If there is a secret to long, healthy life and virility...even if you did not choose the right parents, it is regular exercise: aerobic, graded, and integrated into one's life-style. 

But what is that concept?  Well, after getting medical clearance from your physician if you are over 50 or if you have long been a couch potatoe at any age, the important exercise is endurance-building rather than muscle-building: brisk walking, stair-climbing, bicycling, rowing, etc. For example, a 72 year old man, 6 ft. tall, 205 lbs, in fairly good condition and fairly active generally, does a 1 mile brisk walk at 4 miles per hour in fifteen minutes, with a two minute warmup and two mnute cool-down, during which time his pulse (monitored constantly by a Polar Pacer, very important) goes from 65/minute to 100 - 120, depending on the exercise, with a return below 90 within two minutes.  He then does 8 flights of stairs at 3 flights per minute.  He then rows (at maximum machine tension) 500 meters at 35 strokes per minute.  He does that two or three times per week.  It takes about 30-40 minutes...and it feels great.  

"Try it.  You'll like it".

GS

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Excercise... Issue 0509-01

September 5, 2005

Many sedentary and often fat people regard "exercise as the province of the vain and irresponsible.  Those who engage in it are often seen as devoted more to their physiques than to their kids or their careers".  But the cognitive functions of such people may already be affected.  See "Exploring the Bicycle - Brain Connection: How Exercise Boosts Cognitive Function", by Kevin Helliker, WSJ Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, Personal Journal, pD1).  Both short and long-term benefits have been demonstrated in scientific studies, as quoted in this article and in many other primary sources.  And as stated elsewhere, the quantity of exerclse need not be heavy and should not be extreme.  Regular brisk walking or swimming, even 1/2 hour per day and 4 or 5 days per week suffice.  So, what are you waiting for?

GS


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