The Basics: Build Muscle for Better Health

We all know how important cardiovascular exercise is — how it’s great for your heart, cholesterol, and blood pressure. And whether you choose to walk, bicycle, or jog, you know that any exercise that increases your heart rate helps you burn calories and melt away unwanted pounds.

But that’s only half the equation.

For a balanced fitness program, strength training is essential. It can slow the muscle loss that comes with age, build the strength of your muscles and connective tissues, increase bone density, cut your risk of injury, and help ease arthritis pain.

“Strength training is very important, not just for your muscles but for your bones,” says certified fitness trainer Debbie Siebers. “It’s preventative for [bone-thinning] osteoporosis and other problems.”

Studies from the CDC have found that muscle-building exercise can also improve balance, reduce the likelihood of falls, improve blood-sugar control, and improve sleep and mental health.

And let us not forget the weight-loss benefits. Not only does it make you look trimmer and shapelier, but building muscle also helps you burn calories — even after your workout is done.

“Three to four hours after a strength-training workout, you’re still burning calories,” says Seibers, a creator of fitness videos including the “Slim in 6″ series.

Strength training is especially important for dieters. When you lose weight, up to a quarter of the loss may come from muscle, which can slow your metabolism. Strength training helps you rebuild any muscle you lost by dieting — or keep you from losing it in the first place.

Getting Started

So you’re convinced of strength training’s virtues. But just how do you go about getting started?

The weight room at the gym, with all the buff bodies and complicated-looking equipment, can be intimidating to a beginner. Indeed, for someone with back or joint pain, just picking up a weight might seem daunting. Then there’s the issue of proper form: Without it, you could do more harm than good trying to build strength.

Your best bet when starting out, the experts say, is one-on-one help from a qualified fitness trainer — whether it’s a personal trainer you’ve hired, or an instructor at your gym. A trainer can address your personal goals and limitations and can help you with alignment and execution of each exercise.

“I can’t tell you how many people I see with a knee injury because they were not taught correctly how to do a lunge or squat,” says Sue Carver, physical therapist with A World of Difference Therapy Services in Little Rock, Ark.

Siebers also recommends checking out books, videos, and/or fitness- and health-related web sites for guidance on exercises and form.

Indeed, good technique, not heavy lifting, should be your primary goal in the beginning, Carver says.

Getting Started continued…

Siebers recommends using a heavy enough weight to feel resistance, but not strain or pain. Your individual body will determine just how much that is, and you should err on the light side at first; five pounds may not seem like a lot, but it’s better to be conservative than suffer.

And how much should you work out? According to the American College of Sports Medicine guidelines, beginners should do at least two days per week of any type of strength-training exercise. Your workout should consist of 8 to 12 repetitions each of 8 to 10 different exercises working all the major muscle groups — chest, back, shoulders, arms, abdominals, and legs. (A repetition is how many times you lift the weight, pull the rubber tubing, do a pushup, or whatever.)

Machines or Free Weights?

Both free weights and weight machines work well, and experts say there’s no evidence that one is superior to the other, so this is largely a matter of choice.

Machines are a good idea for people who are overweight and/or out of condition, since the exercises are generally done seated and with back support, Seibers says.

But if machines are not an option, investing a few dollars in a set of light dumbbells and/or some resistance tubing can give you what you need to start toning those muscles.

Whichever option you choose, keep your moves basic at first, the experts say. For the arms and upper body, try these exercises:

• Chest presses
• Reverse flies for the back
• Overhead presses for the shoulders
• Bicep curls
• Triceps kickbacks or extensions

For the lower body, don’t start out with squats and lunges, which can put too much impact on weak joints. Instead, try:

• Quadriceps extensions for the front of the thigh.
• Hamstrings curl for the back of the thigh.
• Side-lying or standing leg lifts to work the inner and outer thigh.

And don’t forget to work on strengthening your “core” muscles — the ones in your abdominal and lower back area. Core stability is key to avoiding injury, according to Carver. “Somebody with strong upper extremities but no core stability can hurt themselves doing a bicep curl, for example, if they can’t stabilize the trunk,” she says.

You’ll also avoid injuries — and get the best results — by varying your workouts. For example, if you work the biceps, back and legs one day, work the triceps, chest and shoulders the next time you train, Siebers says. Alternating between muscle groups gives the ones you worked plenty of time to recover.

Incorporating stretching in your strength program will also help keep injuries at bay, says Carver. Most important, don’t push too hard. Carver always cautions people that “feeling some discomfort in the muscle is OK, but feeling it in the joint is not.”

If you have a health condition or previous injury, you may need to do modified versions of certain exercises or skip them altogether, she says. That’s when it’s especially important to work with a fitness trainer.

Staying With the Program

Success comes from structure and constant support, according to Siebers. “Calendar it up,” she suggests: Chart your week of exercise out in advance so you know exactly what you’re expecting of yourself.

Having a friend to train with is one of the best ways to stick to a program, Siebers says, even if he or she is a cyber-pal.

“Internet chat rooms and support groups really help to motivate,” she says. “There are a million people out there in your same situation getting online every night and encouraging each other. People need that day-to-day hand-holding.”

But perhaps the most important things you need for a successful strength training program — or for successful weight loss — are patience and acceptance, she says.

“The problem is, people look too far down the road trying to see the big picture too quickly,” she says. “You have to try to accept and love yourself today and know that each day, you’re going to get better.”

Slim Healthy and Fit The Basics: Stretch Your Fitness Limits

We all know that aerobic exercise, strength training, and nutrition are three components of a balanced fitness regime. But there’s another, just as important, component that’s often overlooked: stretching.

“It’s the one area that is completely being neglected,” says Michael Anthony George, a personal trainer to celebrities including Reese Witherspoon and Christian Slater.

Why is flexibility — the ability to move joints and muscles through their full range of motion ­ so important?

First off, staying flexible means avoiding injury and pain. Without stretching, tendons, ligaments and muscles will shorten, causing damage over time, says George, owner of Integrated Motivational Fitness.

“If a certain muscle group is weak, stiff, or tight, the body will actually hijack peripheral muscles to aid in that movement,” he says. “Over time, these muscles can become injured.”

