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Exercise Guidelines for Beginners

When beginning or assessing your wellness program consider these four areas:

Aerobics: Aerobic exercises include activities such as walking, running, biking, aerobic classes, martial arts, swimming, aerobic machines, rowing, jumping rope, hiking, etc. Aerobic exercises are a good base-line of activity that all by itself can improve a person's cardiovascular health. A baseline of aerobic activity is 3 to 5 times per week for 15 to 40 minutes. Use aerobic exercise to burn off "extra" calories and to loose unwanted fat. Aerobic exercise does not need to be painful or excessively intense.

Remember that any amount of physical activity is better than none, and even a 10-minute walk counts toward your improved health. Any time a person engages in physical activity, he/she is exposed to oxidative damage and free radicals. Excessive exercise can be damaging. Moderation in exercise and diet is really the key to being healthy over a lifetime.

Resistive Training (Weight Bearing): Resistive training is a catch-all term for any exercise that involves "resistance" against movement. Yes, there is resistance against gravity when a person lifts a leg to take the next step during running or walking. For extremely "out-of-shape" or deconditioned people, this minute amount of "resistance" can be strenuous. Running provides weight-bearing stresses outside the norm of daily activity, especially when first starting a running or intense walking program, but true resistance training but generally the body recovers very quickly from the muscle stresses involved. You can repeat aerobic training every other day or every day.

True resistive training involves moving your body against an unaccustomed force. That force can be a weight, water, the pedal of a bicycle when going up hill, etc. Resistive training breaks down muscles in ways different from aerobics. Tiny tears in the muscle and surrounding connective tissue (tendons and ligaments) develop, and those tears take time to heal. If given enough time and nutrition to heal properly, the muscle will heal to a level that is stronger than it was before the exercise. The muscle and connective tissues "adapts" to the new level of stress. Healing time for resistive training generally takes about 72 hours. "72 hours" is a very loose estimate. A severely over-worked and/or under-nourished muscle can take up to a week or more to fully recover. It is very easy to "over train" a muscle when implementing a resistive training program. Always allow enough time for recovery between resistive training workouts. A good rule of thumb is to train each body part 2 times per week.

Body builders may be training with weights in the gym 6 days per week, but they aren't training every muscle every day. Bodybuilders use "split routines" in which they divide their bodies into groups and work each group on a separate day. A typical bodybuilding split routine is the "3 day split". There are many different split routines involving a variety of body part combinations, exercises, and rest periods. No routine is perfect. Every routine has inherent flaws that lead to "repetitive motion injuries", under-training, over-training, etc. It is useful to vary your routine and schedule over time. You should choose routines that best fit your schedule, goals and recuperative abilities.

For most people split routines are not indicated. A simple full-body, "no split" resistive training work out will provide excellent benefits. Depending on the current exercise habits and goals of each person, you or your trainer can choose the right kind of aerobics and resistive training routine for you to follow.

Diet: Think about what your body needs and what your mind wants. What your body really needs to be optimally healthy may not be what you really are craving. You may crave a can of soda pop, but your body doesn't "need" the caffeine or the sugar to survive. Caffeine is a drug and I personally love it… but I'm addicted to caffeine and when I have a coffee or a sugar free soda I'm fully aware that it's not for my health but for my craving and my desire. Thinking of soda pop this way is easy but thinking about pancakes and white rice and margarine and regular peanut butter as poor food choices may be more difficult. Again, think about what your body needs. I find it useful to consider 4 main categories of nutrients in a diet:

• Essential Amino Acids: These are the basic building blocks of proteins and they are called essential because they are absolutely necessary for the body to function but the body cannot manufacture these amino acids itself. Essential Amino Acids have to come into the body from what we eat… from our diet. The term "complete protein" refers to a protein source that has all the essential amino acids present in the proper amounts for our body to use them. Beans are high in "protein" but they, of them selves" are not complete proteins. They do not contain all the essential amino acids required for humans. Beans have plenty of carbohydrates and they have (as we all know) plenty of fiber but when people say that they are eating beans for their protein value, they could really choose a better protein source. Lean meat, fish, egg whites, and yes… Soy are excellent sources of protein and essential amino acids. In 1991 the method for evaluating the quality of a protein was changed and the new method does include soy. Older methods did not consider soy to be a "complete protein". I'm not a big fan of soy, in part because of soy's estrogenoid content. Estrogenoids are compounds that, when ingested, act like the hormone estrogen. The fact that a compound found in food can act like a hormone in the body may seem odd but dietary "exogenous" hormones are not uncommon. Estrogen receptors, in particular are especially susceptible to binding by a whole host of environmental compounds ranging from industrial surfactants, found in soups and pesticides, to chemicals in soft plastics, like those found in the linings of canned foods. Some estrogenoids bind to and stimulate estrogen receptor sites and some bind and block those sites. Popular and even scientific literature claiming various medicinal benefits of Soy are often misleading and their advocation for use by the public is at least premature. The binding properties of the four known estrogens found in soy are still being identified by scientists. Their use should be tailored for the individual. Soy estrogens are not for everyone. For instance, women with estrogen dependant tumors (roughly 1/3 of all breast tumors) should avoid exogenous estrogens including soy. A precaution against consuming soy estrogenoids, or any exogenous estrogenoids Environmental estrogens and health will be discussed at another time. There may be an upper limit to the amount of protein the body can digest and absorb in one sitting. I recommend getting a little protein in each meal through out the day. Having a little protein with each meal also helps level out blood glucose and insulin spikes.
  
  
• Antioxidants: "Anti" means against. "Oxidants" refers to the negative effects of Oxygen in the body. Everyone knows how metal rusts when exposed to the elements. Iron, and many other metals, rusts because they are reacting with Oxygen. Oxygen has the potential to do real damage within the body. This kind of damage is called oxidative damage and is one of the main causes of aging and cellular degeneration. Antioxidants sacrifice themselves to bind up free, atomic oxygen called "Super Oxygen" to prevent this oxygen from damaging cells. Antioxidants are used up every day and especially during heavy exercise, drug and alcohol use. Tylenol is toxic because it depletes a vital antioxidant in the liver and the resulting oxidative damage kills liver cells and can lead to liver failure and death. Oxidative damage is very real and a constant occurrence in the body. Getting plenty of antioxidants in the diet is an excellent way to prevent a whole host of specific diseases and generally aging in the body. There are many antioxidants and they can come from a variety of food sources. Vitamins A, C and E may be some of the most well known but there are many more. Eating a diet rich in fresh, colorful vegetables and fruits is a good way to ensure you're getting plenty of antioxidants in your diet. A "typical" fast food diet is extremely poor in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Eat cantaloupe, grapes, blue berries, kale (if you can find a way to make it taste descent), strawberries, cooked tomatoes, etc. Fresh green leafy vegetables are high in antioxidants and low in calories. Even yogurt has antioxidants and the precursors for antioxidants. People who are doing intense exercise are generating a tremendous amount of oxidative damage and can have a higher than normal need for antioxidants in their diets. Too much exercise, like too much of anything can be harmful. I encourage moderation in diet and exercise. Eat more nutrionally dense foods that have fewer calories. Potato chips are not a good source of anything except rancid fat and worthless calories. A bowl of blueberries mixed with plain yogurt may not be as sexy but it's infinitely more nutritious. If you eat smarter and consume fewer empty calories, you'll have less of a need for endless miles on the treadmill. Your joints will last longer and you'll be more fit.
  
  
• Essential Fats: Essential fats are fats that your body absolutely needs to function properly. They are essential because your body needs them but can't they can't be manufactured in the body. It is "essential" that you get them in your diet. In the age of highly processed carbohydrates, feed lot cattle and chickens, fish farms and row crops, there is a real deficit of essential fats in our diets. We can increase our consumption of essential fats by including freshly ground flax seeds on our salads, salmon a couple times a week, fresh walnuts and range fed beef in our meals. All these are relatively high in essential fats. Be careful about consuming too much seafood because of the risk of heavy metal and PCB poisoning. Heavy metals and PCBs are not inherent to water living creatures but are an affect of our polluted oceans, rivers and lakes. I do not recommend flax seed oils or fish oil capsules because of the risk of oxidation of these oils during processing and storage. If you do prefer getting your essential fats from these oils be sure to store them in the refrigerator to slow the oxidative process and keep the oils from becoming rancid. I even keep my bag of flax seeds in the refrigerator. I believe that most people would be much more healthy if they stopped focusing on "low fat" processed foods and started thinking in terms of whole foods. Eat foods that you can easily identify rather than foods that have been rendered into cute shapes. Count Chocula is an absolutely delicious breakfast cereal and I really love the little marsh mellow ghosts but this cereal is basically bleached white flour, granulated sugar and a few vitamins. You wouldn't find puffed rice, jolly ranchers or even pasta wheels growing in the wild. Eat whole fruits rather than fruit juices. If you were going to have some kind of margarine on your broccoli, you'd be better off having butter and just less of it. Don't be fooled by "low fat" labels. To make a food "low fat" the manufactures have likely just added more sugar, salt or some kind of non-nutrient filler like guar gum make the fat content lower per serving.
  
