Exercise!

The quick answer: Want to live a full life?  Exercise!

_______________________________________________________________________

The Boys in the Boat

I just finished this book, about a group of college boys who rose up against all odds to take gold medals in the 1936 Berlin Olympics.  Their sport was 8-man crew, the traditional sport of the East Coast elite.  But the boys in the boat were from the West, small town kids of humble origins, struggling through the University of Washington during the Great Depression.  They won an epic victory, defeating a Nazi-sponsored boat of older men before a scowling Adolf Hitler.  There’ll be a movie for sure.

The timing was good for me—this post is about exercise.  Thanks to rigorous training the boys lived long lives, except one who smoked and died of lung cancer.  The Boys in the Boat offer a nice segue to this week’s theme—exercise!

Jack LaLanne

That’s not me in the picture—it’s Jack LaLanne, the guru of fitness who introduced exercise to America.  LaLanne advocated good nutrition and exercise.  Though he’s best remembered for his birthday endurance feats, he also had an early TV show showing all the exercises you could do using basic home equipment, like a chair. 

Jack is no longer with us.  He passed in 2011 at the age of 96 of pneumonia, though he had done his full exercise routine the day before.  He likely would still be with us if he had agreed to see a doctor, a sad error of judgment.  Still he left an important message:  Muscles are part of good health.

It’s Good to Sweat

Whatever your age or condition, regular exercise will improve your health, and your appearance.  The times are changing—it’s not cool to walk around with a muffin top hanging over your belt.  America had an explosion of overweight and obesity in the ‘80s, after the introduction of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) that continued into the ‘90s.  Now we’re facing an epidemic of diabetes, which often leads to heart disease.  This is deadly serious business.

So be like the boys in the boat—exercise.  It just might save your life.

Please comment:  You can read the comments from the two prior exercise posts, go here for 2011, here for 2012, or here for 2013.  Please share your best exercise, or tell about the benefits of what you've done.  We should inspire and encourage each other.

Comments

[Dee Dee]

Great post, Skip. Completely agree. My husband and I make real exercise a part of our lives. We sold our car in August and walk everywhere, even if it's just to the bus stop or subway. We live in a large East Asian city with wonderful public transport. We walk our daughters to and from school each day - 25 minutes one way. But we know we need more than walking and carrying food (uphill) from the markets. For us we exercise at night after the littles are asleep and have a goal of five nights a week, but it's usually four. I do a 40-minute DVD that changes intensity each ten workouts. My husband runs at night and lifts free weights at home. (I also practice yoga once a week at church.) We finish by 10 pm. It sounds crazy to some of our friends, but it's been working for us for three years now. Coincidentally (?), we have not seen a doctor for illness in that time.

Keep up the good work, Skip. We need your insights.

[Noelle]

I was really active as a child and have always liked being physical but not really exercise. It's a good thing I married who I did because he is a exercise guru. He played football in hs and hasn't stopped and he'll be 50 next month. 8 kids later, I would be a slug if it weren't for him. It's just frustrating that we have to work at it so much harder at our age to get the same results as when we were younger.

Thanks for all your posts. It's so nice to find someone that supports the WOW and isn't fanatical one way or the other. What you say makes sense.

[Sarah]

I find that youtube has a wealth of exercise videos, I can find any kind of exercise I would like to do for free. Its a great resource.

[Sheela]

Just wanted to make sure you were aware of the CDC's guidelines for physical activity (http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/index.html). They could be a good resource for people who want to exercise but are not sure of what their goals should be. Not everyone will want to set a goal like running a marathon (or even a 5K) but they could aim to follow these recommendations. Just a thought and hopefully a useful reference!