Healthcare in the News

Fitting Fitness Back Into Your Life

< August 20, 2002 > In the good old days before you were married, had kids, got the promotion, bought the house, and did the yard work, you really worked out.

Hard, fast, regularly. Back then, you could run a five-minute mile. Or bench press your weight. Or sweat through that 90-minute advanced aerobics class.

These days, are you spending more time feeling guilty about not working out than working out?

If so, you are probably the kind of lapsed boomer President Bush was talking to when he recently declared war on being fat and sedentary.

But you have plenty of company. You have joined the 4-in-10 adult Americans of all ages who admit they are not physically active at all, according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.

Exercise experts like Richard Cotton and Cedric Bryant have heard it all before—busy boomers complaining that, between carpools and van pools and making ends meet, they barely have time for a movie, much less a regular exercise routine.

Cotton is an exercise physiologist and also a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise in San Diego, Calif., an organization that certifies instructors and oversees exercise research. Bryant is the chief exercise physiologist for the council.

They both specialize in motivating inactive people to become involved in exercise programs. They inspire woefully out-of-shape, middle age lapsed exercisers or never-exercisers to consider the benefits of incorporating workouts into their however-hectic-or-sedentary routine, convincing them that the stress-reduction and disease-risk reduction benefits are worth the effort.

Here are some of their best tips.

  • Blot out that "hard body image" memory.
    It is normal to have a mental image of yourself when you last exercised regularly, says Cotton. If your image is from high school, you could be in big trouble. Even if it was from last year, forget it. "Try to have as little memory as possible of what you used to look like and do," Cotton says. "Be in the present."

  • Start slowly.
    "Do much less than you think you are able to," Cotton suggests. Take a 10-minute stroll if you are newly back to workouts. Clients tell Cotton, "It's not enough." No, he replies, it's not, "but it's a start." Consider walking as a good way to get back to exercise.

  • Know the risks of too much, too fast.
    "Go too fast and you're likely to get injured," Bryant says. "That could set you back to square one."

  • Prepare.
    Plan your workout wardrobe so you will be comfortable. Consider the weather you will be walking in and decide: long pants, long sleeves, shorts, hat?

  • Do not skimp on shoes.
    A good pair of shoes should cost about $70, says Cotton, and they will help ensure good shock absorption and cushioning. Which type? "If you are walking with the hope of jogging eventually, buy running shoes," says Cotton. If you plan to walk as your main exercise, get walking shoes.

  • Do not overlook good socks.
    Best for workouts: Socks with some synthetic fibers (rather than all-cotton) because they wick away sweat better. When you try on exercise shoes, wear your exercise socks.

  • Increase your duration of exercise in small increments.
    "Spend one week minimum at each phase," Cotton says. Exactly how long you will walk in each phase will depend on your stamina and your doctor's advice. But you might begin with as little as a 15- or 20-minute walk, then work up," Cotton says. Add duration before speed. You can increase the length of the walk each phase, by perhaps five minutes a phase. Soon, you will be at the recommended 30 minutes (or more) a day, five or more days a week. "Accept yourself where you are," Cotton says.

  • Do the talk test.
    If you cannot talk with ease as you walk or jog, you are going too fast and trying to do too much, Bryant says.

  • Remember to stay well-hydrated.
    "The thirst mechanism is less sensitive by age 50," Bryant says.

  • Add strength training to the cardiovascular routine.
    But only when you are ready, Cotton suggests.

  • Consider getting an exercise buddy.
    An exercise buddy could help increase your faithfulness to your new routine. "An exercise buddy is always nice," Cotton says, "especially if you can latch on to someone who already has the habit. That's a free ride."

  • Be realistic about the payoff.
    You might notice looser waistbands but no difference on the scale. "As you get up into the 35-, 40- or 45-minute walks that are brisk, you can expect weight loss," Cotton says. "But figure it takes six to eight weeks to transform your body. And even if you do not lose a pound, you are healthier if you exercise."

