• Proper exercise combined with proper nutrition are important steps in the optimization of personal status. 

• Optimized health & well-being are very much interlaced with a well designed & properly executed exercise / fitness program.

• The systemic benefits of a planned & properly executed exercise program encompasses much more than weight control.

• We try to build an understanding as to why each element of this comprehensive exercise program is important.

• To understand 'the why' is necessary for appropriate goal setting & successful long term commitment.

• The incredibly complex nature of our body requires a planed & multifaceted approach to exercise / training 

• An understanding of the physiology of exercise will help you to achieve "personal physiologic benefit optimization"

  • Realistic assessment of your current physical situation and the setting of realistic goals.

  • Discretion is the better part of valor, over training or poor planning can be worse than no training.

  • Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise.  What's the real difference?

Recognized Benefits of Exercise

There are literally libraries written on each of these areas, so please don’t take this to be the definitive treatise on physiology.

INCREASED METABOLISM (calorie burning, weight control). The increase work load of exercised muscles results in increased metabolic rate, fuel consumption or calorie burning, continues for several hours after the workout is completed.

INCREASED BODY CORE TEMPERATURE (warm-up). This increased heat buildup due to increased energy consumption acts as a stimulant to many parts of the body: glands, muscle, nerves, joints, and circulatory system.

INCREASED CARDIOVASCULAR RATE. The muscles demand more energy and oxygen due to the increased work load, causing the heart rate and respiratory rate to increase in order to provide the required additional fuel to the muscles. The heart is a muscle that responds to exercise by becoming stronger and more efficient. In addition, the entire circulatory system works more efficiently due to vascular dilation and cholesterol reduction.

LOWERED CHOLESTEROL ("fat" in the blood). This is a complex chemical area, but suffice it to say that exercise has an extremely positive effete on cholesterol levels and composition.

HORMONAL CHANGES (glandular secretions). The endocrine system   ( Composed of our Glandular Systems )is the chemical regulator of the body. The glands react to aerobic stimulation by secreting specific hormones that have specific effects on specific parts of our bodies. One lowers cholesterol, one elevates mood another suppresses appetite, etc. There are literally hundreds of these chemical regulators present in our bodies at all times. Exercise affects the level of certain specific hormones and, thus, causes specific internal chemical changes in the body. Some of there changes are short-term and some become more permanent with a regular aerobic program.

NEURAL STIMULATION. The entire nervous system is stimulate during an aerobic program. As the core temperature goes up, the entire nervous system, as well as the nerve-muscle interaction, becomes more efficient. Many hormonal changes affect the nervous system, including some that act on specific areas of the brain that control pleasure and elation. Among the effects are increased alertness and IQ ( I believe this is true and studies have shown that mental agility scores improve when done on a treadmill).

MUSCULAR STIMULATION. Putting an increased load on (i.e., exercising) a muscle has several effects. The circulation to that muscle increases, the muscle becomes stronger and more shapely, the connective tissue becomes stronger, and the muscle-nerve interaction improves. Improved physique, grace, balance, and posture result.

SKELETAL STIMULATION and Range of Motion. Research shows that bones become weaker if they are not stressed and that exercise helps prevent bone calcium loss.  We do become more limber after a warm-up!  Stretching allows as full a range of motion to the joints as our genetics or physical condition allows.

IMPROVED DIGESTION. Exercise assists the natural peristaltic action: Nothing is better that regularity.

IMPROVED LYMPHATIC FLOW. The body’s second circulation system, the lymphatic system, is an important part of its defense against disease and toxins. Movement of the lymphatic fluid toward the heart is partially dependent on muscular compression of the lymphatic vessels.

REDUCED STRESS. Exercise is an excellent stress reducer. Stress manifests itself in the form o muscular tension and hormonal imbalances. Exercise release the tension in muscles and stimulates the hormonal system. Exercise is a much more effective deterrent to stress than drugs or alcohol.

INCREASED IMMUNE-SYSTEM RESISTANCE. Exercise results in a general improvement in bodily function, combined with improved lymphatic low and increased immune hormonal balance.

• Obesity nearly doubles the risk that an otherwise healthy middle-age man will have a stroke, a long-running Swedish study finds. The researchers followed more than 7,400 men aged 47 to 55 for 28 years and discovered that a man with a body mass index of more than 30 was 93 percent more likely to have a stroke than one with a healthy BMI of between 20 and 23, said a report in the Oct. 29 issue of Stroke.

• A small new European study adds to the growing body of evidence that exercise can stave off mental decline in older people.  After 10 years  the researchers found that the reduction in mental ability was 2.6 times greater in the sedentary non-exercising group.
• Older men who either maintain or increase their physical activity as they age will keep more of their memory and thinking ability than those who don't, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology reported.
• Men at least 70 years old who increased the amount of time or the intensity of their daily exercise over 10 years had no decline in mental acuity, the journal said, citing a European Union-sponsored study of men in Finland, Italy and the Netherlands.

• Exercise capacity -- as measured by treadmill performance -- is the best single predictor of mortality, better than high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes and sophisticated tests of heart function, says a report in the New England Journal of Medicine  That's true not only for people with known heart problems, but also for healthy individuals.

• Runners over age 50 improve their performance more quickly than younger runners, a Yale study found, reinforcing past research on older athletes and the benefits they get from exercise.

  • "You can maintain a very high performance standard into the sixth or seventh decade of life," said lead researcher Dr. Peter Jok

• Dr Anne McTiernan and colleagues from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle report in the Journal of the American Medical Association that even post-menopausal women can reduce their breast cancer risks by exercising. The researchers found that women who exercised regularly reduced their risk of developing breast cancer by 20%.

• The 9th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders add to the evidence that people with good cardiovascular health in mid-life may have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

  • July 20, 2004.  Four studies released today added more evidence that Alzheimer's and cardiovascular disease are related somehow. They found connections between memory function and high blood pressure, good cholesterol, diabetes and insulin levels.  http://www.indystar.com/articles/5/164076-3085-052.html

  • All of factors of health listed above are directly effected by comprehensive exercise.

• Jennifer Weuve, a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, and her colleagues surveyed more than 18,000 women.

  • Physical activity benefits the cardiovascular system, Weuve said, and "there is some evidence that better cardiovascular health is related to better cognitive function. Physical activity also appears to have a direct effect on the brain itself," she said. "It appears to promote the production of chemicals in the brain, called nerve growth factors, that improve the brain cells' survival and growth."Abbott agreed: "Those who are more physically active tend to have a better cardiovascular risk profile," he said. "And maybe that helps protect against dementia."

• Obese people have higher health care costs than those who aren't obese, says a study in the Oct. 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.  Researchers at Kaiser Permanente of Colorado compared health care costs for 539 obese people and 1,225 people who weren't obese.

•  Obesity nearly doubles the risk that an otherwise healthy middle-age man will have a stroke, a long-running Swedish study finds. The researchers followed more than 7,400 men aged 47 to 55 for 28 years and discovered that a man with a body mass index of more than 30 was 93 percent more likely to have a stroke than one with a healthy BMI of between 20 and 23, said a report in the Oct. 29 issue of Stroke.