Choosing an Exercise Program

The toughest and most important step in your exercise program is getting started. Choosing an exercise program is an important decision but choosing an exercise program is just the first step. An exercise program is designed to meet your specific needs and goals. If you have chosen well, getting started will be much easier.
A very important aspect of your exercise program is the intensity. Safety during your exercise program is also very important. The safest way to start an exercise program is to perform the chosen exercise or sport at a low intensity until the legs or arms ache or feel heavy. A good aerobic exercise program is one where a repetitive motion stimulates heart and lung activity for at least 30 minutes without stopping. The first thing to do though before starting any kind of exercise program is to consult with your doctor.
A personalised exercise program is developed based on one's individual medical condition and current state of physical fitness. If you want to look good, feel good and live longer an exercise program is an excellent start. The first step in a fitness and exercise program is in deciding what type of exercise you enjoy. The final key in beginning an exercise program is to start slowly, and progress gradually allowing your body to adapt to the new exercises. Educating yourself about what comprises an exercise program is the easy part of making fitness a part of your life.
Beginning an exercise program is scary stuff. However, before an exercise program is designed for you, your doctor or health care provider will perform an exercise assessment and screening. One of the reasons many individuals do not attempt an exercise program is because they feel they are not very athletic or coordinated. Anyone can exercise but each much exercise according to their own physical health and limitations.
When a new exercise program is started, it is the break down of muscle tissue that causes muscle fatigue and soreness. The key to starting and maintaining an exercise program is persistence. Sore muscles will disappear in no time. It is up to you to make sure that your family and friends understand how important your exercise program is to you. Having their support will help you persevere.
The goal of any sport or exercise program is to increase the heart rate, improve muscle tone, and build strength. Making a full commitment to your exercise program is the first step. One of the most important factors in beginning an exercise program is to select the most convenient time for you to exercise. Starting an exercise program is hard for everyone. Researchers have found that an exercise program is more successful if it includes variety and continually challenges the body to work hard. An exercise program is the only way to lead a long and healthy life.
Starting an exercise program is easy. After safety, the most important element in your exercise program is enjoyment. If your exercise program is a negative experience for you, it is not an appropriate program. A regular exercise program is beneficial for women as well as for men. For most people, a balanced exercise program is best. It's important to remember that any bone density gains are largely lost after the exercise program is stopped. So stick with it!
The right exercise program is one that starts slowly and gradually increases in time and intensity. When an exercise program is specifically designed for you, your overall health can dramatically improve. The most important decision before beginning an exercise program is the choice of activity. Remember that the basis for any exercise program is muscle strength. Starting an exercise program is hard, but staying committed to it is even harder.
The purpose of a good exercise program is to find an enjoyable activity and do it regularly. An aerobics exercise program is the cornerstone to healthy living, and an absolute necessity for someone who is trying to lose weight. Establishing and maintaining a balanced exercise program can be made easier by working with fitness professional. Developing and implementing a comprehensive exercise program is a continually evolving process.

Myths, Lies and Propaganda About Exercise

Throughout my career in the military I have come across a variety of tall tales about eating and exercise. The extent of misinformation is so great that you'd think we were dealing with Cold War propaganda. If a lie is told frequently enough it is treated as the truth. Here are some of the myths, lies and propaganda about exercise.
Exercise MYTH # 1: The best time to exercise is in the morning, because it jump-starts your metabolism.
The TRUTH: Exercise anywhere, anytime.
The best time to exercise is the time that fits your schedule. That can be morning, noon or nighttime. The enemy wants to rob you of any thought of flexibility so that you just surrender and do not exercise enough. Morning exercise will expedite the wake-up process, and you will feel energized. Mid-day exercise will energize and refresh you and help you overcome that afternoon grogginess. Nighttime exercise is an amazing stress-management tool that will get that blood circulation back up so you are really infused with the energy to enjoy the evening much more. Any morning versus evening metabolism, difference is insignificant compared to the overall benefit of exercising. It is propaganda from the enemy. This myth is busted.