For example, if someone is reaching into the car to pick up groceries and is not strong enough in the abdominals, arms, and legs, “they are going to use their back. If the motion can’t come from where it needs to come from, it’ll come from somewhere else,” says exercise physiologist Robyn Stuhr, administrative director with the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

Aliesa George (no relation to Michael Anthony George), owner of Centerworks Pilates in Wichita, Kan., sees the benefits of improved flexibility in her clients on a daily basis. Staying flexible, she says:

• Counters the shortening that occurs when muscles are repeatedly used — as in exercise or a repetitive daily activity — and keeps muscles elastic
• Increases the range of motion in joints
• Decreases joint pain and stress
• Improves balance, stability, and circulation
• Aids athletic performance, relaxation, and posture

In fact, Michael George says poor posture is the No. 1 problem he sees. He uses the term “collapsed thoracic syndrome” to describe the rounded and raised shoulders and tight necks often caused by slumping over a computer monitor for hours at a time,

“It happens gradually and we don’t even notice,” he says. “One day we look in the mirror and find our shoulders are a little rounded.”

Good posture, he says, “prevents injury, speeds recovery, and improves physical appearance.” But of all its benefits, a better appearance is the one he stresses to his clients. “People are concerned about body image,” he says. “They don’t care about injuries until they have them. Out of sight, out of mind.”

In a sense, stretching can also help you stay young. “As most people get older, they experience gradual losses in flexibility, partially due to aging and partially due to lack of activity and exercise,” Stuhr says.

This not only affects your workouts, but it can also affect the ability to perform daily tasks, like reaching to put away groceries or turning your head to look behind you while driving. The good news is that no matter what your age, you can improve your flexibility and with it, your quality of life.

“It’s never too late to increase flexibility,” says Aliesa George. “It just takes regular practice.”

Stretching and Exercise

Though some studies have concluded otherwise, the fitness experts interviewed for this article say they believe that doing aerobic or strength-training exercise without stretching does increase the risk of injury.

Many of the studies have focused on young, active, fit individuals, and haven’t looked at different populations, such as middle-aged or older, or sedentary people, Stuhr says.

And as a Pilates teacher, Aliesa George knows what tight muscles do to her clients.

“A high percentage, if not all, of injuries I see … are definitely flexibility related or muscle-imbalance related, which is in part due to having muscles that are too strong or too inflexible.”

Naturally, she says Pilates is a great way to improve flexibility: “With the emphasis on bending the spine in all directions — flexion, extension, and rotation — improvements in total body flexibility happen quickly.”

And because of Pilates’ emphasis on proper body alignment, its benefits carry over to other activities, “helping you practice using correct muscles during other workouts and throughout the rest of your day,” she says.

Michael George, whose approach combines traditional Western fitness with Eastern practices, says it doesn’t matter whether you choose yoga, Pilates, or basic athletic stretches.

“I’m a believer in all of them,” he says. “People should add variety to their program to keep things interesting.”

How to Get Started

Whatever type of flexibility exercise you choose, Stuhr cautions, use self-restraint — don’t just leap into that Pilates or yoga class and start trying to keep up with the folks in the front row.

“People tend to do too much,” she says. “They go in and complete an hour class when they probably only should have done about 15 minutes.”

She recommends choosing a class appropriate to your fitness level, or taking a private lesson with a qualified teacher. Listen to your body and don’t overdo it, she says.

And if you’re new to flexibility training — especially if you have an injury or disability — it’s a good idea to get evaluated by a qualified fitness professional or physical therapist.

Here are some tips to consider when stretching:

• Be sure your muscles are warm before you stretch. If you are going to stretch before a workout, walk for five minutes first to get blood flowing to the muscles.
• Never bounce or push during a stretch.
• Ease into the stretch. Start with trying to hold it for 10 seconds. Work up to 30, and eventually 90 seconds.
• Exhale as you stretch.
• If you cannot stretch both before and after a workout, most experts advise stretching after the body has warmed up.
• Never stretch an injured muscle or joint.
• Stretching every day is optimal, but try to do it at least three times a week.

The Stretches

Below are some basic stretching exercises that target all the major muscle groups. Do the whole workout, or stretch a particular part of your body that’s feeling tight. And don’t forget to follow the safety tips above!

Neck: Standing straight with feet shoulder-width apart, drop the right ear toward the right shoulder and hold. Roll the head forward, stopping to rest the chin at your chest, than continue until the left ear is over the left shoulder. Lift the head and repeat starting on your left side.

Chest: Lying face-down with arms by your sides and palms facing down, tighten the abdominals to support the low back, than slide the shoulder blades down and together (like a “V”) as you float your hands off the floor and lift your upper spine slightly off the floor.

Side/Back: Standing straight with feet shoulder-width apart, interlace the fingers and reach the arms overhead (do this only if you have no shoulder limitations). Lift up and out from your waist as you bend to each side, being careful not to shrug your shoulders.

Hamstrings: Lying face up, wrap a towel around the arch of the right foot, extend your leg and pull toward you gently, keeping hips and back on the ground. Strive to hold for at least 30 seconds. Repeat on the left leg. The knee can remain slightly bent during this exercise if the hamstrings are tight.

Quadriceps: Standing straight with knees, hips, and shoulders aligned and abdominals tight, bend the right knee, drawing the right heel toward your buttocks. Reach the right hand around to hold the top of the right foot (use a towel or strap if necessary). Strive to hold for at least 30 seconds. Repeat on the left leg. (You can also do this stretch lying on your side or stomach.)

Inner thighs: Sitting, place the soles of the feet together, and pull up slightly on the feet, hinging your body forward.

Calves: Using a wall for balance, step the right foot as far behind you as you can with your leg straight and the heel down. Lean forward, slightly bending the left leg. Repeat with your left foot behind you.

Fitness Basics: Swimming Is for Everyone

Angela Lane has great memories of swimming during her childhood, spending endless summer days at the pool to find refuge from the Arkansas heat. She became a lifeguard as a teen, and she swam for fitness during high school and college.

Two years ago, things were different. At age 31, Lane weighed 200 pounds. She hadn’t been in a pool for more than 10 years.

She began a weight loss program, and started to think about exercising again.

“People would tell me, ‘You need to run or walk,’ but when I tried that, my ankles and knees hurt,” she says. “When I finally realized I needed to exercise, I said, ‘OK, what do I like?’ because if you like it, you’re going to do it more.”

She took to the pool. Her first goal was completing just one lap.

“Each week, I would get stronger and stronger,” says Lane. “Swimming really began to strengthen, condition, and tone my body without those harsh, jarring effects of some of those other exercise programs.”

