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Aimee's Soapbox!
July 2004: “The Simply Fit Lifestyle Program”
Welcome back, Groovy Readers, from your Road Trip of Change!
Now, the rest is easy. You have already overcome the fundamental obstacles which prevented you from
enjoying a fit, healthy quality of life. You have made a commitment to change, you believe in the change,
and now you get to enjoy the benefits of the change.
The information below can serve as guidelines that will help you understand the basic principles of fitness
exercise. Anyone can give you an exercise program, but if you don't understand the why's of working out,
you may not be getting the full benefit of the exercise and you may even get hurt.
What does it mean to be fit?
Quite simply, fitness can be measured by quality of life. You should expect, even demand, that your body
be able to walk up and down stairs without getting winded, to shovel snow without straining a muscle, to put
lotion on your own back and not miss any spots. Unfortunately, I think, too many people look upon these things
as the inevitable consequences of aging. WRONG! I know two 60-something women, one of whom can leg press 4 times
her own weight and one of whom ran a 4-hour marathon.
Your body was made to be used in a variety of ways. Some activities in life require not much effort but a lot of
stamina. Some require short burts of high energy. Therefore, in order for you to be fit, you would need to develop
ALL of these areas. Science has broken down fitness into five basic components.
CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE
This term refers to how efficient your lungs (cardio) and your heart (vascular) are over the long run (pun intended).
To improve your cardiovascular endurance, you might try an aerobics class or running or swimming - any activity that
keeps you moving for an extended period of time.
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE
This term refers to how efficient your muscles are over the long run. In other words, how many times could you lift
a moderate weight? Weight training using a low amount of weight and a high number of repetitions (3 sets of 12 repetitions,
for example) will improve your muscle endurance.
MUSCULAR STRENGTH
Your muscle strength measures hwo much weight you could lift one time. Those large Russian men in the Olympics who clean and jerk
obscene amounts of weight demonstrate great muscular strenght; they only lift it one time, but it is a LOT of weight.
FLEXIBILITY
An often neglected area, flexibility is the range of motion that is possible around a joint. It is key for preventing
injury and soreness and for improving general muscle tone. Some studies even suggest that a daily flexibility routine will
delay the appearance of aging. In other words, it will keep the skin and muscle tissue more supple and elastic.
BODY COMPOSITION
This term refers to your ratio of lean muscle mass to body fat. Most body fat testing methods are subjective and can have
up to 10% error. In general, a good fitness level for men is under 15% body fat. A good fitness level for women is under
20% body fat. These numbers will change depending upon your age. And a certain amount of body fat is essential for proper
body function, of course. For men, this number is 3-6%, and for women it is 8 - 12%.
Other areas such as agility, power, and speed can be part of fitness, too, but for our purposes we will stick with these five.
OK, you may be thinking, I run four miles a day, so I must be fit. Or maybe you go to the gym religiously to lift weights, so
you think you must be fit. WRONG AGAIN! Unless you run AND lift the weights AND stretch, you are not, by definition, fit. You must
gain proficiency in all five areas listed above in order to be fit. After all, what good is it if you can run a marathon but can't get
out of bed in the morning because you are so stiff and inflexible?
There is no one best way to improve any of these components. But it does make sense to choose an activity you enjoy. Don't think that
running is the only way to gain cardiovascular endurance. Cycling, rowing, and swimming are all excellent examples of endurance-building
activities. And some activities will have crossover benefits: that weight training you did over the winter will help you pedal up Mt. Misery
much faster this summer.
I may ruffle some feathers or lose a few readers, but I have to tell you that, personally, I find those studies that say you can exercise for 10
minutes here and 10 minutes there and be fit are completely ridiculous. Whatever activities you choose to do, allow yourself 30-60 minutes per day for
4-6 days per week. Any less than that and you will not see the kind of improvements that I think you will want. Now, if you are currently not doing ANY
exercise, anything that you do will cause improvement in your quality of life. But this article is not about "taking off a few pounds" or "flattening
your tummy." This article is about making a commitment to a new, healthy lifestyle. So suck it up and deal with it, and give yourself the 6 hours per
week that you deserve!
Coming up...
The upcoming sections will discuss the basics for your exercise program. You will need to do cardiovascular training, weight training, and
flexibility training (stretching) in order to address all five components of fitness. These three types of training all have their own set of rules and
guidelines. Once you understand the basic principles, the possibilities for workouts are endless.
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