Exercise MYTH # 2: If you do not exercise, muscle will turn into fat.
The TRUTH: Muscle does not and cannot turn to fat.
What a bunch of hogwash! The Wizard of Oz may be able to turn muscle into fat, but that is a fairytale, and the Tooth Fairy will not be able to help you on this one! Snap out of it, Soldier! Fat cannot and does not turn to muscle, and muscle cannot and does not turn to fat! Here's what does happen. You burn off fat and build muscle OR you lose muscle and gain fat. Get that other propaganda out of your head!
Exercise MYTH #3: Running a mile burns more calories than walking a mile. The TRUTH: Both running and walking a mile burn the same amount of calories.
We called in our mathematicians for this one. They looked at us with a grin and said, "Give us something challenging. This is a no-brainer." Running one mile and walking one mile both burn 100 calories. Walking a mile takes longer and therefore results in a burn of the same amount of calories. So why run? Because it works that cardio and, if you are looking for a calorie burn, running will burn more calories in less time than walking. Ask a mathematician. It is true.
Exercise MYTH #4: You must exercise continuously for 30 to 40 minutes to benefit your heart.
The TRUTH: Every bit of exercise adds to a heart benefit.
The enemy wants you to subscribe to the self-defeating All-or-Nothing Principle. The All-or-Nothing Principle: "If I can't exercise continuously for 30 to 40 minutes, I'm not going to do it at all." We have been created to do what we CAN do. Research supports the fact that every bit of exercise accumulates to an overall health benefit. Conversely, every bit of sedentary lifestyle accumulates to damage your health and your heart.
Exercise MYTH #5: A good sweat results in extra weight-loss.
The TRUTH: A good sweat is a good sweat.
I will tell you what a good sweat is! It is a good sweat! A good sweat results in extra water loss, not fat weight-loss. Need I say more?
Exercise MYTH #6: If you are injured, you should not work out at all, in order to allow your injury to heal.
The TRUTH: Movement promotes healing.
My reliable agents in the field have uncovered a couple of sources of this myth. It is possible that liability concerns of the medical community will play a role in the propagation of this misinformation. The truth: Movement promotes healing as long as it is done safely and under the guidance of your physician. Now, here is a big test question for you. Why is physical therapy prescribed for injuries? Yeah, I know. I already gave you the answer: Movement promotes healing and the regeneration of tissue.
Exercise MYTH #7: Focusing on abdominal exercises will help me lose that belly fat.
The TRUTH: This inspired me to get poetic.
You can crunch all day.
You can crunch all night.
You can crunch at bedtime and by the moonlight.
You can crunch it up.
You can crunch it down.
There ain't no way you'll lose a pound.
No! Abdominal exercises do not target belly fat loss. Do not believe those gadget commercials and, by the way, there is no Tooth Fairy.
Exercise MYTH #8: Stretching before exercise is essential to prevent injury. The TRUTH: There is no conclusive evidence that stretching prevents injury.
This myth is designed by the enemy to keep you from getting down to business and focusing on your cardio and strength training. Too much emphasis on stretching! The cardio benefit of stretching is almost zero. There is no conclusive evidence that stretching is essential to prevent injury. In fact, there are studies that suggest that stretching actually increases the muscles' susceptibility to injury, which - according to the studies - causes the muscle fibers to lengthen and destabilize the muscle during strength training. Mild stretching should not really be a problem. My recommendation: Warm up the body before stretching, or perform mild stretches until warmed up. Another option is to stretch briefly between sets.
Exercise MYTH #9: Never eat before a workout.
The TRUTH: Eat before your workout.
The enemy would like Americans to run out of energy and get weak. Now, if someone said to you, "We're going take a drive. Make sure you don't get gas," I think I can visualize that look of astonishment on your face! Food is fuel, and you need it for your workout. However, do not overeat. If you have an evening workout, make sure that lunch is not the last meal you had. In addition, if you do not have time to get a decent meal, eat a banana, a sports shake or an energy bar. There is no excuse for not getting some good-quality nourishment in preparation for a good-quality workout.
