Stuck on the Couch-Time magazine

In the most recent Time magazine there is an interesting feature article pertaining to exercise or lack thereof by the American adult population. Most of what I post today will be from that article, since it is possible all of the adult population does not read Time, plus my added tidbits. It is my feeling that when you see something that makes sense then why not repeat it a little bit, but give credit to the author and publisher and not be an illegal copy cat. Fact is, most everything that is printed is a repeat of some kind, but maybe presented in a different format to make it more comprehensive. At any rate I have given credit where credit is due, now on to the rest of the story. The article points out that in America 60% of the adults do not exercise regularly and more than 72 million are obese, and almost everyone of them would like to shed some pounds. But, they say this and then do nothing about it. Just continue to stuff themselves with the same diet that got them there in the first place. So, a change has to come about for there to be a change, i.e. sensible diet and some exercise. It should always be pointed out that you don't have to become a skinny marathon runner to have some form of reasonable fitness. Just following the guidelines I have posted in the past will get you there. But, back to the article and some of its' very good points. It is pointed out that becoming a couch potato is a learned habit, since most healthy youngsters, starting with a two year old, are very active. This activity actually stays with a person until they reach the college years. Then the active life style starts to diminish and by the first professional job the 60% figure mentioned above takes over a persons life. It is pointed out that when we go through the transitions of life, i.e. graduate from high school, enter college or for go college and start working, these transitions seem to offer some kind of excuse for not exercising. The excuse is, "I just don't have time to exercise." This pattern then carries forward through the other major transitions of life. Marriage is a big transition, then having children is another. Another theory presented by psychologist Roy Braumeister at Florida State University, suggests that self-control is like a psychological muscle--one that can simply become exhausted. Spend your day trying to maintain your composure with a willful toddler or a demanding boss and you may not have enough discipline left later to stick to your fitness routine. Even though it has been proven that this exercise thing is an excellent outlet for releasing tension.

Never fear here are 3 simple tips to staying active: 1. Have a specific commitment to jog three days a week, for example, that is better than a general resolve to "exercise more." NOTE: jogging is only used as a sample exercise here, just insert your form of exercise, but be specific. 2. Stay firm with your commitment, i.e. a life change like a new job or a new baby is a great excuse to quit exercising. Don't fall for it, just adjust your thought processes and continue on. That is another reason I always suggest that a person find something that is easy to do no matter what the situation is. 3. Don't over do the use of a trainer, if you can afford it. Again I believe in simplicity and the over use of a personal trainer can make you lazy and hinder your self starter tendencies. The use of a trainer will have a tendency to make us too dependent on some one else and diminishes our self-efficacy to follow a plan on our own. We can establish a blue print for exercise from our trainer, then move on to exercising on our own initiative.

Okay gang, after reading the above, get off that couch, NOW!!!!

Mike Greer

Is exercise over emphasized, for any age?

Over the weekend I had a mature person of the female gender ask me how I do the exercise thing on such a routine or consistent basis? My answer to that is simple, but really takes a little explanation that can't be done in just a few words. First, I have a lot of respect for this person who ask me that question and I hate to see anyone compare themselves to anyone else, whether it be physical exercise or mental exercise. This person happens to be a very healthy human being both physically and mentally. But, what usually happens in this ole life is that we compare ourselves to others simply because that is just the way we are. It also seems that physical exercise is more enviable than mental exercise, so it just seems natural to look at those six packs, or slim waste and want that, NOW!! My experience tells me that the exercise thing is broken down into three categories: 1. Those that like to exercise and do it because they like it, not necessarily doing it for appearance or bulding muscles. They just like to sweat and the results from this happens to be the icing on the cake. 2. Those that discipline themselves to exercise because they do want the appearance thing to be there, but they also get the icing on the cake from exercising their heart muscle and gaining favorable results from that. 3. Those that say they want to exercise, plan on exercising, read all there is to read about it, maybe even try it for a while but just don't stick with it. Or they maybe reach certain heights with it, then back off to nothing. Over the years I have seen that in running, with people even going to the lengths of training for marathons, doing one, then dropping back to nothing. 4. Those that just say no way and people who are obsessed with exercise are stupid and into themselves. I don't like to sweat or even think about it. It is my feeling and always has been that all four categories are fine and if someone wants to be a 4 or a 2 that is their business. But, then when I see people get sick or have something wrong with them that they could correct with just a little change of the diet or exercise I get a little perturbed. Our country(USA) is not in good shape physically since the obesity level is around 40% for our children and not much different for adults. Mentally we are in equally as bad a shape with all the electronics taking over our life and no real thinking going on. I represent a company now that has all the electronics for communication you can imagine, but they have lost the skill of communicating. If one of their gizmos break down they are lost and can't figure out how to communicate.

