F ITNE S S
period of time, either at rest or while active. If your resting metabolic rate is high, you may find
that you can eat a lot, exercise little, and still not gain weight. Conversely, if your resting
metabolic rate is low, you may eat relatively little and be fairly active but still not lose weight.
Most people approach weight control wrong: they simply try to cut down on the food, fat, and
calories they consume, and they usually fail. The trick is to stoke up the furnace—that is,
increase the number of calories your body burns throughout the day. Obviously, exercise burns
calories, but not so obviously, it also boosts your metabolic rate.
1. When cycling, don’t crank slowly in high gear.
This can increase the pressure on your
knees and lead to overuse injuries such as biker’s knee. Shift to low gears and faster revolutions
to get more exercise with less stress on your knees. The best cadence for most cyclists is 60 to 80
revolutions per minute (rpm), though racers cycle in the range of 80 to 100 rpm.
2. Make sure your bike fits.
Handlebars, saddle, wheels, and brakes can all be adjusted to
match your size and riding ability, but the frame has to fit from the start. To find the right frame
size, straddle the bike and stand flatfooted: on a regular bike, there should be one to two inches
of clearance between your groin and the top tube. On a mountain bike, it should be three inches
or more.
3. If you’re over 45 (over 35 if you’re at high risk for heart disease) and are beginning a
program of aerobic exercise,
see your doctor first for a checkup. If you have been sedentary,
you will need to begin slowly. If your doctor can’t give you solid advice, especially about your
safe target heart rate, ask for a recommendation for a qualified trainer to help get you started.
4. If you have a cold or feel one coming on,
it won’t hurt to exercise. It’s best to start
slowly and work out less intensely than usual, and see how you feel. If you feel worse, you
should stop. If you feel okay, work up to your normal routine. However, if you have any signs of
a more serious infection (fever, swollen glands, fatigue, or vomiting), discontinue your workouts
until you have fully recovered.
5. Do pushups:
they’re among the best upperbody exercises around, can be done anywhere,
require no equipment, and are easily adapted to any level of strength. They work muscles in the
shoulders (deltoids), back of upper arms (triceps), and chest (pectorals). The beauty of the push
up is that it also exercises muscles in the abdomen, hips, and back, which are tensed to keep the
body stiff while it moves up and down.