Exercise MYTH #10: Strength training with weights will make women bulk up.
The TRUTH: No! Strength training will not bulk women up.
The enemy wants to keep our women weak. Do not let it happen! Ladies, you will not bulk up with strength training. Most women's bodies do not produce enough testosterone to become bulky like those big guys on TV. Proper strength training will enhance your appearance and strength. In addition, if you are still concerned, just concentrate on doing high reps. That strategy is very healthy for your muscles because you will also be increasing your muscle endurance and not just your muscle strength.
Exercise MYTH #11: You should only start strength training after losing excess weight.
The TRUTH: Strength training is great for weight-loss.
Here we go again. The longer the enemy can delay an American getting on an exercise program, the greater the chances of defeat and another healthy lifestyle will be shot down by a myth before it even takes off. Movement is always healthy as long as you are not hurting yourself. Of course, in the beginning, exercise may very well hurt your feelings. If you feel that coming on, just go to my website NoMoreCryBabies.com. Strength training is a definite plus when you are in the process of losing excess weight. Cardio is also essential. Just follow that principle of doing what you can do, and do not forget to say to yourself and others how much fun you are having.
Exercise MYTH #12: If you do not exercise hard and often, it is a waste of time.
The TRUTH: All exercise benefits your health.
The human body was created for movement and not a sedentary lifestyle. Every bit of exercise you can integrate into your daily life will enhance your health and wellbeing. It is a myth that you must exercise hard and often to reap any health benefits. Eat right; exercise regularly; think predominantly positive thoughts; focus on those worthy life goals; focus on leaving your mark on this earth by serving others and benefiting your fellow man and woman. That is a recipe for a healthy life.
Exercise MYTH #13: You will burn more fat if you exercise longer and keep your heart rate in the "fat burning" range.
The TRUTH: You will burn more fat when you increase the intensity.
It is time for math class, again. Yes, it is true that the percentage of fat you are burning with a low-intensity workout is higher than a more intense workout with a heightened heart rate. Nevertheless, here is the fatal math error. With a low-intensity workout, you are burning fewer calories. With a high-intensity workout, you are burning, overall, more calories and are therefore burning more fat, even though the percentage of fat burn is decreased. This means that all those treadmills with those fat burn indicators are not only robbing you of a calorie burn, but are also robbing you of a good cardio and strength-training workout.
Forget those gadgets that measure your heart rate, and get back in touch with your body by using what is called perceived exertion. You can tell whether your workout is light, medium, hard, very hard, or brutal. Use that as a gauge. In addition, remember: You want to get your heart rate up, to improve your cardiovascular condition. Otherwise, those disease-related enemy soldiers will be knocking at your door.
Exercise MYTH #14: You must stay away from strength training while trying to lose weight, since it will cause you to bulk up.
The TRUTH: All exercise, both cardio and strength training, is essential during a weight-loss program.
This one may tie in with the other myth that fat can turn to muscle. All exercise, both cardio and strength training, is essential during a weight-loss program. If you do not perform strength training, your body will begin practicing cannibalism. Moreover, guess whose muscle mass your body will eat? Your own! That is not science fiction. If you are not using and maintaining your muscle, you will lose it. Your metabolism will slow down even more, and your health will suffer.
Exercise MYTH #15: Stress speeds up the metabolism and burns more fat.
The TRUTH: Stress causes the body to burn fat slower and may result in increased fat retention.
Exercise MYTH #16: Jogging and running will make a woman's breasts sag.
The TRUTH: This is not a myth! Jogging and running will make a woman's breasts sag, if she does not wear proper support.
Wear a sports bra and do not even think of eliminating excellent cardio from your workout. Walking is for people who cannot run, and I hope you are not in that category. If you do not wear a good sports bra, exercising can make your breasts sag more quickly, says Peter Bruno, M.D., an internist in New York City. High-impact activities, particularly jogging or aerobics, can stress your Cooper's ligaments, the connective tissue that keeps breasts firm. According to the American Council on Exercise, compression bras work best for smaller-busted women. The more well endowed (typically a C cup or larger) should opt for an "encapsulation" bra that supports each breast separately. Replace workout bras every six months to a year.
