Exercise

Exercise

Cardiovascular: 20 minutes per day, 5 days per week at 60% of maximum heart rate (220 minus your age times 0.6). These 20 minutes don't have to be continuous! Two ten minute sessions or four, five minute sessions would net just about the same results!

Strength: Each major muscle group should be worked out weekly. This can be done all in the same workout or different parts of the body can be worked out on different days. For example, front muscles one day and back the next or upper body one day and lower the next.

Yoga, sports, martial arts, tai chi, walking, cycling, skiing et al.

Have fun like when you were a kid!

We’ve heard it time and again, “Use it or lose it!” This cannot be emphasized enough, not only as it relates to the Foundation of Exercise, but to all of the Foundations. Though we’re used to hearing this in terms of our muscles, it applies to all aspects of our being. If we don’t stress our bones appropriately, we’ll develop osteoporosis. If we don’t exercise our minds we’ll lose capacity early. If we don’t stress our heart appropriately, it will get weak. If we don’t place healthy demands on our lungs they lose capacity, etc. Not exercising our entire body-mind increases our susceptibility to disease and sickness! This applies to ALL aspects of our lives.

Exercise is typically divided into two main categories; cardiovascular and resistive. They are both important. Cardiovascular exercise includes all the activities that we do for sustained periods like walking, running, bicycling. It is important that we raise our heart rate to 60% of its maximum for 20 minutes four times per week. Your maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. Multiply this by 0.6 and you have the heart rate you need to achieve – as long as you work up to this appropriately (consult an expert for specifics regarding your capacity). Cardiovascular exercise improves our heart capacity and efficiency as well as our body’s efficiency at bringing in and using oxygen from the air we breathe. Raising our body’s efficiencies lowers our stress levels and slows our aging.

Resistive exercises are those that place demands on our muscles and bones to grow stronger. Weight lifting is an example whether it’s in a gym or building that wall of stone in your back yard. However, most cardiovascular exercises also provide these benefits.

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