  
• Carbohydrates: There has always been a lot of talk about carbohydrates and whether they are bad or good. In the eighties, complex carbohydrates like pasta, rice and potatoes where all the rage. My college nutrition instructors told our classes to make "complex carbohydrates" the foundation of our diets and to eat very low fat, low/no cholesterol. In the nineties there was a backlash of protein diets even high fat diets. Though most of these diets did suggest eating lots of vegetables and even some fruit, most people only focused on gorging themselves with as much bacon, butter and pork steak as they could eat. The truth, as always is somewhere between these two diet extremes. The American "food pyramid" has as its base bread, cereal, rice and pasta. These are generally highly processed foods. They have a long shelf life. They are highly caloric and they are very tasty. Breads, cereal, rice and pasta are excellent food choices for a nation needing to easily feed lots of people. I do not believe making breads, cereal, rice and pasta the main stay of our diets is the best food choice for individuals seeking optimal health and wellness. I suggest a diet that has as its foundation fresh vegetables and fruits. Fruits and vegetables contain the vital antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals needed for health while providing enough carbohydrates to satisfy most people's caloric needs.
  
  
• Vitamins and Minerals: The seemingly obvious solution to the need for vitamins and minerals in our diets is to take a Vitamin and Mineral supplements. Yes a pill or a hand full of pills is easier than trying to eat broccoli, asparagus, fresh blue berries and the tremendous variety of foods that are needed to make a healthy diet. I think a good well-rounded vitamin and mineral supplement is a good nutritional "fall back" but it shouldn't replace a good diet. Try to get your nutrition from actual food sources. It is not possible to get all the thousands of micronutrients your body needs from a handful of pills. Scientists don't even know "all" the nutrients that our bodies need for optimal nutrition. Take your vitamins but also eat healthily.
  
  
• Sample Breakfasts:
  1. Water
     Plain Yogurt (Dannon) 1 cup
     Blue Berries (Organic) ½ cup
  2. Boiled Egg Whites (Include some, all or no Yolks) 3 - 5 eggs
     Cantaloupe ½ melon
     Whole Milk (Organic) 8-16 ounces - Use whole or 2%, especially if no yolks
     were eaten
  3. Water
     Half Bagel (Organic Whole Wheat)
     Salmon (locks) 2 - 4 ounces
     Cream Cheese (Real Cream Cheese) ¼ - ½ teaspoon
  4. Snickers Bars 3 jumbo-sized
     Coca Cola 2 cans
     Super Sugar Crisp - 3 bowls, add extra sugar
     I'm kidding.

Flexibility: A person's flexibility refers to the range of motion of the limbs and spinal column across joints. The functional length of muscles and flexibility of tendons is important for maintaining adequate blood and lymph flow as well as proper joint positioning and comfortable posture. As a person ages, they typically become less active and their activities often become less varied. They generally sit at a desk, in a car or on the couch more than they did when they were younger. Genetics contribute significantly to flexibility but regular exercise and flexibility training can go a long way to maintaining and improving flexibility.

Many knee, shoulder, and back ailments and injures are the result of inflexibility and improper joint position. There are several key areas of focus for improving and maintaining a flexible body: Spine, Hip flexors, Hamstrings, Chest, and Shoulders are a few general areas that are easily improved through proper stretching. Yoga and Pilates are two exercise/meditative disciplines that focus on improving flexibility and symmetry of strength. These are excellent additions to an over-all exercise program and their proper implementation can help prevent injury and help maintain body function. You can also perform simple stretches on your own. Stretching does not have to hurt and it requires you to relax the muscles that you're attempting to stretch. I don't suggest bouncing during a stretch or forcing your limbs and spine into painful positions. Use progressive and consistent stretches to achieve ever-greater range of motion. There are lots of excellent books on stretching and I'm happy to show anyone some basic and useful stretches to use before and after their exercise.