Exercise MYTH #17: I cannot lose weight because it is in my genes.
The TRUTH: No! Your genes do not have the last word. Eating right and exercising regularly will have a positive impact on your weight regardless of your genes. Lack of exercise and bad eating habits will have a negative impact on your health regardless of your genes.
You have no influence over your genes and, in some cases, there is a propensity for weight gain that is in the genes. But wait. The truth is exercise and healthy eating will have a positive impact on you regardless of your genes. This means that if you have the propensity to gain weight or get certain diseases, exercise and eating right will still reduce the impact.
Your lifestyle choice could have a negative impact on the development of your genes for future family generations. There is new evidence for what is called environmental inheritance, a radical theory of transgenerational genetic adaptation proposed by Professor Marcus Pembrey of the Institute of Child Health, University College of London in the mid 1990's. Simply put, your lifestyle of poor food choices or overeating or not exercising could lead future family generations to have a propensity for being overweight or having certain diseases or even smoking. The good news is that your healthy lifestyle may have a positive impact on the development of your genes for future generations.

By Lt. Col. Bob Weinstein, USAR-Ret., author of Weight Loss - Twenty Pounds in Ten Weeks - Move It to Lose It
Lt. Col. Weinstein, nationally known as the Health Colonel, has been featured on the History Channel and specializes in a military-style workout for all fitness levels on Fort Lauderdale Beach in South Florida. He is the author of Boot Camp Fitness for All Shapes and Sizes, Weight Loss - Twenty Pounds in Ten Weeks - Move It to Lose It, Discover Your Inner Strength (co-author), Change Made Easy and Quotes to Live By.

The Need For Exercise

The truth of the matter, is that exercise is vital to health and has enormous impact. The poll, o Exercise impacts almost every aspect of health. It can:
- Reduce the risk of premature death
- Reduce the risk of heart disease
- Reduce high blood pressure
- Reduce high cholesterol
- Reduce the risks of many cancers, including colon and breast cancer
- Reduce the risk of developing diabetes
- Reduce fat and optimize body weight
- Build and maintain healthy muscles, bones, and joints
- Reduce depression and anxiety
- Enhance performance in work and sport
It's not my purpose in this newsletter to teach you how to exercise -- there are many books, DVDs, and websites that teach you how to do that -- but rather, to explain to you why you need to exercise and why you need to commit to multiple forms of exercise. Believe it or not, running every day, won't cut it. Going to the gym every day and working out with weights every day won't cut it. You need it all: cardio/aerobic exercise, strength training, weight-bearing exercise, stretching, breathing, and balance.
Let's start by talking about cardio/aerobic exercise.
CARDIO/AEROBIC EXERCISE
By definition, cardio/aerobic exercise is brisk physical activity that requires the heart and lungs to work harder to meet the body's increased oxygen demand. Aerobic exercise promotes the circulation of oxygen through the blood. The key part of the definition here is the word oxygen. The defining aspect of aerobic exercise is that it is of sufficient intensity to force the heart and lungs to work harder, and yet of low enough intensity to facilitate adequate oxygen transfer to the muscle cells so that no buildup of lactic acid is observed. Another way of looking at aerobic exercise is that it involves repetitive movement of large muscle groups (such as your arms, legs, and hips) -- with all of the needed energy supplied by the oxygen you breathe. When you're aerobically fit, your body takes in and utilizes oxygen more efficiently -- to sustain the repetitive muscle movement. Benefits include:
- Improved heart and lung function
- Lower heart rate and blood pressure
- Increased blood supply to muscles and improved ability to use oxygen
- Increased HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol)
- Decreased triglycerides
- Reduced body fat and improved weight control
- Improved glucose tolerance and reduced insulin resistance
- Enhanced immune function, which means
- Increased resistance to viral and bacterial infection
- Increased resistance to cancer
- Lowered blood sugar levels and reduced risk of diabetes
- Longer life expectancy
There is a world of aerobic exercise to choose from. Choose one or two that you enjoy and can easily pursue. For example, don't choose swimming if you live in the desert and the nearest pool is 60 miles away. Take your pick. There's running, jogging, and fast walking. Biking (either road or mountain), and swimming are also good. If you belong to a gym or have home equipment, there are treadmills, elliptical trainers, spin cycles, and rebounders -- with more being invented and marketed all the time. Just pick one or two that you like, can do easily, and are willing to do.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Strength training involves the use of weights or some other form of resistance to build muscle and increase strength. Its benefits include:
- Increased muscle strength
- Increased tendon and ligament strength
- Reduced body fat and increased muscle mass
- Better balance
- Lower blood cholesterol
- Improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity
Contrary to popular opinion, strength training is not just for young people. Studies have shown that people in their 70's and 80's can experience strength gains of as much as 180% in just a few weeks!
