Fitness 102

I got stopped in the parking lot just the other day.  "You've told us what not to do (bench press, et cetera), how about telling us what we should be doing?"

My question back to him was "what do you want to accomplish?"

"Live longer, stay healthy, protect my joints, maintain muscle tone."

Sounds like the same thing that pretty much everybody that exercises regularly wants.  So I promised this column.  On the spot.

What should you do?  Here's one man's opinion.  Nothing here is new.  I've listed all this stuff before. 

Exercise regularly.  Not just every once in a while.  At least 5 times a week.   52 weeks a year.  

Sound like a lot?  You gotta figure it in context.  One of my favorite cartoons says "what fits your busy schedule better, exercising one hour a day or being dead 24 hours a day?"

The strength of any fitness program is in persistence.  It's often not the person who works the hardest.  If you give it all you have every single exercise session, you're going to burn out or get injured or both.  It's not so much the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare but longevity breeds success when it comes to your fitness.

In other words, if you stay with it, it will work for you.

Find a partner.  Or partners. 

Two big reasons.  Accountability and competition.

Accountability.   If someone is looking for you to be there to join them in a workout, you'll make some of those sessions that you would otherwise have skipped. 

Competition.  You will work harder if someone is working with you.   It's just human nature.  You will try harder, go longer...just generally put more effort into it if somebody is along for the ride

Having a partner in your fitness pursuits also makes it more fun.  Maybe misery does love company but the camaraderie and friendly teasing that comes from a group effort makes the time go easier.

Find something that you can enjoy doing.  Maybe not every workout.  Sometimes you just don't want to be there but need to put in the time anyway.  

But playing games or doing what you enjoy makes any program sustainable.  Tennis, basketball, cycling, running (although I can't personally vouch for running--if you see me running, take off--something is chasing me).

It's got to have two components:  strength training and cardio training.  If you can mix the two, as with High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), then you may have found the magic formula.

I've said it many times before:  The most important muscle you have is that one in the middle of your chest (your heart).  You've got to work it to keep it healthy.  But to protect our joints so that we can stay active, you've got to mix in some strength training.  It's more important for the 50-something to lift weights than it is for the 20-something.

Just remember that every day, you've got to get your heart rate up and keep it there long enough to develop good heart health.