Lane, a makeup artist in Little Rock, Ark., didn’t realize how much swimming was helping her until she took a business trip: “I was running through the airport with my carry-on bag and I started to think, ‘Wow, this is easier.’”

Easy on the Body

Exercise physiologist Robert A. Robergs says swimming is a good fitness choice for just about everyone, especially those who have physical limitations or who find other forms of exercise painful.

“It is a good, whole-body exercise that has low impact for people with arthritis, musculoskeletal, or weight limitations,” says Robergs, director of the exercise physiology laboratories at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Water’s buoyancy accommodates the unfit as well as the fit. Water cushions stiff joints or fragile bones that might be injured by the impact of land exercises. When immersed to the waist, your body bears just 50% of its weight; immersed to the chest, it’s 25%-35%; and to the neck, 10%.

Athletes use water to rehabilitate after injury or to cross-train. People with arthritis or other disabilities use water to improve fitness and range of motion and to relieve pain and stiffness.

“Swimming is also desirable for people with exercise-induced asthma,” says Robergs, “as the warm, humid air [around the pool] causes less irritation to the airways.”

Fitness Benefits

Not only is swimming easy on the body, it’s a great way to get fit, according to Tay Stratton, head swim coach at the Little Rock Athletic Club.

Swimming recruits all the major muscle groups, including the shoulders, back, abdominals, legs, hips, and glutes, she says. And because water affords 12 times the resistance as air in every direction, it really helps to build strength, she says.

“It’s cardiovascular and strengthening at the same time, and not many workouts have that,” says Stratton.

But can swimming help you lose weight?

There are some questions about how efficiently swimming burns calories, says Robergs.

“Research done on swimming showed that weight loss seemed more difficult,” he says. “The theory is that the water submersion initiates a complex [nerve pathway] to lower metabolic rate.” And with a lower metabolic rate, the body uses fewer calories to maintain normal function.

While Robergs says these explanations need further research, Stratton says swimming can be a boon for weight loss — if you follow the same principles as with any other exercise, and challenge yourself.

For weight loss, Stratton recommends interval training, in which you push yourself hard for short spurts, and then drop back to a less-intense level of exercise.

“If you don’t do interval training, it’s just as if you’re doing a slow walk,” Stratton says.

Sue Nelson, aquatic program specialist for USA Swimming in Colorado Springs, Colo., has many success stories of obese clients who lost weight after they began working out in the water.

One man was 500 pounds, had rheumatoid arthritis, and had to quit work because he couldn’t get around.

“He went from a wheelchair to a walker to crutches to a cane to nothing by working out in the water,” says Nelson. “He became one of my employees and lost over 250 pounds.”

How to Get Started

If you’re ready to get started, experts recommend getting a swim coach or joining a masters swimming group in your area. Don’t be intimidated by the name; ‘masters’ just means over age 20.

Masters swimming accommodates all levels, from beginners to advanced, and you don’t have to want to compete to join. This type of group supports recreational swimming for fitness, and is a great way to learn technique — which is everything in swimming.

Getting the rhythm of the strokes and the breath can be overwhelming at first. Coaches break it down and take you there slowly, practicing one part at a time.

If you’re a beginner, start slowly. Try to swim for 10 minutes. Build up to a 30-minute workout, three to five times a week. Include a warm-up and a cool-down, and, in the middle, challenge yourself by working on endurance, stroke efficiency, or speed.

“I really encourage [new swimmers] not to get frustrated,” says Stratton. “Swimming takes a long time. We’re land-based; the water feels so foreign to us.”

There’s more than one way to tackle swimming. Before you feel comfortable putting your face in the water, you can practice drills with a kickboard, or even walk the length of the pool.

In fact, Nelson recommends that beginners start with vertical strength-training exercises in the pool. That means things like walking or jogging a length of the pool in waist-deep water, or doing some strengthening by sinking in up to the neck.

“Instead of swimming with improper technique,” says Nelson, “we want to get them vertical to strengthen their core before they put their face in the water.”

A comfortable swimsuit and a pair of goggles are all you need to start, say experts. You can even wait on the goggles if you’re not ready to put your face in the water yet.

The Right Choice

When Lane started swimming regularly two years ago, she didn’t feel good doing any other exercise. But after losing 20 pounds, and improving her strength and cardiovascular fitness, she was able to do fitness walking ­ and, eventually, to run. She competed in her first triathlon this year.

For Lane, swimming was the right choice.

“It’s a good way to begin to get back into fitness without having such trauma in the body. And it’s also very relaxing,” she says.

“Once you get your earplugs in and your swim cap on and you begin to swim, it’s just you and the water. There’s no cell phone, everything else just kind of fades.”

The Basics: Walking for Fitness and Fun

Arkansan Jim Wilson had 300 pounds on his 5-foot-7-inch frame when he decided he wanted to walk a half marathon. He knew it would be a long journey: he couldn’t walk a mile without getting winded.

Still, his goal spurred him on. He started training in March 2001, and in September of that year he walked a scenic 13-mile loop in Red Rock Canyon, outside Las Vegas.

Along the way, he started feeling stronger and sleeping better. His self-esteem shot up, and he ate more healthfully. By the time he walked his five-hour half-marathon, he was down 50 pounds.

“The whole process [gave me] a major feeling of accomplishment,” says Wilson, a 53-year-old financial adviser.

You don’t have to walk 13 miles to reap the benefits of walking. In fact, it’s one of the best ways for a sedentary person to start an exercise program, says California health educator, fitness expert, and author Shirley Archer.

“There’s very low risk of injury with walking,” she says. “It’s comfortable, easy, and low-cost. All you need is a good pair of shoes.”

Besides that, she says, it can actually be enjoyable, which is half the battle when it comes to sticking to a fitness regime.

“Too many people think of exercise like medicine,” says Archer, the mind-body spokeswoman for IDEA Health and Fitness Association. “It’s not. It can be fun and the body will start to love it.”

A Step Toward Health and Happiness

Medically, the benefits of walking are undisputed, says Little Rock, Ark., orthopaedic surgeon John Yocum, MD. Cardiovascular exercise such as walking can reduce the risk of heart disease and improve heart function and muscle tone, as well as lower blood pressure, cholesterol, risk of stroke, and risk of injury, says Yocum.

In addition, he says, “improving strength around the joints can help with degenerative joint disease.”

