We are developing our food resources first but are not ignoring the obvious fact that exercise is a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle. We know what works well for us. We recognize that there are many effective methods of achieving your exercise goals and are searching for ones to share with you that are practical and embody our principles.
Even though we are starting with food information, our goal is to also provide fitness/exercise resources because of the importance of the combination of exercise and proper nutrition in a healthy lifestyle.
Here are some basic goals for every day exercise:
- Do something regularly (nearly every day) that gets your heart pumping.
- Use equipment that you have—walking shoes, bicycle, neighborhood parks, television (exercise shows), swimming pool, local gym
- If you lack motivation, exercise with a friend.
- Plan a time during your day to get moving. Anything is better than nothing.
- Look at yourself naked in the mirror. If that doesn’t motivate you to start doing something, you need glasses. Doing nothing is not making you healthier; it is only making your situation worse.
In the meantime, we do recommend the following resources to help start incorporating exercise into the daily routine.
From Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, MD
“Level One Exercise Program:
Do 45 minutes of long and slow aerobic exercise without any discomfort. You should be able to get your heart rate up to 60-65 percent of your maximum and keep it there during a 45-minute bike ride or hike while carrying on a conversation. (Calculate maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220.)”
Initially, do what you can until you tire—it may be 45 minutes or it may be 10 minutes. Gradually increase your time until you reach the 45-minute mark. The book’s recommendation is 6 days per week.
Personally, I recommend daily exercise because it is too hard for me to remember if today is an exercise day or not. Additionally, those people that dread exercise will make themselves miserable anticipating that today is an exercise day. If exercising is not fun or interesting, do something different each day—variety is the spice of life.
From Strong Women Stay Young by Miriam Nelson, Ph.D.
“Chapter 8: Eight Exercise That Will Make You Strong
Start with relatively light weights—one to three pounds for each arm and three to five pounds for each leg, depending on your current strength. In the beginning you’ll add weight every week.
Within a few weeks you’ll be training at the proper intensity: You’ll be able to lift each weight eight times in good form, but this effort should be close to your limit. When the eighth lift is no longer a challenge, it’s time to increase the load.
Do 2 30-minute workouts per week.
The exercises include: chair stand (without weights), standing leg curl (with ankle weights), knee extension (with ankle weights), side hip raise (with ankle weights), biceps curl (with dumbbells), overhead press (with dumbbells), upward row (with dumbbells), toe stand (without weights)”
See book for detailed descriptions and pictures
