One of the primary reasons for this is that your heart is a muscle, and all muscles respond to what’s called overload. Yes, you can feel that being overloaded is a bad thing when too much is going on in your life, or when you pick up too many heavy boxes at the same time, but physical overload, within moderation, is a good thing. It’s merely the physical stress your body undergoes when you’re more active than usual. Your body is built to handle overload—it relishes it, actually, because this is how you get stronger. When you do any kind of aerobic activity, which increases your heart and breathing rate, your lungs need to work harder to get more oxygen to your muscles, and your heart has to pump harder to get more blood to those same muscles. Overload makes your entire cardiovascular system work more efficiently, and with more power. You’ll be less prone to develop coronary heart disease. Your blood pressure should also decrease, which means less bad stress for the heart and a lower risk of stroke.
Exercise has also been proven to reduce LDL cholesterol (the bad type that leads to plaque forming in your arteries, clogging them and creating a higher risk of sudden heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots) while increasing HDL cholesterol (the good type that you need; cholesterol is a waxy substance your body must have to run your metabolism and hormone production properly). “In fact,” Dr. Steinbaum told me, “HDL cholesterol is what protects your arteries, and the only thing you can do to raise its level is to exercise. You can’t do it with food or medication.” In addition, you have to watch your triglyceride levels; triglycerides are a fat component and part of the cholesterol package. They become elevated as a direct response to an unhealthy diet, especially one laden with sugars and simple carbohydrates. Often, those who tend to gain weight in their belly areas have dangerously high triglyceride levels—and what brings them down is exercise.
How Exercise Affects the Rest of Your Body
Exercise doesn’t just affect your cardiovascular system. Your entire body benefits.
Better bone and muscle strength. As we get older, our bones become more brittle and less dense, and our muscles will atrophy without regular use. Weight-bearing exercises that put stress on bones by means of impact or overload, such as running, Spinning, aerobics, dance, and weight training, help to strengthen them and improve density. The stronger your bones, the less likely you are to suffer from osteoporosis or debilitating fractures. The more you use your muscles, the stronger and more pliable they become. The fibers of the fascia, or the connective tissue surrounding your joints, are strengthened by exercise, keeping your joints flexible and less prone to injury.
Antiaging. As time goes by, gravity starts to pull you to the earth. I want to make sure that by the time that starts to happen, your body looks the best it’s ever looked. The way to do that is to defy gravity by staying in motion. This means you want to build a lot of long, lean muscle in a nice long, lean way. You’ll move better not just when you’re young, but you’ll remain strong as you grow older.
Exercise may also work on a cellular level to reverse the toll the aging process has on our bodies. According to a 2010 study from the University of California, San Francisco, for example, researchers found that stressed-out women who exercised vigorously for an average of forty-five minutes over a three-day period had cells that showed fewer signs of aging compared to women who were stressed and inactive.
The anti-inflammatory benefits of exercise also impact aging on a cellular level. What is inflammation? It’s a normal, natural response to any kind of injury. But as we get older, our blood vessels get more inflamed, so they thicken. This affects blood transport to your cells, which need the nutrient-enriched blood to function properly. The more you exercise, the more your body can rid itself of protein molecules called cytokines, which act as a sort of molecular messenger to regulate your inflammatory response. (Too many cytokines can cause inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, for example.)
And, of course, your skin always looks better when you exercise; not only do you get a rosy glow when your blood is pumping, but as science has told us, your skin is your body’s largest organ. Take care of it, and it will take care of you.
Improved immune system. A strong and fit body is a body less likely to get sick and one that will recover more quickly from common illnesses like colds and the flu. Researchers at Appalachian State University in North Carolina found that people who exercised regularly were 23 percent less likely to get colds than those who exercised less.
Reduces likelihood of developing cancer. At least 35 percent of all cancer deaths may be related to obesity and lack of activity, the Seattle Cancer Research Center has found. And according to the National Cancer Institute, “Adults who increase their physical activity, either in intensity, duration, or frequency, can reduce their risk of developing colon cancer by 30 to 40 percent relative to those who are sedentary regardless of body mass index (BMI), with the greatest risk reduction seen among those who are most active.”
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE PEOPLE MAKE ABOUT EXERCISE
I had a long discussion with Dr. Steinbaum about the biggest mistake people make when they work out, and although I don’t see this in my classes, I do see it when I go to the gym. This is what she told me:
The biggest mistake is that people don’t actually know what “exercise” means. I had a patient one day who showed me her workout shoes. They were lovely sling-backs with kitten heels. I asked her where her sneakers were, and she told me she didn’t own any. So I told her that whatever she was doing, it did not constitute exercise!
My patients often tell me that when they start to work out, they’re short of breath, they’re sweating, their hearts are pounding. They’re scared that something’s wrong. I always reassure them that nothing is wrong. That all those “symptoms” are what’s supposed to happen when they exercise! That they’re doing it right.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that, and it’s really a failure of education that people don’t understand what aerobic exercise actually means and how much they need to do for optimum benefits. Based on recommendations of the American Heart Association, you should aim for 150 minutes each week of moderate aerobic exercise, and two days of strength training.
