into this category.
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Combination of Intensities: You can also mix moderate and vigorous-intensity exercise throughout the week. For instance, combining two days of vigorous-intensity exercise (totaling 50 minutes) with three days of moderate-intensity exercise (totaling 100 minutes) meets the AHA's recommendations.
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Incremental Approach: If you're just starting or if these durations seem overwhelming, you can begin with shorter sessions and gradually increase your exercise duration and intensity as your fitness level improves.
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Consistency: Consistency is key if you want to reap the maximum benefits from your cardio routine. Breaking down the recommended durations into smaller sessions throughout the week can make it more manageable.
Strength Training
Did you know that inactive adults lose 3%-8% of their muscle mass per decade?! Less muscle mass means lower resting energy needs and increased fat accumulation. If you want to reduce your body fat, increase your lean muscle mass and burn calories more efficiently, strength training is the key. Strength training is the use of weights or other form of resistance to increase muscle mass, strength, and endurance.
Health Benefits of Strength Training (ST):
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Increased Muscle Strength and Endurance: Regular strength training sessions lead to stronger muscles. This means less effort and fatigue with everyday physical activities.
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Improved Bone Health: Resistance training helps enhance bone density, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures, especially important for women as they age.
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Enhanced Metabolism: Building muscle through strength training boosts your resting metabolic rate. This means you burn more calories even at rest.
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Improved Joint Health and Flexibility: Strengthening muscles around joints reduces the risk of injuries and enhances joint stability. Flexibility and range of motion also improve.
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Better Body Composition: In addition to reducing body fat, strength training helps shape and tone which leads to a more defined physique.
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Improved Mental Health: Like cardio exercise, strength training can positively impact mood by releasing endorphins, reducing stress, and improving overall mental well-being.
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Chronic Disease Management: It can assist in managing chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, and back pain by strengthening muscles and improving overall function.
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Increased Functional Strength: Functional movements in strength training, such as squats, lunges, and lifts, mimic daily activities, making it easier to perform these tasks.
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Better Balance and Posture: Strengthening core muscles and other muscle groups improves stability, balance, and posture, reducing the risk of falls and related injuries.
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Heart Health: Like CV exercise, strength training can also contribute to heart health by lowering many risk factors, such as high blood pressure.
Recommendations for Strength Training
The recommended amount of time for strength training or resistance exercise per week can vary based on individual goals, fitness levels, and schedules. However, a general guideline is to aim for at least 2 to 3 sessions of strength training per week, each lasting about 20 to 60 minutes.
Here's a breakdown:
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Frequency: Aim for 2 to 3 non-consecutive days per week dedicated to strength training. This allows muscles time to recover between sessions.
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Duration: A strength training session can range from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on your routine and the number of exercises and sets performed.
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Intensity: Focus on working different muscle groups during each session. Include exercises targeting major muscle groups like legs, back, chest, shoulders, arms, and core.
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Repetitions and Sets: Aim for 8 to 12 repetitions (reps) per exercise for muscular endurance and hypertrophy (muscle growth). Perform 2 to 3 sets of each exercise, adjusting weight or resistance to challenge your muscles.
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Rest between Sets: Allow 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes of rest between sets to recover before starting the next set.
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Progression: Gradually increase the weight or resistance as your muscles adapt to the exercise to continue challenging them.
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Variety: Incorporate a variety of exercises to target different muscle groups and prevent boredom or plateauing in progress.
Remember, the key to effective strength training is quality over quantity. Ensure proper form and technique to prevent injuries and maximize the benefits.
Flexibility & Stretching Exercises
Flexibility and balance exercises should be another into your routine, such as through yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, or specific balance-focused exercises, offers a wide range of health benefits. These exercises not only improve physical performance but also contribute to injury prevention, better posture, and overall functional fitness, promoting a healthier and more active lifestyle.
Let's take a closer look at yoga and pilates:
Health Benefits of Yoga:
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Improved Flexibility: Yoga involves various poses (asanas) that help stretch and lengthen muscles, improving flexibility and range of motion.
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Increased Strength: Holding yoga poses engages and strengthens various muscle groups which enhances overall strength.
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Better Posture: Practicing yoga can improve posture by strengthening the core muscles and promoting body awareness.
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Stress Reduction: Yoga incorporates breathing techniques (pranayama) and meditation, promoting relaxation and reducing stress levels.
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Enhanced Balance and Stability: Many yoga poses focus on balance which improves coordination and stability.
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Better Breathing: Controlled breathing exercises in yoga (pranayama) can improve lung function and respiratory efficiency.
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Pain Relief: Regular yoga practice can alleviate chronic pain conditions such as lower back pain, arthritis, and headaches.
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Heart Health: Some forms of yoga, like Vinyasa or Power Yoga, can offer cardiovascular benefits by increasing heart rate and circulation.
