Exercise According to a Pharmacist

I am 46 years old now. I still get a rudimentary physical every year for health insurance purposes, and my numbers are always textbook. This is because not only was I naturally athletic as a kid, but I have maintained my physical fitness my entire life. I tell you this because otherwise why would you take my advice on exercise? We did not study the subject per se in any great depth in pharmacy school, but I did learn a lot about human anatomy & physiology as well as other subjects which helped foster my opinions, so here we go.

Now, this is a huge topic and obviously I cannot cover everything in this one blog so please feel free to ask questions for anything I failed to address. First, despite your age or gender exercise is critical not only for your body, but for your mind as well. It helps you sleep better, manage stress better, look better, and live longer. As a result, the time for making excuses not to exercise are over ... for everyone. If your knees hurt then you do not have to jog, if your back hurts you do not have to lift weights, if your shoulders hurt you do not have to do pull ups, but there are some exercises practically anyone can do.

If your joints can handle it, jogging is terrific. You can get a head band, some head phones, an iPod, and run outdoors if the weather permits, or indoors if not. I used to run a lot until my knees began to hurt, so I really do not do much of it anymore. There was a time when I could run three 8 minute miles in a row. Anyway, if jogging, biking, or jumping rope is out, then swim. Swimming is a fantastic cardiovascular exercise for endurance. Many older people engage in water aerobics where each class is about an hour long. Hey, it is better than nothing!

If you are trying to lose weight then cardio should be integrated with weight lifting. The two together work better than either alone for weight loss. Lifting weights does not mean you have to break your back with ultra heavy stuff, but weight bearing exercise can strengthen your bones as well as build muscle. I love it when teenage girls worry about lifting weights because they are afraid they may get too bulky. Ladies, do you know how hard you have to work out to get bulky? Don't worry about it.

If weight lifting is out, then there are some standard exercises that everyone should really try to do. I consider pull ups, push ups, and dips to be critical for anyone able to do them. Sit ups are important as well. There are all sorts of abdominal exercises one can do. You have crunches, standard sit ups, planking, leg lifts, heel touches, side bends, Russian twist, etc. Even though it is old school I still think the 'Bicycle Crunch' is one of the better ones. Incline sit ups and V crunches are some of my favorites too, but they are a tad more advanced.

If you are someone who simply hates exercising, then sports are a great way to do it without the doldrum of trudging yourself to the gym and torturing yourself with tedious walks on the treadmill, or boring sets of three with eight to ten reps with the weights. I used to play aerobie, which is like a super advanced frisbee and the jumping and sprinting involved with that kept me in fantastic shape for a long time. Basketball is another one where there is a lot of sprinting involved. It is great for stamina too (although I sprained my ankles more often than I care to remember). Racquetball is another favorite of mine. Sorry, but golf does not count.

The important thing is to exercise for at least 30 to 45 minutes minimum, and to try to do it at least every other day. Bruce Lee once said that ceasing to exercise for just one day would lead to deterioration. In other words, you have to keep it up and maintain what it is that you have worked for. Do not get discouraged and let all of your hard work go to waste. Even if you do not feel like it force yourself to go to the gym, or wherever and however you get your exercise. You will thank yourself shortly after you begin, and you will feel better about yourself for doing it. In fact, it is in those moments of not really wanting to go that are the most critical for going. Once you do it long enough it becomes routine, and then you become a true athlete.