Bottom line here is that I feel we should all sit back occasionally and re-think our position on exercise, look ourselves in the mirror and if we are happy with what we see then so be it. We now have more information on maintaining good health than ever before and in spite of ourselves the average age has grown in leaps and bounds. In the stone ages when man exercised everyday and maintained a vegetarian diet he lived to be about 26, now with all that we have in abundance of food and drink, little exercise, we live to be an average of 77. On a recent survey I did I found that I should live to be 92 while another site I did a similar questionaire it was 84. Regardless of which one it is I am committed to living life to the fullest, including exercise both physically and mentally. I will continue to do triathlons, bowl, ride the motorcycle, write this blog, work as a consultant and write at least 3 more books(minimum), before the opportunity comes for me to go on to the next life. I want a quality of life, not necessarily quantity.

Have a great week and ponder the above advice closely.

Mike Greer

USA Weekend points for maturefitness readers

Over the years I have been ask the very personal question, "are you wealthy?" While I don't think that is anything someone should ask another, my candid reply is, "yes." Now wait and listen to the rest of the story before you proclaim me a braggart. While I have always been blessed with an abundance of material things in life and a nice profession, the wealth I am referring to is my health. I have always said that the greatest wealth in life is good health, which I have been able to enjoy. On a recent trip to the doctor for an annual check up, the little form I had to fill out ask when the last time I had surgery or when the last time I was hospitalized? My last an only surgery was in 1947, at the age of eight I had my tonsils out. The last time I was hospitalized, one of two times in my life, was in 1962 with a fairly strong case of Hepatitis. On my last physical the doctor made the point to tell me that if he didn't know my real age he would say I checked out 20 years younger than my actual age. Then the question always comes up, what is the secret to ageless living, good health, and a sound body? To that question I have created my 10 points of ageless living, but I must add they are no secrets. In a later post I will share those 10 points, but for now I am going to share some insights from Mr. Stephen Covey, the infamous life/work expert, and father. Mr. Covey wrote the bestseller, "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", check it out on stephencovey.com, and is an authority on human habits and life in general. In a recent USA Weekend publication he shared some recent findings relative to good health and life. You will remember in the previous maturefitness post I discussed weight lifting in detail, well Mr. Covey is backing me up on that with the revelation that only an hour a week of light weight lifting can make you feel 15-30 years younger. Strength training has been shown to decrease insulin resistance, decrease resting blood pressure, reduce arthritis pain, and even improve memory. There is an article in Aarp magazine that covers the weight workouts that could help you to improve your health and enjoy the above mentioned attributes. Go to
aarpmagazine.org/health/free-weight_workout for the details. Another strong point made for increasing a healthy lifestyle is the point of how crucial drinking water is to your health. This I have learned the hard way since I have never taken in enough water. So, I have had to re-educate myself, and self discipline myself to drink more water. How much is enough, well the rule of thumb is to take your body weight, divide in half and drink that many ounces per day, i.e. 200 lb man divided by 2 is 100 ounces of water per day. That is a lot of water but you will feel the benefits almost immediately. Since our body is made up of 70% water we must replenish it daily. More details on water can be found on prevention.com using search words, "drinking water." Walking is always mentioned when considering any form of exercise. In this article it also mentions the use of the pedometer to determine how far you have walked. While I like to use time as my measurement in running/jogging/walking I see how the pedometer would be a great motivator and would give you the exact distance you have gone. My feeling is that whatever helps you or motivates you to exercise is a good thing. For more details on this subject go to med.stanford.edu, search for the word "pedometer." The next point made is the choice of food that mature adults should take in. There is now a modified food pyramid that emphasizes the special dietary needs of people over the age of 70. This plan stresses the importance of fiber, calcium, vitamins D, B-12, as well as regular exercise and fluids(water). Go to nutrition.tufts.edu under "Publications," click "News." Of course exercise was mentioned, but I have spent so much time on that already I will just say, exercise in any form you see fit just using good common sense and the guidelines already mentioned in previous postings. Good sound, restful sleep is one of the points made for healthly living. No matter our age we need the same amount of sleep for good health. It is recommended that we go to bed about the same time each night and rise in the morning about the same time. It also recommends a nap in the middle of the afternoon, up to 30 minutes if possible. Sometimes we get plently of sleep by measurement, but it is not always restful. I suggest that the following points be explored if you are not feeling rested upon rising in the morning: make sure the room is completely dark, mark sure the temperature setting is comfortable when covered up, make sure that you end the day on as calm a note as possible(for example if I post on this site at night the stimulus from writing will make it hard for me to go to
sleep). If I have trouble going to sleep I can generally read from a favorite book or periodical and then fall asleep within 15 minutes. For more detail go to mayoclinic.com/health/sleep.HQ01387. Last and certainly not least researchers have found that a pet's love adds years(at least three) to your life. They have found that those who care for a dog are healthier and live longer than those who do not. One of the reasons for this is that most dog owners take walks with their dog, fact is they walk 79% farther in an average week than people who do not own a dog. The book, "100 Simple Secrets Why Dogs Make Us Happy," by David Niven reveals some interesting facts on having a dog as a pet. His site is, davidniven.com.

