Written by: Ross Dempsey, MS, NSCA, CSCS
"A healthy person wants a thousand things; a sick person only wants one." - Confucius
If you have ever enjoyed exercise, wanted to exercise more, or wanted to know why it is a good idea to exercise, you need to read this article. By spending less time sitting and more time moving, you can enjoy the many benefits of exercise. Exercise is one of the single best preventative treatments against inflammation.
Chronic inflammation and disease risk
Inflammation is a chronic condition where the body's immune system attacks itself. The body constantly fights off a chronic state such as mental stress, excess body weight, frequent alcohol or drug use, poor quality and duration of sleep, or arthritis. Ultimately this bodily resistance does more harm than good, increasing the risk of more severe health conditions such as Alzheimer's, cancer, and heart disease if left untreated.
74% and 43% of US adults are overweight and obese, respectively. Excess body fat affects our ability to live at our best, with a high risk for the health conditions mentioned.
How do we define exercise?
The World Health Organization's guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior (WHO, pager 8, 2020) Define exercise as:
"Planned, structured, repetitive, and purposeful in the sense that the improvement or maintenance of one or more components of physical fitness is the objective.”
We can exercise to improve any of the five main components of fitness (ACSM, 2011).;
-Body composition - exercise improves body composition, especially resistance training
-Muscular strength -Bodyweight, Dumbbell, TRX, or Barbell exercises
-Muscular endurance - Planks, battle ropes, jump squats,
-Flexibility/mobility - Yoga, Pilates. Redcord, or stretching
-Cardiorespiratory fitness - Rowing, biking, running, or skiing
Examples of cardiorespiratory exercise include but are not limited to walking, jogging, running, cycling, swimming, dancing, hiking, and sports such as tennis and basketball and combat sports like MMA. Muscular-focused example activities include:
Lifting weights.
Using resistance bands or cords.
Performing bodyweight exercises such as push-ups and sit-ups.
Mobility exercises like pilates, yoga, tai chi, and qigong can improve flexibility and mobility.The WHO exercise guidelines recommend all adults should do at least 150–300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week. Additional exercise, over the recommendations, provides other health benefits (WHO, pager 12, 2020).
Why does exercise classification matter?
Given that 74% of US adults are overweight, exercising for fat loss is one among many reasons to exercise. Fat loss of 10% is a realistic goal. Still, improving the other components of fitness: strength, muscular endurance, flexibility/mobility, and cardio will also significantly improve our health.
Only 53% of US adults meet the aerobic guidelines for exercise. However, strength training is essential for the most benefit. Only 20% of the US population is doing sufficient aerobic exercise of 150 minutes per week and strength training 2x per week.
Aerobic exercise will help prevent cardiovascular disease and heart attack as we age. To avoid a loss of independence, frailty, and increased risk of hip fractures, we need to strength train early and often.
How can you exercise enough to reach the guidelines?
Decide on a realistic, specific, and measurable goal that regular exercise helps you achieve. For example, exercise to avoid the history of brittle bone disease in your family, have more energy for your partner or kids, or feel better about your unique body. Decide on a goal that is personal and meaningful to you, then decide on the most minor and most achievable steps you can take towards this goal.
Forget achieving a goal that sounds good which you haven't made your own. If you skip deciding your ‘why’ it will be easier to think of excuses down the line when your motivation inevitably drops.
Aim to make exercise a consistent part of your weekly routine. Consistency is key to noticing any results and progress towards your personal goal. A regular habit is essential. "Repeating a behavior in a consistent setting increases automaticity" the more automatic a habit, the easier it is to maintain the habit. A habit of planning reduces common barriers to exercise, which often prevents us from realizing the progress towards the health goals we want.
Use facilitators to reach your exercise goal. A facilitator helps you form your desired habit, the opposite of a barrier such as unprofessional program design. Barriers are also significant, preventing us from completing our desired habits. Examples of facilitators include:
Putting your clothes out the night before
Booking your sessions in advance
Scheduling into your calendar
Creating a reminder notification on your phone
Exercising with a reliable buddy, such as partner training
Get a personal trainer
Record your exercise journey to note successes, wins, setbacks, and pitfalls to avoid. Suppose we don't plan, organize our workout gear in advance, have a workout plan, or personalize. In that case, this will become a barrier to regular exercise. If you have ever used a journal, you will know how much we forget and let slip that is useful for future situations. A journal for exercise will leave breadcrumbs of success to keep you on track and progressing towards your health goal.
Ask for help when you're feeling stuck, at a plateau, or need support. Social support is especially useful providing an important sense of social inclusion, social support provided by service staff such as personal trainers and accountability. No person is an island, and asking for help is a sign of personal awareness. Help is essential as somebody has experience with the challenge you are currently facing.
Support will help alleviate some of the stress you're feeling. For example, a personal trainer can help you to not feel alone or boost your morale with some words of advice. Support can come in many forms from your partner, colleague, or expert advice, such as a personal trainer. How social support can work is by reducing our time spent worrying about a problem e.g should I exercise. It can increase our time spent engaging in our desired activity e.g exercise potentially restoring our mental ability in stressful times. The best athletes don't know how to do everything themselves. The best can effectively collaborate and seek guidance when facing a challenge, and your fitness journey is no different.
"Ask for help, not because you are weak. But because you want to remain strong."
To increase our activity levels and maintain them, the WHO has some practical points to aid your fitness journey to boost consistency and results:
• Doing some physical activity is better than doing none. Over time, every small amount of activity compounds. Long-term exercise produces a greater ability to fully live life, especially as we age into our 90s!
• The recommendations of 150 minutes per week may be too much initially, but we can work up to them once we get started. A personal trainer will meet you at your level and help you progress at your own pace.
• Adults should start by doing small amounts of physical activity and gradually increase frequency and intensity. Applying the fundamental workout principle of progressive overload, as is used at CustomFit, ensures you make consistent progress towards your training goals (Kraemer, 2003).
The one message to take away today is exercise is medicine. Any small amount done regularly will benefit your health by improving your quality of life. It's never too late to start exercising and live with more quality of your days and quantity through less pain (Such as low back pain), better mood (anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and mood-enhancing effects), and more energy (cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, body composition). Support is critical to forming a regular exercise routine, avoiding injury, and seriously improving your health. At CustomFit, certified trainers will customize a work plan to your fitness level to help you get more out of exercise and live a happier, healthier life.
*Disclaimer: Not all exercises, stretches, self-massage techniques, tips, or maneuvers mentioned here are suitable for everyone. Before attempting anything new, take into account your flexibility, strength, and overall health to determine whether or not a particular recommendation is appropriate for you. If you are not able to determine the safety of a recommendation, do not do it without having cleared it first with your physician. This is particularly important if you are overweight, pregnant, nursing, taking regular medications, have injuries, have had a recent surgery, or have any existing medical or health conditions. The exercises and instructions included on this website are not a substitute for medical advice. As with any exercise program, if at any point during your exercise you begin to feel faint, dizzy, or have physical discomfort, you should stop immediately. You are responsible for exercising within your limits and seeking medical advice and attention as appropriate. Any injury sustained from proper or improper use of the exercises contained herein is solely the responsibility of the participating individual. Custom Fit SF, its trainers, coaches, staff, partners, and affiliates are not responsible for any injuries that result from participation in the recommendations shown.
Women who are pregnant or possibly pregnant are not advised for a DEXA scan. If you are not able to determine the safety of a DEXA scan, do not do it without having cleared it first with your physician. The suggestions included on this website are not a substitute for medical advice. You are responsible for seeking medical advice and attention as appropriate.