February Challenge- EXERCISE INTENSITY

One month into the New Year and we are ready to take a look at our next challenge: Exercise Intensity.

We can all agree that exercise is beneficial. In fact, any form of energy expenditure provides benefits, and there are piles of scientific evidence to prove it. Understand, however, that not all exercise is created equal.

The American College of Sports Medicine(ACSM) currently recommends 30 minutes of moderate activity at least 5 days per week (a minimum of 150 minutes per week), or 20 minutes of vigorous activity at least 3 days per week. It is important to periodically reassess your our current routine to determine if we are working out at a high enough level of intensity to suit your specific needs and health concerns.  At some point most individuals will reach a point where they need to move on to the moderate to vigorous intensity levels.

To illustrate, let’s compare walking and running.  We know that to lose one pound of fat we must burn 3,500 calories.  Based on this, and the metabolic equations from ACSM – for a 150-pound person to burn one pound of fat, he/she must walk at 4 mph for 8 hours and 45 minutes or 35 miles or run 8 mph for 3 hours and 42 minutes or 29.5 miles. That is only a 5.5 mile difference, but a whopping time savings of 5 hours and 3 minutes. Granted many people can’t jump from walking 4mph to running 8 mph, but we can gradually incorporate intervals to up the exercise intensity.   As an added bonus, research out of Beaumont hospital in Michigan shows that working out at a higher intensity can over time give us a cardio protective benefit-( limit our risk of a heart attack).

So next time you think about just moving why not pick up the intensity you will not only get more benefit out of your time but provide a better bang for your heart health.

Doing anything is always better than doing nothing, but America is experiencing a health epidemic and lack of exercise intensity and duration contributes greatly to this crisis.

JANUARY CHALLENGE!

Start your new year with good health and fitness!  Over the next 12 months I will offer 12 challenges designed to help you make small improvements in your mind, body, and spirit for lifelong health.

The purpose of each challenge is to simply increase your awareness of your healthy, or unhealthy, food choices and exercise habits. Every decision and every movement you make is driven by both conscious and subconscious triggers. How often do think about the “why” behind your decisions of when and what to eat or how you exercise.

Many of us are multi-taskers, juggling our time between work, school, parenthood, and life in general. But what really happens when we juggle all these obligations? We tend to neglect our health, mindlessly eat, skip the workout, or just go through the motions at the gym. It is impossible to care for yourself if you don’t take time to listen to your body.

And that’s your January challenge! LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!

·         Acknowledge your hunger! Know when you are truly hungry and when you are full. Grazing all day when you are not hungry or starving yourself to lose weight will never lead to a healthy relationship with food.

·         Take the power away from food! There are very few truly BAD foods and no PERFECT food. Food can be pleasurable, but it also needs to power the phenomenal engine that is your body. Eat a variety of foods to meet all of your nutritional needs.

·         Respect your body! You were born with a specific genetic code giving you a unique body type. There are always ways to make improvements and changes to it, but respect the one you were blessed with and make it the best it can be.

·         Honor your health! Make choices that honor your overall health. There are many fit people who are not healthy! Make conscious choices in what you eat and do exercises that will help make you feel better. The goal is to feel good and to have the mental and physical ability to do the activities you choose to do. You do not need to be perfect. You will not suddenly be nutrient deficient or gain weight from one snack, one meal, or one day of less than healthy eating. Missing a workout or two will not cause your body to become weak.  It is consistency over time that matters.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint! Good luck with January’s challenge!