What kinds of strength training options are available? Again, as with aerobics, there is a world of choices. There are free weights, stacked weight machines, and Nautilus circuits at the gym. There's resistance training as found in Soloflex and Bowflex machines and push/pull resistance as found in the Delta Trimax machine. Then there's Pilates equipment and the Total Gym that use your own body weight as resistance. Any and all can work. Choose one that works for you and that you can do easily and are willing to do regularly.
It's worth noting that weight training is the ultimate way to burn calories fast. A pound of muscle burns up to nine times the calories of a pound of fat. In other words, strength training increases your resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories you burn while sleeping or sitting. The trick is that muscle is active tissue. That is, it requires a lot of energy just to maintain itself. In fact, every pound of new muscle you add to your body will burn about 60 calories per day. Adding just 10 pounds of muscle to your body, will burn off 62 pounds of fat over the next year -- even while you are sleeping! And it will continue to do so the next year...and the next.
WEIGHT BEARING EXERCISE
Weight bearing exercise is actually a subset of certain aerobic and strength training exercises. It is exercise in which you force your body to support weight (your own included) while exercising. Studies have shown that weight bearing exercise can help slow down the rate of bone loss and osteoporosis, and therefore reduce fractures. How does it do this? First, weight-bearing exercise directly stimulates bone formation. Then, it strengthens muscles that in turn pull and tug on bones. This pulling action actually causes the bones to become denser and stronger. Weight-bearing activities at any age benefit bone health. Studies have shown that even people in their 90's can increase bone mass with weight bearing exercise.
The best weight bearing exercises are: weight-lifting, jogging, hiking with a back pack, stair-climbing, step aerobics, racquet sports, and other activities that require your muscles to work against gravity. Swimming and simple walking don't do the trick. One exceptionally useful form of weight bearing exercise is rebounding. The act of rebounding makes use of g-forces, just like astronauts training in a centrifuge. Rebounding can actually achieve momentary g-forces of 3.5, which means that the bones of a 150 lb person will momentarily have to bear 525 lbs of weight on each bounce. That's a lot of weight bearing.
Note: the benefits of weight-bearing exercise are site-specific. This means that you strengthen only the bones used directly in the exercise. In other words, it's a good idea to participate in a variety of weight-bearing exercises. To maintain the bone-building benefits, the exercise needs to be continued on a regular basis.
STRETCHING
Stretching is the step child of exercise, with more lip service paid to it than actual practice. Stretching though is crucial to good health. The usual benefits cited include:
- Reduced muscle tension
- Injury prevention
- Increased range of movement in the joints
- Enhanced muscular coordination
- Increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body
- Increased energy levels (resulting from increased circulation)
Think for a moment of the opposite of stretching -- tightness and restriction. By definition, you are talking about constriction in muscles and soft tissue. Tightness and constriction mean reduced blood flow to that muscle and soft tissue, a reduced supply of nutrients to the area of tension, and reduced removal of metabolic waste from those areas. Areas that are tense and constricted, then, are breeding grounds for illness and organ dysfunction. Now tie in the whole concept of traditional Chinese medicine which says that all disease results from restrictions in the flow of energy in the body and the resulting energy imbalances that creates, and you can see that stretching is not just an issue of feeling good; it is essential for maintaining optimum health.