But here’s where confusion sets in. Within those 150 minutes, your heart rate needs to be elevated. A simple stroll won’t do that. A gentle ride on a recumbent bicycle at the gym won’t do that. The easiest way to check how “moderate” your exercise is is to remember what it’s like to answer a phone when it’s ringing and you are breathing so hard you literally can’t quite speak in a complete sentence. If you can say a full sentence with out pausing to catch your breath, you aren’t working hard enough—you should aim for huffing and puffing.
Also, use a device on your wrist or on machines in the gym to monitor your heart rate. Your target heart rate (THR) should be 220 minus your age times 85 percent. (Remember to multiply the figure by .85, not 85!) You want to hit that number and sustain it for twenty minutes to get the maximum cardiovascular benefits of that exercise session. Don’t go over your maximum heart rate. Stay just at or below it—not above!
In other words, you need to push yourself. If you do not get your heart rate up, you are not exercising right!
It’s also extremely important to be mindful when you work out. If your mind is not engaged, your body isn’t. Reading a magazine while you walk on a treadmill is not mindful exercise. Checking Instagram while you jog isn’t mindful. Exercising isn’t just about engaging your muscles—it’s about engaging your entire body. Use this time wisely, and focus. When you do that, everything starts to change!
What a great doctor! Everything she says is just what I believe about setting intentions, mindfulness, and physical presence in your life. It’s all about the presence, not the presents—you can buy all the gadgets you want, but nothing is going to bring you into reality more than being aware of what you’re doing when you’re exercising, and how well you’re doing it.
The Institute also found that l
ower rates of breast and endometrial cancers could be linked to the exercise-triggered benefits of lower hormone production (for postmenopausal women) and weight management. Lung cancer rates also go down—how many smokers do you know who are regular exercisers?
Reduces type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome rates, especially those related to obesity. Metabolic syndrome is a worrying health condition most people have never heard of—but they should, as it’s often a signal that type 2 diabetes and/or heart disease is going to develop. It is characterized by having several medical conditions: high blood sugar, high blood pressure, excess weight (especially around the midsection), and abnormal cholesterol levels. Key to preventing it is a normal weight and regular exercise. Keeping your weight at normal levels also makes you far less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, which is an extremely serious and life-threatening disease. It’s caused by insulin irregularities and an increasing inability to process nutrients due to blood sugar problems.
If you eat too many simple carbohydrates in the form of junk food, white flour and sugar, juice, and pasta, your body has a hard time processing it; your blood sugar spikes, a large amount of insulin is released by the pancreas to regulate it; and you are suddenly starving even if you’ve just eaten a large bagel. Worse, when you don’t metabolize all the calories you eat, your body stores them . . . in the form of fat. That type 2 diabetes is on the rise is extremely alarming, especially when a good diet and exercise habits almost always prevent it from occurring.
Natural sleeping pill. The National Sleep Foundation has reported that those who exercise regularly not only have more energy during the day, but they sleep better at night. I can also tell you that exercise helps me nap, and I am a strong believer in the power nap. My short power naps keep me energized from morning till night, and I try to have one every day. I typically get my nap on after my morning classes and meetings. I allow for a minimum of twenty minutes, though sometimes I go for an hour, but no more, unless I’m sick, because then I try to sleep as much as I possibly can. The body completely recharges during sleep. I am convinced this is why I look twenty-nine at forty-eight. I sleep a lot!
AOA = ADULT-ONSET ATHLETICISM
I work with students of many different ages, and lots of the adults want me to know right off the bat that they were never coordinated as kids, never got picked for teams at school, were never strong or athletic. It’s their way of telling me not to expect much of them and letting me know that working out scares them. They’ve also got it in their heads that it’s too late to train like an athlete.
I don’t buy it—and here’s what I tell them, courtesy of Bill Bowerman, cofounder of Nike: “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
Right away, I think of Geralyn, who came to me when she was a forty-five-year-old mom. Her last experience with team sports was sitting on the bench for her high school lacrosse team, and recently her only exercise was putting on Spanx, hopping on and off bar stools, and using a wineglass to do bicep curls. She was full of rage and full of frustration. She had no outlets for her stress. When we started working together, a memory flashed through her mind: “Will not pump on the playground swings.”
“Ohmigod,” she told me, through tears. “I was too scared to be strong. I couldn’t even get on a swing at the local playground when I was a little girl.”
I know it took a lot of courage to say she wanted to change. “And now look at you,” I said. “You’re here, right? It isn’t going to take long at all for you to be in the best shape of your life. I’m going to show you that it didn’t matter who you were—what matters is what you want to become.”
