What is it exactly that we "get
out” of exercise? Aside from the
well-known physical benefits in terms of lean muscle mass development and
enhanced cardiovascular functioning, we also derive a sense of personal power
and satisfaction from a job well done! If those benefits weren’t enough the human body has an increased concentration of
endorphins flowing through the blood stream during and after exercise!
Regular
chiropractic care helps ensure that our bodies are capable of performing all aspects
of various exercises. Regular chiropractic care optimizes spinal joint mobility
and the mobility of other key joints such as the hips, knees, and shoulders.
Regular chiropractic care removes mechanical roadblocks to maintain and achieve
full flexibility and stretchability. By providing these benefits, regular
chiropractic care helps reduce the possibility of injury and helps ensure that
we get what we want from the time we put into daily exercise.
Which
type of exercise is right for me? Is lifting weights going to
give me the best result? Maybe I should concentrate on running? Running will
really help to strengthen my heart. What about yoga? Everyone says yoga is good
for flexibility. All of us, at one point or another have had these
conversations with ourselves. We're continually bombarded with exercise-related
stories on television, in magazines, and in online articles. But many of us
don't know how to put the information we're receiving to good use. We don't
have a context or framework with which to assess the potential value in these
media communications.
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| Take a HIKE this week! |
For most of us, a very good
answer to the exercise conundrum is to do a variety of activities on a weekly
basis. We know this intuitively. Concentrating on one type of exercise will
usually lead to the loss of other important benefits. Again for most of us,
across-the-board benefits are required. We need to maintain or increase a
healthful amount of lean muscle mass. We gain this benefit from strength
training. We need to maintain or improve cardiovascular strength and health.
These are obtained from aerobic-type exercise such as brisk walking, running,
swimming, or bicycling. We need to maintain or improve flexibility and
stretchability. These benefits are gained from yoga. Each category of physical
fitness is necessary for ongoing health and well-being. Thus, each of the three
main categories of exercise is needed to ensure we obtain the full range of
benefits.
It's important to be aware
that each exercise category provides a distinct benefit, and as such no
individual category is a "better" than the others. Doing exercise
consistently is what counts. Going further, consistently doing a range of
exercises provides lasting health benefits. There might be times when a person
chooses to focus on one specific category. That's fine, provided that the other
two categories continue to be incorporated on a temporarily reduced basis.
After a while, the person will usually choose to return to a broader approach.
Finally, most people are
familiar with strength training and various types of cardiovascular exercise.
Not everyone is familiar with yoga. There are numerous other activities that
promote flexibility and stretchability, and yoga is not the only means of
obtaining these benefits. But many people have discovered that yoga in itself
is a complete exercise. Regular yoga practice provides strength training,
cardiovascular training, and deep training of the proprioceptive system (the
body's awareness of position in 3-dimensional space) which leads to improved
agility and balance. Regular yoga practice adds lean muscle mass and lowers the
heart rate (as a result of improved cardiovascular capacity). Yoga is a
remarkable exercise system and could be sufficient in itself for long-lasting
health and wellness. But when a person adds a weight lifting program and specific
cardiovascular training the remarkable benefits of cross-training can truly
kick in. Therefore a broad program of strength training, cardiovascular
training, and yoga can lead to the best results for your exercise goals.
This week decide to add just one new
exercise technique or routine to change up your body’s regular response to daily exercise. What will you do this
week to ensure your own long term health and wellness? Think about it!
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| Push your "routine" and see the benefits! |
1Snel
M, et al: Effects of Adding Exercise to a 16-Week Very Low-Calorie Diet in
Obese, Insulin-Dependent Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients. J Clin Endocrinol
Metab 2012 May 8 (Epub ahead of print)
2Galantino
ML, et al: Impact of Yoga on Functional Outcomes in Breast Cancer Survivors
With Aromatase Inhibitor-Associated Arthralgias. Integr Cancer Ther 2011 July 6
(DOI: 10.1177/1534735411413270)
3Kiecolt-Glaser
JK, et al: Adiponectin, leptin, and yoga practice. Physiol Behav 2012 Jan 27
(Epub ahead of print)
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