But that’s not all. “The benefits are multiple,” he says, “not the least of which is the improved sense of well-being or happiness with the increased endorphin levels.”

Archer, who coaches many beginning exercisers, says they have a kind of “awakening” when they begin to work out. They begin to feel better, so they sleep better, manage stress better, and get more energy in the process, says Archer. As a result, their self-esteem improves.

Former Olympic marathon runner Julie Isphording, a walking/running coach, author, columnist and host of two health and fitness radio shows for National Public Radio in Cincinnati, says she sees it often in the walkers she trains.

“People start to change their attitude,” she says. “It really isn’t about the walk. It’s about something so much bigger; so much better. You can breathe deeper. You last longer in the day. You’re running up steps.”

When walkers enlist a partner, it’s even better, Isphording says.

“I recommend that people find a friend to do it with — meet at the mailbox,” she says. That helps walking to become a part of the day you look forward to, not dread.

“Walking turns into more of a play-out than a workout,” says Isphording.

“Social support is the most important factor when sticking to a program,” says Archer. “Get a partner — even a dog — because that will reinforce it. We don’t like to let other people down.”

Isphording also encourages beginning walkers to keep a journal to chart progress.

So when you step on the scale and say, “it’s not working,” she says, you can look back at how far you’ve come. “Maybe a month ago, you couldn’t walk a mile and now you’re walking three,” says Isphording.

In the journal, Isphording recommends you write everything down: the weather, how you felt that day, who you went with, and how far you walked.

Getting Started

Don’t skimp when it comes to footwear. Yocum advises all walkers to get a good pair of walking or running shoes with arch support and the proper cushioning to prevent injury, even when they’re just starting out.

“I’ve been in the Olympics and I can’t tell you that I bounced out of bed every morning to run.”

“Shoes are the only piece of equipment you need,” says Isphording, “so invest well. Whether you choose a walking shoe or running shoe,” she says, “go to a specialty store and have them fit you. Expect to spend between $80 and $100.”

And set a goal beyond weight loss and better health. “What about doing a walk for charity or a planning a walking trip in France?” Isphording asks. Create a goal that’s out of your current reach but attainable, she says, and that will help you stay focused.

Even if you follow all the tips to stay motivated, it isn’t always easy, say the experts.

Archer teaches her clients to accept the fact that they’re not always going to want to do it. “It’s normal to have variations in energy and to experience a little discomfort at times. It’s part of the process of conditioning your body. It doesn’t mean you’re backsliding, it’s just life.”

Isphording concurs.

“I’ve been in the Olympics and I can’t tell you that I bounced out of bed every morning to run,” says Isphording. “But those days [when it was harder to get motivated] were some of the most rewarding. You overcame doubts in yourself, you could meet the challenges of the day, and you got so much more out of it.”

When starting a walking program, experts advise starting slow, then working up to longer distances and more time on the road. Even if 10 minutes is all you can handle at first, it’s a start. Feel satisfied, keep gong, and try for 15 in a couple of days.

Progress at a pace you can handle. Isphording calls it the “talk test”: You should be able to talk while you walk.

“As the body starts to feel more comfortable,” adds Archer, “pick up the pace a bit more.”

Keeping It Safe

Keep in mind, Yocum says, that though very safe, walking may not be for everyone. He recommends that those with lower-extremity degenerative disease such as arthritis or cardiovascular disease see their doctors before starting any exercise program. Some arthritis symptoms may be aggravated by impact; in this case, you might want to walk on a soft surface like a track or decide to swim or use a stationary bike instead.

Recent studies from the CDC have indicated that even moderate exercise can provide tremendous benefits.

The experts interviewed by WebMD agree, saying that while working up to 45 to 60 minutes a day would be great, you’ll still benefit from doing 30 minutes or even 20. And they hope that once people get started walking, they won’t quit.

“We are naturally active creatures,” says Archer. “We were designed to move. It’s unnatural for us to sit and be sedentary. We need the muscular stimulation. We need the stimulation to the brain.

“The bottom line is technology has made our lives very sedentary. It’s not a character flaw,” she says, “it’s just that our environment is such that we don’t get enough activity in our daily life, so we have to think active — take the stairs instead of the elevator.”

Cand este bine sa faci exercitii fizice?

There’s no getting around it: To lose weight and keep it off, you need to exercise. But some days that hardly seems possible. Our days are overbooked already! Yet experts agree – exercise must become part of your overall daily lifestyle. And starting the morning with exercise is the best habit of all.

“The key is getting exercise whenever you can – whether it’s morning, afternoon, or evening,” says Cedric X. Bryant, PhD, chief exercise physiologist of the American Council on Exercise. “Your goal is to move your body as much as possible.”

But by starting your morning with physical activity, you set the day’s pace, Bryant says. “Morning exercisers tend to stick with their exercise habit,” he says. “By doing the bulk of exercise first thing in the morning, you get your exercise in before other distractions can intrude. We can all relate to that — because once the day gets going, it’s hard to get off the treadmill called life.”

The Case for Morning Exercise

Research suggests that morning exercise improves sleep, a benefit that could also promote weight loss, Bryant tells WebMD. One study of overweight women between the ages of 50 to 75 showed that those who engaged in consistent morning exercise (about four hours a week) slept better than those who exercised less. The evening exercisers had more trouble falling asleep – even if they fit in the four hours a week.

Bryant explains the connection of sleep and weight loss: “We know that if you have poor quality sleep, it influences certain hormones that control appetite. It is possible that by exercising in the morning — instead of evening – the exercise affects the body’s circadian rhythm (your internal body clock) so you get better-quality sleep. Good sleep helps control the hormonal balance that helps control appetite.”

Brisk exercise (an hour or more daily) has helped more than 4,000 “successful losers” in The National Weight Control Registry — they’ve all lost 30 pounds or more and kept it off for a year or longer. Many of them break up their exercise into shorter spurts throughout the day instead of doing a single, marathon workout session.

“Think of your morning exercise like a business appointment – one you can’t easily cancel,” says Gary Foster, PhD, clinical director of the weight and eating disorders program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “It takes discipline. But if you’re overweight, you’re at risk for a heart attack. If you don’t do something about your weight, it’s indirect self-destructive behavior. It’s the same as smoking a pack of cigarettes daily. This has got to be the highest priority because it’s your health.”

