IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE HEALTHY...

In a tv documentary, some scientists were traveling to study a remote jungle mountaintop. A large group of native porters carried the expedition instruments up a narrow jungle footpath. One instrument was the size and weight of a small 5-ft. high house refrigerator. The wiry, roughly 5-ft. tall porters took turns carrying the unusually heavy load; about 20 minutes per man before switching off. One of the scientists, a 6'+ world-champion body builder, wanted to give it a try himself. After considerable struggle just to lift it, he was able to stagger about 50 ft. before he and the group succumbed to laughter, and the porters resumed the load.

Exercise is perhaps the most misunderstood of subjects today. Few people understand that these skinny, incredibly strong porters are the definition of a healthy body. Healthy older people in most tribal cultures are vastly stronger than any of us! Diet is important, but recent studies have shown that exercise is primarily what determines how healthy we are and how well we age. The human body thrives on moderate daily physical hardship. Tribal peoples walk and run all day, often while carrying loads. While their lives overall have too much hardship, ideal health comes from exercising several hours every day. Many athletes, fitness instructors, models and actors do exactly that to get those great bodies.

What we hear from most doctors is that 30 min. a day three times a week is OK as minimum exercise. But the key word here is minimum: minimal exercise means minimal health. It is nowhere near enough for optimum health. Optimum health comes from several hrs. of exercise daily; pretty good health about 2-3 hrs, and acceptable health at least 1 hr. daily. The key is to gently work up to it every single day, for the rest of your life.

Not just any exercise will do. Aerobic Exercise is what overall good health comes from. Aerobic Exercise is vigorous, sustained, repetitive use of the major leg muscles. Through that it exercises the heart, lungs, circulatory system, breathing, internal organs; every part of your body. Aerobic Exercise requires using the major leg muscles vigorously, repetitively, and sustained for a length of time; fast-spin cycling, swimming, running, vigorous dancing, fast walking, and a few more. It has to be Legs, Lungs and Heart. It has to get you breathing harder than normal.

Stretching Exercises benefit muscles, ligaments, and the whole body through yoga, dance, tai chi, etc. These are a good way to start exercising gently, but do not provide the crucial benefits of Aerobic Exercise. They don't reach the important areas: legs, lungs, and heart. Only vigorous Aerobic Exercise makes you healthy inside.

Same for Specific Exercises that build good-looking muscles, address problem areas, and impact exercise to stress bones. Every part of the body can be singly exercised; eyes, teeth, gums, bladder, bad knees, backs...

Many people think that working hard is good exercise. It's not. Hard work suddenly stresses the heart, only for brief moments, and without a warmup. This is a prescription for an eventual heart attack for some people. More importantly, it does not involve repetitive use of the leg muscles, so it will not provide overall good health.

Normal walking is also no good! Walking in a normal way does not push the body beyond normal limits. It's better than nothing; but if it's not vigorous it doesn't rev up the heart and lungs. Only walking fast and hard, for several miles, up and down hills, provides enough Aerobic Exercise to grow real health.

So why don't we hear this from doctors? Doctors don't want to scare you. It is commonly thought that if doctors tell patients that they need a lot more exercise, patients will just balk and give up. So most doctors suggest doing just the minimum, because it's better then nothing. Walk, garden, stretch, do a little tai chi. But while just moving is better than nothing at all, please remember: minimal exercise means minimal health.

Exercise means repetitively pushing the body beyond normal daily use over a sustained time; and for brief moments pushing it near it's limit. As limits slowly increase, the level of exercise and overall health grows.

Many say that all this takes too much of their time. But for the elderly or those with chronic health conditions, fighting for your health requires lots of time and hard effort. Most people waste far more time traveling and waiting to see doctors, and to fill medications that usually only reduce symptoms. The only way to eliminate most health problems is through exercise.

Here's a simple test. List all your physical and mental health problems, both current and long term. For each problem, note if medications help. Also note if they just relieve symptoms or really cure the underlying problem. Then do the same for long-term daily exercise (ask a few doctors or write me). You'll be amazed to see that for most people, long-term daily exercise can help your own body to cure nearly all your health problems; and not just relieve symptoms.

