Dangerous fitness, delightful health?

I can’t say I’ve ever heard the saying: “At least you have your fitness…” Yet often it seems like that is what we are striving for with our exercise and forgetting about keeping a healthy body and mind to be able to exercise better in a body that will last longer!

We can all agree that that extreme levels of anything, including fitness, isn’t healthy. So why, when we start a health kick, do we put the runners on and aim for 5, 10, 20km at a time? Recent research (The Article) suggests we could actually be doing the exact opposite of our goal to achieve premium health.

Dr. Arthur Siegel, the study director goes as far as to say that long distance events could be very detrimental to your health: “My concern is for people who exercise thinking ‘more is better’ and that marathon running will provide ultimate protection against heart disease. In fact, it can set off a cascade of events that may transiently increase the risk for acute cardiac events.”

Others suggest that overdoing it with exercise and training elevates our stress related hormones (cortisol for example, which is great in short bursts, terrible to have around often) which then lead to things like:

• Impaired cognitive performance
• Suppressed thyroid function
• Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycaemia
• Decreased bone density
• Decrease in muscle tissue
• Higher blood pressure
• Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, slowed wound healing, and other health consequences
• Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes, the development of metabolic syndrome, higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!

People will always want to do these types of long distance events because we are human and it’s human nature to want to pursue greater heights for oneself. Some of us are even more capable of handling the above physiological responses so there is less harm. It’s just not the answer for a lot of people and it may contribute to further health complications.

THE GOOD NEWS

As far health goes – the easy stuff, turns out to be the best stuff. A game of frisbee, walking the dog with short busts of jogging, mowing the lawn and other moderate level exercise is great for the body and the mind!

Best of luck with exercising for your health! There are a million ways to do it, so don’t be afraid to stray from the norm and have a bit of fun with it!

Work smarter, not harder–Top 5

Despite what some PT’s and elite athletes will have you believe, there’s no reason to flog and starve yourself to get decent health and fitness gains. Here are my top 5 smarter moves to get you to where you want to be.

1. Periodise

A prescribed, periodised exercise program written by an Exercise Physiologist will ensure you’re working towards your goals efficiently and appropriately. Gradual overload and structured rest are the necessary components that if got wrong can lead to burnout, failure and send people right back to square 1.

2. Activity, not just exercise

Being active in every day life is just as important as Exercise. A simple and cost-effective way is to use a pedometer to measure your daily step count. This will tell you just how active you’ve been away from your exercise session. A minimum of 10 000 steps is recommended. Old fashioned ‘moving around’ is easy to do and can even be enjoyable when you add a ball or frisbee into the mix

3. Food swaps

A 5-10% reduction in portion size while introducing 1 new or improved food each week can make a big difference over time. People are always surprised how easy it is to try something new or change for a better option. Note that a little bit of self education is key for this!

4. Enjoyable exercise

Whilst variety is extremely important, finding the right type of exercise for an individual can be the difference between a healthy lifestyle and being morbidly obese – and there is one for EVERYONE. Having an exercise that you truly enjoy means the motivation to go at it day after day without coming up with excuses is there.

5. Have contingency plans

No one can follow the plan A 100% correctly, 100% of the time. For the unprepared, this means missing out on your jog when its raining or not getting to your spin class when your friend has to stay late at work. Having 1 or 2 back up ideas or sessions is easy and will keep you on track and can also prevent boredom of the usual workout when you have to come up with something creative or less conventional when initial plans fall through.

This has to be something thought of in advance. If you leave it ‘til the moment that your plans fall through, laziness and excuses will usually get the better of you.

The best part is, you don’t have to kill yourself in your next workout to make up for lost time or missed sessions.  

Check out the other posts for more great hints on Exercising Your Potential.