Happy health for today and remember, "your health is your wealth." It works every time!!

Mike Greer

Mike Greer

Shrinking muscles!! What to do about it!!

In my previous post I mentioned some of the various exercises we can use to achieve and maintain minimum fitness. At the conclusion of that post I very lightly touched on the aspect of using some form of weights in your fitness program. Since that post I have done some research on this and have found that as the body ages so do the muscles, in appearance but mostly in strength. My source says that muscles actually shrink with age, partly because the aging process which slows the rate of protein synthesis. This factor is also increased due to disuse, which is something that can be remedied. Muscle size starts to dwindle in the 30's and between 50 and 80 there has been a 40% shrinkage from their peak size. Such loss has some serious consequences, some being: loss of balance, contending with the daily life activities such as carrying groceries, getting out of a chair, walking any distance, or climbing stairs.

Resistance exercise--lifting weights--keeps people strong, and benefits can be attained even when people reach their 90s. Since I have been on some form of fitness program all of my teenage and adult life I do not notice the appearance factor of diminishing muscle mass as much as I feel the reduced strength. Probably other people see it more than I would or maybe I am too vain to admit it, but I do know the appearance of muscle is still there. Even to the point of being invited to participate in a masters body building competition. But, I know that my strength is not the same and I do feel the weakness brought on by age.

Remedies and/or guidelines: The amount of weight to lift is the amount a person can handle in performing 10 consecutive lifts. Even if that weight is only one pound, that is enough for a start(remember about Rome, it wasn't built or re-built in a day). Lift that weight for one set of 10 repititions. Take a one to two-minute break and perform a second set of 10 lifts. If your are up to it, after another break, do a third set of 10 lifts. Every two weeks, add a little more weight to the dumbbell or barbell. One other point is that if you don't have dumbells or barbells, then go to the pantry and get out some canned goods. They usually weight around 1-3 lbs. and they can be used instead of the mentioned weights. Just so you have the resistance and stay around this weight and repitition you will get some good out of it. This is a basic program, but it is great start towards giving those muscles a work out and regaining some strength.

Please note the above mentioned fitness programs that are advertised on this site. They have some good ideas and also give you some references to various programs.

Let's get to lifting!!!

Mike Greer