Working Exercise Into Your Life

One way to make exercise a daily habit is to integrate your workout into your regular life, says Walter Thompson, PhD, professor of exercise physiology at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Physical activity – not just exercise per se — can become part of your daily routine, Thompson tells WebMD. “People think they have to strap on running shoes and run a marathon to call it exercise. I talk more about integrating physical activity into your daily lifestyle.”

Working Exercise Into Your Life continued…

His advice: “When you go to the mall, the grocery store, the office, park your car as far away from the front door as you can. Take the stairs rather than the elevator. These are habits you can get used to. They will become common practice.”

Structured physical activity is also important. Walking, yoga, lifting weights, biking, running, and swimming – could all be a morning exercise choice. Here’s an estimate of the average calorie-burn potential from 30 minutes of exercise:

Vigorous Exercise
Running or jogging (5 mph) = 295 calories
Bicycling (10 mph or more) = 195 calories
Swimming (slow freestyle laps) = 255 calories
Aerobics = 240 calories
Basketball = 220 calories

Moderate Exercise
Walking (3.5 miles mph) = 140 calories
Weight training (light workout) = 110 calories
Stretching = 90 calories
Biking (less than 10 mph) = 145 calories
Dancing = 165 calories

One recent study noted that yoga – a popular morning activity – can help prevent the dreaded middle-age spread and even help shed unwanted pounds. Researchers looked at normal and overweight men and women who practiced yoga regularly (at least one session of 30 minutes or more per week) for four years or more. It compared their weight with the weight of people who didn’t do yoga.

Normal-weight people who practiced yoga gained less than those who didn’t practice yoga. Overweight people who practiced yoga lost an average of 5 pounds; those who didn’t practice gained about 14 pounds.

Yoga’s effect may have more to do with body awareness than the actual calories burned during the average session, researchers say. During yoga practice, you are more aware of your body – which can prompt you to quit eating when you’re full.

Getting Started on Your Exercise Routine

If you’re really trying to lose weight and keep it off, work toward a goal of 60 to 90 minutes of exercise most days of the week. But that’s a lot to ask someone who’s just starting out, says Thompson. If that’s you, try it in 10-minute chunks of time at first — several times a day, several days a week.

To get your morning exercise ritual going, here are some tips.

Talk to a doctor first. If you are overweight and if you have risk factors for heart disease – high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or family history of heart disease – get your doctor’s OK before starting an exercise program, Thompson says.

Start with walking. Set short-term goals – 10 minutes, 15 minutes, etc. Gradually increase the number of days. Walking a dog is great because it gets you out for 20 minutes in the morning, and then 20 more at night. “If I can get someone up to 45 minutes or an hour of exercise during the day, I consider that a major success,” Thompson notes. “You can’t ask anyone to immediately start exercising for 90 minutes. You have to start with lifestyle changes and increase from there.”

Getting Started on Your Exercise Routine continued…

Consider a health club. “Some people need a lot of variety to stay interested in exercise,” says Thompson. “That’s where health clubs are great. They always keep people’s interest piqued on exercise. And if you’re paying for it, you’re likely to go.”

Buy or rent workout tapes or DVDs. If you prefer a quiet start to the day, try tapes and DVDs that feature yoga, weight training, and aerobic workout programs. Be sure to check who created them, however. “Some programs marketed by celebrities don’t have good science behind them,” he advises. “Look at the advisory board or advisor on the label. The good ones have an exercise physiologist as an advisor.”

Don’t forget weekends. If you make exercise part of your everyday lifestyle, stick with it on weekends, too. Keep treating it as an appointment. Don’t let anything interfere. “It’s your protected time and nothing else intrudes,” says Foster. “You are keeping this commitment to yourself. This is something good that you’re doing for yourself.”

The Top 20 Fitness Mistakes Beginners Make

Cardio Uh-Ohs

1. Doing the “gym slouch.” “We see many people in the gym leaning on equipment,” says Debi Pillarella, MEd, a spokeswoman for the American Council on Exercise. “We call it ‘gym slouch’: They’re on the Stairmaster, [elliptical cross trainer], or treadmill, leaning over, and hanging on for dear life.”

When your back is rounded, your spine doesn’t get enough support. So stand erect when you’re working out on one of these machines.

2. Getting a grip. Holding on too tightly to the cardio equipment lets you “cheat” and contributes to slouching. It also keeps you from moving your arms — which can boost your heart rate and burn extra calories. If loosening your grip makes you feel insecure, try this technique Pillarella teaches at Community Hospital Fitness Pointe in Munster, Ind. “Instead of gripping, just rest your fingers, from your index finger to the pinkie, on the bars. As you get more comfortable, drop a finger. Eventually, you may have just the index fingers resting there for security.”

3. Catching up on your reading. If you’re doing lots of reading on the elliptical machine, you’re probably not getting a good workout, says Julie Isphording, host of the radio shows Fitness Information Talk and On Your Feet.

“If you must read, stop about every three minutes and do a four-minute focus interval,” she says. During this interval, “concentrate on picking up the pace, dropping your shoulders, breathing, and using your arms.”

4. Walking with weights. Carrying hand weights when you walk might seem like a good way to add strength training to your cardio workout, but it compromises your stride. “You lean forward, and it stresses the quads, ankles, and shins, and can cause stress fractures,” Isphording says. “Keep your cardio and strength training separate.”

5. Thinking cardio is enough. Many people think they need only a cardiovascular exercise program. “We begin losing muscle at age 30,” says Isphording. “Strength training builds muscles, which increases metabolism and burns more calories.”

Strength-Training Slipups

6. Rushing your reps. Doing weight-lifting repetitions too fast raises your blood pressure and increases your risk for joint injury. It also compromises your results.

“The safest way to use strength machines or dumbbells is: in lifting phase, exhale for two counts and hold briefly at the top of the contraction, then return as you inhale for four counts,” says Pillarella. “Always exhale during the hardest part of the work.”

Find different types of exercise that you enjoy, and make it a point to vary what you do.

Are you exercising regularly, yet not seeing the results you want? Or getting sidelined by pulled muscles and other injuries? Feeling tempted to drop out because you’re so bored?

Don’t give up your fitness program just yet. Maybe the problem isn’t the exercise itself but the way you’re exercising.

Exercisers (especially beginning exercisers) often make mistakes that keep them from getting the most from their workouts. Fitness experts spoke to WebMD about 20 of the most common exercise mistakes, and how you can keep them from derailing your fitness program.