Health Benefits of Pilates:
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Core Strength: Pilates exercises primarily target the core muscles, enhancing core strength and stability.
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Improved Posture and Alignment: Pilates emphasizes proper alignment, helping improve posture and reducing strain on the body.
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Increased Flexibility: Pilates movements promote flexibility, particularly in the spine and major muscle groups.
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Muscle Tone and Endurance: Pilates uses controlled movements to build long, lean muscles and improve muscle endurance.
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Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation: It's often used as a form of rehabilitation for injuries and is valuable for preventing future injuries by strengthening muscles around joints.
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Mind-Body Connection: Pilates focuses on precision and concentration, fostering a better mind-body connection.
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Stress Reduction: Similar to yoga, Pilates incorporates breathing techniques that can help reduce stress and promote relaxation.
Recommendations for Flexibility & Stretching Exercises
The frequency of flexibility and balance exercises can vary based on individual fitness goals, abilities, and preferences. However, a general recommendation is to include flexibility and balance exercises in your routine 2 to 3 times per week.
Here's a breakdown:
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Flexibility Exercises: Aim to perform stretching exercises or activities that promote flexibility at least 2 to 3 days a week. It's essential to focus on major muscle groups and perform static stretches, holding each stretch for 15-30 seconds without bouncing.
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Stretching Exercises: Include stretching exercises 2 to 3 days a week. Make sure to start with exercises that match your current ability level and gradually progress to more challenging ones.
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Consistency and Progression: Consistency is key to seeing improvements in flexibility and balance. As you become more comfortable with these exercises, you can increase the duration or intensity to continue challenging yourself and progressing.
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Variety: Incorporate a variety of flexibility and balance exercises into your routine to target different muscle groups and challenge your stability in various ways.
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Recovery and Rest: Allow your body time to recover between flexibility and balance sessions. Overdoing it can lead to muscle fatigue or potential injury. Alternate these exercises with other forms of exercise to give your body adequate rest.
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Individual Needs: Consider your individual needs, fitness level, and any specific health conditions when determining the frequency and intensity of these exercises. If you're unsure, consulting a fitness professional or physical therapist can provide personalized guidance.
Balancing Exercises
Balance exercises help you keep your balance. These exercises are especially important for older adults because they reduce fall risk. The also:
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Improve coordination.
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Enhance physical stability.
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Strengthen your core.
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Improve posture.
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Improve focus and concentration.
Examples of balance exercises include standing on one leg, heel-to-toe walking, balancing on a stability ball, and side leg lifts. Here are some other options.
Boosting the Benefits
You can get even faster and better results with your exercise routine by adding certain pharmaceutical grade nutritional supplements. Here are my favorites:
ATP Ignite™ Workout contains a unique blend of natural exercise enhancers has been formulated to meet the demanding needs of the body during and after exercise. This great-tasting drink mix provides a low-carb, zero-sugar combination of vitamins, electrolytes, chelated trace minerals, key amino acids, herbs, and powerful antioxidants which fuel muscular excitability and take performance and recovery to the next level.
CarniteX™, a highly stabilized form of the amino acid L-carnitine. It supports cardiovascular health, pulmonary function, and muscle recovery from exercise.
L-carnitine also helps the body use fat more efficiently and promotes energy production in the heart and skeletal muscle.
FIT Food® Lean Collagen promotes muscle health and recovery, especially after exercise.
It also promotes the production of collagen and connective tissues and prevents the breakdown of muscle tissue during and after exercise.
SynovX® Performance is a breakthrough formula designed for active adults who don't want to slow down or reduce their ability to perform athletic tasks–from walking to extreme sports.
It promotes healthy joint fluid and synovial membranes, supports joint mobility, and reduces inflammation. Keep the fluid in your joints healthy just as you would change the oil in your car to get more mileage.
These packets contain three key things that support muscle, heart, and immune system health:
1) ALAmax™ CR. This is a whole-body, multifunctional antioxidant that helps to maintain healthy, well-functioning cells. ALAmax CR is designed to neutralize free radicals. In addition, ALAmax CR helps the body synthesize glutathione, the body’s own master detoxifier, and it “recharges” other important antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, and CoQ10, giving them the ability to continue fighting free radicals for extended periods of time.
2) N.O.max™ ER is an extended-release nitric oxide precursor. Scientists now refer to nitric oxide (NO) as the “foundation” of cardiovascular health. That's because it's responsible for controlling blood flow to the entire body, and this supports healthy blood flow pressure and promote the health of your blood vessels. Supplementation with N.O. is important since it declines with age.
3) Resveratin™ Plus provides a complete bioflavonoid complex with resveratrol, quercetin, and pterostilbene. These three potent antioxidants work together to destroy free radicals and reduce inflammation. They also help promote heart and muscle health.
Check out other great 'exercise enhancing' supplements on our website: www.theedwardsedge.com