For the 32 years I have been in practice my daily mantra to patients has been “life is motion”. Over the years more and more research is proving how important motion (aka exercise) is to being healthy. The latest promotion for exercise as medicine is found on the cover of Time Magazine in the September 12, 2016 issue. The title is: “The Exercise Cure-The surprising science of a life changing workout”. The opening line of the article states, “Researchers, scientists-even ancient philosophers-have long claimed exercise works like a miracle drug. Now they have proof.”
WOW! It just gets better! According to Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University, “but as time goes on, paper after paper after paper shows that the most effective, potent way that we can improve quality of life and duration of life is exercise.” Now the sad part, only 20% of Americans do the recommended 150 minutes per week of exercise which should be a combination of cardiovascular and strength training. In fact, 50% of Baby Boomers do no exercise at all. (I’m sure the patients and friends of Performance Health Center are in that 20% that meet the minimum standards).
Yes, going to the gym and pumping weights, then going for a run, or taking a spinning class counts as exercise. There are lots of ways to exercise that can be, and should be part of your daily routine. Walking, taking stairs, mowing the lawn, raking leaves, vacuuming and carrying groceries, to name a few, all count as exercise. You don’t need to pump irons for strength training. Yoga, Pilates and Tai chi are also excellent forms of strength training, according to exercise physiologist Anthony Hackney of UNC at Chapel Hill.
Among other things, exercise gets the blood moving to the brain which is essential for healthy aging. Without getting too technical increase blood flow to the brain repairs, restores and fixes things that are broken. Even more simply stated, “Exercise, then appears to slow aging at the cellular level”, according to Dr. Dr Bamman, the director of the Center for Exercise Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also is betting that someday, “exercise will be prescribed to patients. Instead of leaving the doctor’s office with nothing but a slip of paper with a drug name scrawled on it, patients may also get a detailed exercise plan tailored to make the medication work better.”
So, you now get how important exercise is to being your health and longevity. Studies are now suggesting that an intense 10 minute work-out can be as beneficial as a 1 hour work-out. These 10 minute work-outs are called high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. My suggestion is that you not try a HIIT without being under the supervision of a trainer who as the proper certification to assist you.
It’s not a secret anymore. You need to exercise to be healthy and live a long life. Let us assist you in getting you ready to exercise. We’ll help get you into functional shape so you get the most out of your work-outs and you are not just re-enforcing imbalances in your body. We’ll give you the basics, but if you need more help we are happy to point you in the right direction to either a physical therapy, or a qualified trainer.
Keep moving and stay healthy. Research continues to prove what I will continue say to my patient’s everyday, “Life is Motion!”
For more information, or to find out if you are physical ready to exercise, please call the office and make an appointment at (508)655-9008, or email me at [email protected]