Starting a Daily Exercise Program

It is always important to consult your physician before starting an exercise program. This is particularly true if any of the following apply to your current medical condition:

  • chest pain or pain in the neck and/or arm

  • shortness of breath

  • a diagnosed heart condition

  • joint and/or bone problems

  • currently taking cardiac and/or blood pressure medications

  • have not previously been physically active

  • dizziness

If none of these apply to you, start gradually and sensibly. However, if you feel any of the physical symptoms listed above when you start your exercise program, contact your physician right away.

If one or more of the statements listed above applies for you, see your physician before beginning an exercise program. An exercise-stress test may be used to help plan your exercise program.

Online Resources:

(Our Organization is not responsible for the content of Internet sites.)

American College of Sports Medicine

American Council on Exercise

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

For more information about the benefits of regular exercise for adults and children, please _____________.

Benefits From Regular Exercise or Physical Activity

  • improves blood circulation throughout the body
  • keeps weight under control
  • improves blood cholesterol levels
  • prevents and manages high blood pressure
  • prevents bone loss
  • boosts energy level
  • releases tension
  • improves the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well
  • improves self-image
  • helps manage stress
  • counters anxiety and depression
  • increases enthusiasm and optimism
  • increases muscle strength

A daily exercise program can provide a way to share an activity with family and friends, while helping establish good heart-healthy habits.

For children, daily exercise deters conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol levels, and poor lifestyle habits that lead to heart attack and stroke later in life.

For older people, daily physical activity helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging, and maintains quality of life and independence longer.

Getting Kids to Walk to School Still an Uphill Battle

When our parents were kids, they walked five miles to school and back every day. In the snow. Uphill. Both ways.

How times have changed. Nowadays, only one in seven American kids walks or bikes to school at least once a week, according to a new federal government survey released today.

And while the average youngster lives within two miles of school—a hefty distance—most of those who live half that far away or closer rarely walk or ride a bike to class, the survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found.

A previous survey revealed that among children living within a mile of school, 31 percent of their trips were made on foot, while a scant 2 percent were made by bike. That is well shy of the government's hope that in 2010, students who live a mile or closer to school will walk there at least half the time.

To be sure, many parents complain that distance, traffic, crime, bad weather, and other factors keep their kids from walking or biking to school, the new survey found. And pedestrian and biking injuries are leading causes of death among US children, accounting for 800 fatalities a year, as well as 200 non-fatal injuries, officials say.

"Parents are justified in their concerns," says Dr. Catherine Staunton, a CDC injury expert and co-author of the new survey, the first of its kind to examine these worries. Still, Staunton adds, even without such barriers, most children choose to be driven to school anyway.

On the other hand, the new survey found that almost two-thirds of the 16 percent who did not face any of these obstacles walked at least once a week, and 21 percent of them biked. Those with no barriers were six times as likely to walk or bike to school as were those with at least one or more, Staunton says.

Walking or biking to school are good ways of reaching the recommended 30 minutes a day of moderately vigorous exercise—exercise Americans of all ages are loath to perform. This national indolence, combined with greedy appetites, is taking its toll on the country's waistband, and children are not immune. The percentage of children who are now overweight has more than doubled in the past 30 years, officials say.

The national numbers are echoed by a related CDC survey of Georgians from 2000. That report, also released earlier this week, showed that about 4 percent of students age 5 to 15 in that state walked to school most days. The rate was better among those living within a mile of campus, 19 percent. But the vast majority either took a school bus or were driven to school by a parent or other adult.

African-American and older students were more likely to report walking or biking to class than were younger children and those of different races and ethnicities, says Jessica Shisler, a CDC health educator who helped conduct the state survey.

Together, the findings stress the need for communities to create safe walking and biking routes, health officials say.

Possible measures include regulating traffic speed and improving driver visibility in these zones, encouraging "walking school buses"—on-foot caravans of kids shepherded by adults—and even relocating schools to denser areas.

The CDC four years ago implemented the KidsWalk-to-School program, which has since been incorporated by many states, Shisler says. Every state participates in the International Walk to School Day, which this year falls on Oct. 2.

Always consult your child's physician for more information.