7. Giving your abs a free ride. Many people do crunches or abdominal machine workouts without ever toning their abdomens. The problem is that they’re using the upper torso, neck, and head to do the work.

“Do mindful exercise,” says Pillarella. “The contraction should be from the ribcage to the hip bone. Put your mind into the muscles that are working, and keep all the other muscles quiet.”

8. Doing lackluster lat pull-downs. On this machine, you’re seated with a bar overhead. Some people stick their heads forward and pull the bar down behind their heads. But doing it this way could injure your spine or neck — and your back won’t get that coveted “V” look.

Instead, “pull the bar down in front of your shoulders and chest, and put your mind into muscle contractions in your back,” says Pillarella.

9. Using maladjusted machines. Weight machines are made for people of all shapes and sizes. You must adjust them to fit if you want to get results and avoid injury.

For example, using an improperly set leg-extension machine puts stress on your knees, says Mark Kasper, EdD, a spokesman for the American College of Sports Medicine. “Another problem with improperly adjusted machines is that you don’t work your muscles through the full range of motion,” he says.

Have a qualified trainer show you the proper settings for your physique, and write them down on a card that you carry to the gym.

Flexibility Flubs

10. Stretching cold muscles. Stretching before your workout puts you at risk for pulled or torn muscles. “Always stretch at the end of your workout,” says Pillarella.

11. Bouncing. Bouncing during a stretch can increase your risk of straining or pulling muscles, Pillarella says. Instead, “hold a static stretch with no movement at the joints. Your body should feel lengthened but not to the point of pain.”

Routine Maintenance

12. Forgetting about fun. “If you’re bored with your routine, and your treadmill has faced the washer since 1980, how much fun is that?” says Isphording, “I’d never want to do your workout, either. ? And why do we call it a workout? It should be a playout.”

Exercise with your friends or family, just as you go to movies or dinner with people. “Unless we reframe it in our minds, it will never be fun,” Isphording says.

13. Doing outdated exercises. Still doing the exercises you learned in high school, like windmills and leg lifts? Some of these oldies are a waste of time; others can cause injury. Take an exercise class or work with a personal trainer to freshen your routine.

14. Getting stuck in a rut. What’s wrong with doing the same exercise routine, day in and day out? “You’re working the same muscles, going at the same speed, and once you get in shape you no longer breathe heavily,” says Isphording. “The muscles become very efficient. They expend less energy, and you burn fewer calories.”

15. Seeking a quick fix. Many people expect dramatic results from a little exercise. “Current recommendations are for 3 1/2 to four hours of physical activity a week just to prevent weight regain,” says Kasper, who is a professor in the department of kinesiology at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. “If you want to lose weight and you’re walking 30 minutes, three times a week, without changing your diet, it will take roughly one month to lose a pound.”

Want to lose faster? Exercise more.

16. Being a weekend warrior. “If you’re only exercising two days a week, you’ll never get where you want to be, and you’ll feel awful every Monday,” says Isphording. “It leads to injury and burnout, and you’re missing the secret to success: showing up.”

17. Taking on too much at first. “Whether on a treadmill at home or working out at an exercise facility, people tend to do too much too soon,” says Kasper. “They put themselves at risk for an orthopaedic injury.”

He advises working with a qualified trainer who will do a screening, teach proper techniques, and set up an appropriate fitness program.

Sins of Omission

18. Skipping the warm-up. “Without a warmup, you’re asking your body to work before the oxygen and blood flow reach the muscles,” says Pillarella. “You increase the risk for injury, and with cardiovascular exercise, you raise the heart rate too fast. Before you exercise in earnest, spend 5-10 minutes going through the motions of your workout at an easy pace to raise your body temperature from the inside out.”

If you don’t warm up before lifting weights, meanwhile, you risk torn muscles and won’t be able to lift as much weight, says Isphording. Get your blood flowing by spending a few minutes on the treadmill or exercise bike, or even walking in place.

19. Forgoing the cool-down. Don’t come to sudden stop at the end of your workout. “If you don’t cool down, you risk muscle soreness because you haven’t flushed the lactic acid out of your system,” says Isphording. “It takes five to 10 minutes at a slower pace, depending on your fitness level, to let your heart rate come down.”

20. Skimping on water. Muscles need fluid to contract properly, so if you don’t drink enough, you can get muscle spasms or aches.

“If you’re thirsty, you’re already a percent dehydrated,” says Pillarella. “Drink water before, during, and after exercise.”

And, Pillarella says, “unless you’re a high-intensity athlete who’s depleting electrolytes and potassium, you don’t need Gatorade. Water is the preferred drink.”

Mituri legate de fitness in engleza

Is no pain, no gain really true when it comes to exercise? Does the amount you sweat really correlate to the amount of fat you’re losing? Experts take a look at these and other fitness fables.

The world of fitness abounds with fables, from no pain, no gain, to drinking water before exercising can give you cramps, and falling for one could have you spinning your wheels and getting nowhere instead of shaping up. Experts set the record straight and take the mystery out of these and other muscular myths for WebMD so you can make the most of your exercise routine.

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No Pain, No Gain. “No pain, no gain is bad,” says Jeffrey Berg, an orthopedic surgeon and team physician for the Washington Redskins. “When people start to exercise, there may be some muscle aches and pains, which are normal. But there are other aches and pains, such as joint pain, bone pain, muscle strains, and ligament or tendon strains, which are bad, and you should back off of because they’ll get worse if you ignore them.”

So start slow, explains Berg.

“Always ease into an exercise plan to avoid injury,” says Berg. “The recommendation is if you’re healthy and you know it, you can start exercising, but err on the side of being too slow than too fast to avoid injury.”

The American College of Sports Medicine recommends starting an exercise program slowly and listening to your body and to your doctor.

There Is One Best Way to Exercise. “This is not true,” says Berg. “In fact, not only is there not one best way for everyone to exercise, but there’s not one best way for each person.”

His recipe for success? Vary your routine.

“You have to incorporate different exercises and routines into your fitness strategy to reach your goals, which should be individualized for you,” says Berg. “The exercises you choose should be tailored to what you like to do and then optimized for fitness and to avoid injury.”

More Sweat, Less Fat. “This is false,” says Cedric Bryant, chief exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. “The amount you sweat is indicative of your body’s ability to maintain its normal body temperature. You sweat when your body starts to store heat so you can experience cooling via evaporation of that sweat. So it doesn’t correlate to how much energy, or calories, is being expended.”