What kinds of stretching are good? Yoga is probably the best stretching exercise there is, but Pilates works well too. If nothing else, just do 5-10 minutes of simple stretching after your daily exercise routine as part of your cool down time.
Note: It is not by accident that at 59 years old, I can still do full splits.
RESISTENCE BREATHING
Proper breathing is a topic worthy of its own newsletter, but for now, let's just focus on the advantages of resistance breathing. The concept is simple: putting a device in your mouth that restricts (in a controlled manner) your inhalations and exhalations, which forces your lungs to work harder. This, in turn, strengthens the muscles that makes your lungs work and increases their capacity. There are a number of such devices widely available on the internet and in health magazines. They tend to run $20-40. The investment is well worth it since this type of exercise can significantly improve the strength of your respiratory muscles and increase your lung capacity.
How much of a benefit are we talking about?
Studies have shown that these devices can increase breathing endurance by close to 300%. Considering how fundamental oxygen is to health, it's not hard to see the short and long-term health and performance advantages of doing so.
BALANCE
One other key aspect of exercise is balance. Why? Because like all other physical abilities, it diminishes with age unless we consciously exercise it. Is that a bad thing? Only if you fall down and break your hip or wrist. Here's a simple balance exercise you can do daily. It takes just a couple of minutes and will produce quick improvement.
1. Stand while holding for support, with one hand, the back edge of a chair set beside you.
2. Bend the leg nearest to the chair at the knee 90 degrees so that your knees are still together and the foot of the bent leg is projected out behind you.
3. Get used to balancing on the one leg while holding the chair.
4. Then turn to the other side and do the other leg.
Once you can comfortably balance like this:
5. Try taking your hand off the chair and balancing on the one leg without support from the chair.
6. As you get more comfortable doing this, try to stop using your arms for balance and pull your hands in, palms together in front of your chest, like in a Far East prayer position. This will force the act of balance to the muscles of one leg.
Once you can comfortably balance like this:
7. Try closing your eyes and holding the pose for 30 seconds.
If you really want to improve your balance, many yoga poses are specifically designed as balance poses, utilizing arms, legs, hips -- the entire body, in fact. On a more modern note, there's a whole new breed of vibrating-platform exercise-equipment that makes use of forcing you to balance while working out. The net effect is that because the balancing aspect forces you to use an entirely separate set of muscles in addition to your normal work out muscles, it dramatically accelerates the benefits of exercise.
CONCLUSION
Exercise is as important to good health as proper nutrition. Speaking of which, your need for proper nutrition is increased by exercise.
You will need more quality protein to build the muscles you are exercising. I know soy and whey are the "in vogue" supplements for body builders. I much prefer the combination of rice protein and yellow pea protein. It is virtually of the same quality and bioavailability as those other sources, but has one huge advantage. It is hypoallergenic and extremely easy to digest.
You also need quality carbohydrates, especially ultra-long-chain carbohydrates (ULCs) such as pre-sprouted barley. ULCs release energy over several hours and do not spike sugar levels.
You also need high quality fats -- Omega-3s and 9s in particular.
When you are exercising, you utilize more oxygen, which by definition produces more free radicals so you will need more antioxidants to clear them. Look for a full spectrum antioxidant, rather than a single source wonder supplement.
And you will want higher intake of minerals (particularly electrolytes) and water soluble vitamins (vitamin C, and all of the B vitamins) since you will be using them up and sweating them out at an accelerated rate. As a side note, instead of drinking high-sugar sports beverages, you might want to consider just adding liquid trace minerals to your water.
The one area that you gain nutritionally is detoxing. Exercise is its own form of detoxing. It removes waste from the lymph. It stimulates peristalsis to remove waste from the colon. And it accelerates the removal of waste through sweat and urine.
Bottom line: If you don't move you die. Exercise fundamentally changes every system and function in your body.

Jon Barron's Baseline of Health Newsletter and the Barron Report are read by thousands of doctors, health experts, and nutrition consumers in over 100 countries.