I saw Geralyn in class at least three or four times a week. I saw that determined look on her face. I saw how she went from asking to be seated in the very back, on the bike farthest from the experienced riders—because she didn’t want anyone looking at her and she was terrified she couldn’t keep up the pace—to moving flat-out, at top speed, her dial turned firmly way past zero. Fast-forward six months, and Geralyn has lost twenty pounds. She breezes through my classes, which she still attends at least three or four times a week. She is buff and strong. She calls herself an athlete. She is an athlete.
Geralyn is proof that it is never too late to become an athlete. She’s lucky because she’s caught something I want everyone to have. I call it AOA—Adult-Onset Athleticism.
What is an athlete, after all? The dictionary says it’s any person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise. A person who is trained or skilled in exercises, or in games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina.
“It is never too late to become an athlete.”
Got that? Did you see the words team sports anywhere in that? Of course not! As a society focused on team sports, we’re conditioned to think of athletes as professionals who play on some kind of team and have coaches and have been training for years. If that’s not you, it’s really easy to count yourself out of the the realm of being an athlete. I’m here to tell you that’s just wrong. You can embody your inner AOA in the way you regularly walk around your neighborhood with your dog.
AOA is all about changing how you see yourself and reimagining your body’s physical and emotional capabilities. AOA is about you discovering what kind of athlete you can be as a grown-up, especially if you were never nurtured as an athlete when you were a child. If that’s you, you’re in luck—I’m really sorry for how awful you might have felt when you were little, but you’re my absolute favorite kind of adult to transform. Anyone who still has strong and damaging memories of always being the last one picked for any team during those dreaded gym classes, or who was the fat kid, or the clumsy kid, or the one who had a real fear of sports. Anyone who could never ride a bike or dive into a pool is the most rewarding student for those of us in the fitness industry.
I get a lot of new students who, like Geralyn, put themselves in the farthest corner in the back of the room. “I was never an athlete when I was younger,” they tell me. “I’m so old now—look at me. I’m never going to get in shape. It’s too late to start, isn’t it? Did I miss my peak? I know I did. Forget it. I just want to get through this class.”
This is what I tell them: “You’re here. That’s amazing. No way have you missed your peak. You are about to discover your new peak! So let’s have some fun. Think of it as your moment to re-learn how to use your body, kick some ass, and once and for all feel good about participating in things that are physically good for you!”
I absolutely love watching my students blossom before my eyes. Often, it takes only a few weeks for me to see the beginnings of the transformation. That’s an incredibly short period of time for someone who spent decades thinking they were never going to be strong or capable.
The reward comes as I get to watch the AOA come over them, like a spell being cast by a benevolent wizard. It happens because turning into an athlete isn’t just about getting the muscles. It’s about turning around that little voice in your head that says you’re not one, that you’re not coordinated and that you can’t move. It’s an amazing transformation, and it can happen to anyone.
If you’re already comfortable calling yourself an athlete, this book is going to crank you up more than a few notches. If you’re not an athlete, this book will turn you into one!
And you’re going beyond just being a physical athlete—you’re going to be an emotional athlete. That’s actually far more important. You can’t be a physical athlete without being an emotional athlete first. That means loving your body, setting goals and intentions, visualizing the future you want, taking some risks when you add more movement to your life, and believing in yourself.
And yes, it also means having the courage to walk through the door of a gym or a dance studio. There’s risk—but good risk, the kind where you’re challenging yourself to do something good, just for you. Because you need it. Because it’s unbelievably good for you. And, most of all, because you deserve it!
Before I moved to New Yor
k, I used to go full-out during every class I taught, working out at least twelve hours every week. I don’t do that anymore and couldn’t even if I wanted to. I’ve had to have two arthroscopic surgeries and one major ACL reconstruction. I still walk around with two screws in my bones, one in my femur and one in my tibia. Does that stop me from finding something that works for me? No. I still train. Each week, I work out for myself at least twice, ride once or twice, and teach my twenty classes.
Find Out What Kind of AOA Turns You On the Most
One of the best things about exercise is there’s so much to choose from—so many completely wonderful ways to move. I have friends who love tennis and other racquet sports. They experience great joy from the mental acuity they develop while making split-second decisions about where to hit the ball, but they also find it deeply satisfying to hit a benign object for an hour or two.
Ditto with those who like to box (and believe me, you’ll get killer arms, abs, and a butt like you won’t believe if you box).
Some like the solitary pursuit of running because it gives them a chance to be alone with their thoughts and their music; I know a writer who plotted out an entire novel while she ran.
Some people crave the camaraderie you get from being on a team. Others just like to dance. I tell all my newbie AOAs to experiment with lots of different kinds of movement, and eventually you’ll find something you really love. When you love it, it’s going to be much easier to stick to it.
If you like a particular sport or kind of exercise but you feel like something is missing, you can be creative and make up your own version. When my dad was going through treatment for stage IV bladder cancer, to help him get through such a stressful and debilitating time, he came up with his own version of Tai Chi. He had always had his own version of stretching out slowly, and did it every day, so I’m not sure it was even a “type” of Tai Chi, but it was his . . . and he was into it, so it worked for him up until the end.
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