Drinking Water Causes Cramps. “Cramps are actually a symptom of dehydration, so this is an old wives tale,” says Bryant. “Basically, drinking water will help ensure you are properly hydrated, which will ultimately reduce your risk of sustaining or experience cramps.”

Lifting Weights Can Make You Look Bulky. “This is a myth that deters a lot of women from strength training, when in fact, what determines the amount of muscle bulk a person has is largely dependent on genetic factors,” says Bryant.

So for the typical woman, and the typical man, the chances of looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger are slim.

“To keep things in perspective, less than 1% of women, and less than 10% of males, have the genetic predisposition to naturally develop muscle bulk in response to strength training,” says Bryant.

Weight training is also an important part of any exercise plan, according to the American Heart Association web site. While aerobic activities help your heart and lungs and stretching improves your flexibility, weight training will improve your strength and endurance, and a combination of all three makes for an optimal exercise plan.

Exercising Is a Sure-Fire Way to Lose Weight. While it may seem obvious that exercise will result in weight loss, that’s not necessarily the case.

“What can happen is an individual may gain weight because she is changing her body composition,” says Bryant. “She’s losing fat tissue, but gaining lean tissue, which is a good thing. So while you may gain, you’ll start to notice that your clothes will fit better because lean tissue takes up less space than fat tissue because it’s more dense.”

And, of course, you need to take your diet into consideration.

“If you have a person who has a poor diet and she’s inactive, and then she starts to exercise but continues the poor diet, she may lose weight, but it’s only a modest loss,” says Bryant. “The best method for achieving a change in body composition is to combine exercise with a sound eating plan.”

You Can Target One Area of Your Body for Weight Loss. “This is a myth, pure and simple,” Bryant tells WebMD. “No matter how much exercise you do for a specific region of the body, it’s physiologically impossible to lose body fat in a targeted area.”

Worse yet, the areas of your body that gain fat the fastest are the last to see it go.

“Fat is lost or gained throughout the entire the body,” says Bryant. “But the last area where people tend to lose it from is the areas where they gain it first. So for most men, the abdominal region is the most difficult area to trim, while in women, the hips, buttocks, and thighs are the trouble spots.”

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Exercise May Lift Cloud of Depression

Jan. 20, 2006 — Exercise may provide an immediate mood boost for people suffering from depression.

Although previous studies have suggested that exercise programs can take weeks to improve depressive symptoms, a new study suggests that even a single workout can provide immediate benefits in lifting the mood of the seriously depressed.

“Many people with depression attempt to self-medicate with alcohol, caffeine, or tobacco to manage their daily routine. Low- to moderate-intensity exercise appears to be an alternate way to manage depression, one that doesn’t come with such negative health consequences,” researcher John Bartholomew, PhD, says in a news release. Bartholomew is an associate professor in the department of kinesiology and health education at The University of Texas at Austin.

Exercise May Help Treat Depression

Researchers say most research on depression and exercise has focused on exercise as a treatment for the underlying disorder of depression. Instead, this study looked at whether exercise might also provide more immediate, short-term benefits by lifting people’s mood.

In the study, researchers compared the effects of 30 minutes of walking on a treadmill with 30 minutes of quiet rest in 40 adults recently diagnosed with depression. None of the participants was taking antidepressants or exercising regularly.

The results showed that both groups reported reductions in feelings like tension, anger, depression, and fatigue. But only the exercise group reported feeling good, as measured by improved scores on “vigor” and “well-being” indicators.

Bartholomew says the benefits found in the quiet rest group may be attributed to simply getting out of the house and interacting with people in preparation for the study, but only the exercise group experienced a greater sense of well-being and vigor.

He says the next step is to look at why exercise provides these benefits so they can structure exercise to gain even stronger effects.

Researchers caution, however, that this study shows a single session on a treadmill may only temporarily relieve the symptoms of depression rather than cure depression.

Get rid of stress with mantras

Choose a Mantra and Use It Regularly, Researcher Says

March 3, 2006 — Mantras can help with stress reduction, new research shows.

Mantras, or mantrams, are a word or phrase with spiritual meaning, write Jill Bormann, PhD, RN, and colleagues in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

The researchers studied 30 veterans and 36 hospital workers at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System, where Bormann is a research nurse scientist. In a five-week class, participants chose a mantra and learned to use it to manage stress.

The study shows that the majority of participants used their mantras to help them cope with a wide range of problems, including anxiety, stress from traffic and work, insomnia, and unwanted thoughts.

Researcher’s Comments

“We found this to be a very valuable tool for people that they can use,” Bormann tells WebMD. “It’s like a pause button for the mind.”

Bormann stresses that while the technique “is actually a very ancient tradition that’s been used in every spiritual practice,” it’s not just for religious people. “It’s nonsectarian,” Bormann says.

“It’s personal, portable, and invisible. It’s immediately available, inexpensive, nonpharmacological, and nontoxic,” she continues. Using mantras can be a “stress-reduction technique for our modern day and age, when people say they don’t have time for stress-management techniques,” Bormann says.

Choosing a Mantra

Bormann’s team gave participants a list of suggested mantras that included major faith traditions. Participants were also free to choose a mantra without religious underpinnings.

Here are some of the mantras that were on the list:

• Buddhism: Om mani padme hum
• Hinduism: Rama rama (Mahatma Gandhi’s mantra, Bormann says)
• Judaism: Shalom (peace)
• Islam: Allah
• Native American tradition: O waken tanka (o great spirit)
• Christianity: “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me,” or “Hail Mary,” or “maranatha” (a word from the ancient Aramaic language meaning “Lord of the heart”)

“Sweet harmony” and “take it easy” were examples of mantras not tied to any particular tradition.

Spiritual Element

A few participants wanted to use mantras that didn’t quite fit the goal.

“We had one guy who said he wanted to know why he couldn’t choose ‘cheeseburger,’” Bormann says. “When he eats cheeseburgers, it makes him happy. So he thought that if he walked around and said cheeseburger all day that would make him happy.”

Another man wanted to use the golf terms “greens and fairways” for similar reasons.

A word like cheeseburger keeps people on the surface level of consciousness, while a mantra has the potential to go deeper and tap inner spiritual resources, Bormann explains, adding that the cheeseburger fan switched to a different mantra.

Using the Mantra

Participants were instructed to repeat their mantra silently throughout the day or night. They could use the mantra during stressful moments or during calmer times.