Most chronic illnesses and common health problems are directly attributable to a lack of exercise. And all physical and mental dysfunctions benefit as much or more from daily exercise than from drugs. Diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, chronic fatigue, arthritis, depression, anger, injuries, ... Even most drug studies show that exercise provides as much or more benefit as drugs. In 1964, the Surgeon General said: "What you do for yourself will far exceed what all our medicines can do for you."

When I reached the age of 50, my body began telling me that 1-2 hours of exercise a few days a week just wasn't enough to remain healthy and strong. I can tell from the way my body feels, with and without daily exercise, that I need a minimum of 2-3 hours every single day. Every day that I exercise I feel either as well or better than before; every day I skip, I can feel a loss of health and fitness.

Obviously, one doesn't begin with this. It's something you work up to, starting with as little as 3 minutes at a time if needed. The real trick is to begin exercising every single day, religiously and without fail. On my first day of intentional exercise I rode a bicycle one mile, collapsed and slept the rest of the day. But within a week I was riding 15 miles daily, and after four months I gave away my car and have bicycled everywhere since then, from 10 to 30 miles daily. Not bad for a self-professed couch potato. And I've saved over $30,000 doing so!

Cycling in it's myriad ways may be the best Aerobic Exercise of all. With a range of machines from cheap indoor exercycles to adult outdoor recumbent tricycles, anyone of any age and in any condition can cycle. It is so gentle that people with severe injuries, major disabilities, or chronic diseases can enjoy it. It actually helps to heal bad knees and backs, damaged nervous and immune systems, and much more. And it's fun!

Cycling is the best method for people to begin exercising when they haven't done so for a long time. The important part is to pedal gently, but always at a pace slightly faster than feels normal. Pressure is not important and can be detrimental until later, when one gets fairly fit. It's the cadence that counts.

The key to higher cadence is to do what's called "ankling"; pointing the toes down at the bottom of each pedal stroke and trying to push the pedal back and up; and then at the top of each pedal stroke flipping the toes up and heel down. Though many experienced bicyclists don't know this old technique, the strongest cyclist in the world (Lance Armstrong) does it! But don't apply pressure (or resistance on an exercycle); just pedal gently, ankling, and always at a pace slightly faster than feels normal. Use a different machine if needed.

Cycling outdoors is much better than indoors: you get fresh air, sun, nature, and fun! It's more interesting, and people exercise longer when outside. Put an exercycle on your porch. And every single day, religiously and without fail, ride it. The hardest part is thinking about it beforehand -- just get on every day and you'll enjoy it.

Riding an actual bicycle or adult tricycle makes cycling wonderfully interesting and fun. You'll be young again! Explore your neighborhood, ride down to the nearest store for a small treat, or chase your kids around an empty playground on bikes for awhile. But no matter what, get yourself out there every day.

Personal transport has historically been our primary exercise, and driving in a car for decades is the reason that people nowadays don't. Over the years they grow weak, their heart clogs up, and soon they have no choice but to drive everywhere, and then have to work more hours to afford to drive. Most people pay about $50,000 per decade for this.

Bicycling for transportation is what a growing number do instead. Once they learn to politely cooperate with traffic, they find that it not only saves a fair amount of money, but is an excellent and efficient use of time. It accomplishes a great deal at once: reliable safe transportation, top-quality exercise, outdoor fun, improves health, reduces stress and global pollution, stops paying oil companies a weekly allowance, saves that money in your bank (over $30,000 for me so far), and you get to enjoy the fun and pleasure of riding a bike every day.

You can't sit and imagine doing something different like this; excuses will arise without end. You need to experience change for awhile before your mind can accept it. New changes need practice and time to become a new habit. So don't think. Go cycle right now! And thank you for your thought and consideration.

Lauren Cooper, Professional Bicycle Commuter www.CycleMedia.org (c) 2003