“You could say your mantram once or twice, or you could say it for 20 minutes. Most people use it several times throughout the day,” Bormann says.

Bormann adapted the approach from the late spiritual teacher Eknath Easwaran, who founded the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation in Tomales, Calif. Bormann says she’s been to the Blue Mountain Center and has practiced the technique for 18 years.

“It helps me live in the present moment. It helps me slow down. I feel that I’m much more compassionate, and I have a better ability to concentrate on whatever it is I’m doing,” Bormann says.

Wording Counts

“Sometimes, the biggest roadblock in people coming to this program, I think, is the word ‘mantram,’” Bormann says. “And so, sometimes we call it a rapid-focus tool or we call it a comfort word, or for people who are particularly religious … we say it’s a prayer word.”

Bormann says her work makes the assumption that “human beings are spiritual beings.”

“We believe that human beings have a mind, a body, and a spirit, whether we’re aware of it or not,” Bormann says. “We believe the way you can become aware of those inner spiritual resources is to quiet your mind and one way to do that is with a mantram.”

Not Just Distraction

Bormann says the effect isn’t just about distracting people from stress.

“If I walk around all day and am calling on a name of God or something that is the highest ideal of what I could become, that’s very different than if I’m just trying to distract myself,” Bormann says, adding that it can take time and practice for the technique to have an effect, which may be subtle.

Bormann is also studying mantra use in a variety of other groups, including parents and caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients.

She notes that her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and the Veterans Affairs Research and Development Office.

Train Your Brain With Exercise! Use it or lose it!

Not only is exercise smart for your heart and weight, but it can make you smarter and better at what you do.

Anyone with a brain exercises these days, but did you know exercise can return the favor and train your brain? Not only is exercise smart for your heart and weight, but it can make you smarter and better at what you do.

“I like to say that exercise is like taking a little Prozac or a little Ritalin at just the right moment,” says John J. Ratey, MD, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of A User’s Guide to the Brain. “Exercise is really for the brain, not the body. It affects mood, vitality, alertness, and feelings of well-being.”

Stephen C. Putnam, MEd, took up canoeing in a serious way to combat the symptoms of adult ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). Then he wrote a book, titled Nature’s Ritalin for the Marathon Mind, about the benefits of exercise on troublesome brain disorders such as ADHD, a neurological/behavioral condition resulting in hyperactivity and the inability to focus on tasks.

Putnam cites studies of children who ran around for 15 to 45 minutes before class and cut their ants-in-the-pants behavior by half when they got to class. As with most exercise, the effects were relatively lasting — smoothing out behavior two to four hours after the exercise.

Putnam also points to some preliminary animal research that suggests that exercise can cause new stem cells to grow, refreshing the brain and other body parts. According to Ratey, exercise also stimulates nerve growth factors. “I call it Miracle-Gro for the brain,” he says.

How Exercise Trains the Brain

Christin Anderson, MS, wellness and fitness coordinator of the University of San Francisco, explains that exercise affects many sites within the nervous system and sets off pleasure chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine that make us feel calm, happy, and euphoric.

In other words, if you don’t want to wait for those good feelings to come by accident (if they do), you can bring them on by exercising.

“When one exercises,” Anderson says, “you can think more clearly, perform better, and your morale is better. This is pure science — stimulate your nervous system and function at a higher level.”

Effects of Exercise on Depression

Almost everyone has heard of the “fog of war,” but the “fog of living” is depression. “Depression affects memory and effectiveness (not to mention the ability to get up, get dressed, and function),” Anderson says. “If you can control your physiology, you can relax, focus, and remember.”

In a study reported in the Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness in 2001, 80 young male and female volunteers were tested for mood and then did aerobics for an hour. Of the 80, 52 were depressed before the exercise. That group was the most likely to benefit, reporting a reduction in anger, fatigue, and tension. They also felt more vigorous after the workout.

Effects of Exercise on Depression continued…

A well-known study was done at Duke University involving 150 people 50 or older who had been diagnosed with depression. They were divided into three groups and given either exercise as a treatment for four months, the antidepressant drug Zoloft, or a combination of the two.

At the end of the four months, all three groups felt better. But the researchers didn’t leave it there. They checked again in six months, and the exercise group had relapsed at significantly lower rates than the Zoloft or combination groups. In fact, the scientists felt that giving the Zoloft along with the exercise undermined the effects of the exercise, saying the combination group might have preferred to feel they had worked for their improvement rather than having to take a pill.

This doesn’t mean, the researcher said, that exercise is a cureall for every case of depression. Seeking out the study showed motivation, and motivation can be hard to come by when you’re depressed.

Bipolar disorder also does not seem to respond as well to exercise. On the other hand, anxiety disorders sometimes respond even more quickly.

If You Want to Try Exercise as a Brain Trainer

Single bouts of exercise can reduce anxiety for several hours afterward, although there may be a lag time before the good feeling sets in if exercise is too intense (good news for those who find fanatical, prolonged, “check your pulse” exercise unappealing).

Therefore, low to moderate forms of exercise are recommended for brain training. Ratey recommends 8 to 12 minutes a day of sweating and breathing-hard exercise (60% of maximum heart rate) for brain training.

Anderson says a minimum would be 30 minutes of moderate exercise, walking, hiking, or swimming, three times a week. Half an hour to an hour, four to five times a week would be even better. For those who want to be REALLY on the ball, 90 minutes five to six times a week would not be out of line, she says.

Anderson recommends two sessions a day for this purpose, rather than one big heaving workout. “Swim for 20 minutes in the morning, then walk at night,” she advises. “Right after hard, intense exercise, you may not be as acute. Overtraining can set off enzymes that can lead to fatigue, which is the enemy of alertness.”

Anderson also says the type of exercise you select depends on your personality. It may be the opposite of what you’d expect. “If you’re a 32-year-old male, work 70 hours a week, play ball twice on the weekend and jog daily,” she says, “you may need to do some yoga to improve your mental acuity.” Some coaches, she points, out actually have to get people to relax to find their “edge.” Meditation can also be a great complement to exercise, she adds. Then: “Do what you enjoy. That’s important.”

If You Want to Try Exercise as a Brain Trainer continued…

“You want to ready your brain for learning,” Ratey says. For that to happen, all the chemicals must “jog” into place.

Star Lawrence is a medical journalist based in the Phoenix area.