Don't jump into exercise
October 21st 2009 23:17
Hong Kong, I once heard someone say, is the only city in the world with the same energy as New York. Hong Kong is a thriving, busy metropolis and Hong Kong people live their lives at speed.
Sometimes, it would pay them to slow down.
I was once in a Hong Kong gymnasium when one of those busy people came in. It was about 7pm. He jumped on a stationary bicycle, flicked it to a stiff setting, and started immediately to pedal — and breathe — hard. The stationary bicycle suited him because it kept his hands free. As he pedalled, he read a work report held in one hand, and ate an apple held in the other.
After 10 minutes of multi-tasking — work, exercise and his apple a day — he left for the showers, no doubt to get ready to return to the office or head out for a business dinner.
How sensible was all that? Not very. It was 10 minutes of intense achievement, but his poor heart, at the end of a no-doubt stressful day, must be tempted each time he shocks it like that to have a valve seizure. He would have done himself, his heart, his major muscle groups and the long-term sustainability of his exercise regime a favour if he had taken his apple and gone for a 10-minute walk instead.
The man in the Hong Kong gym was confused about his goals. What he was doing was suitable in its way for an elite athlete trying to build stamina or leg muscle strength, but its value was limited in terms of general wellbeing.
Exercise, as opposed to training for a specific athletic goal, is about one thing: muscle fitness. And the most important muscle in your body is your heart.
Any exercise which increases your heart rate by just a few beats a minute is beneficial. If you are starting from scratch, go for that 10-minute stroll. Do that three times a week for a few weeks and you will find that strolling no long raises your heart rate. How annoying. You must have improved your heart's fitness! Now you'll just have to walk a bit faster, or a bit further, to achieve further benefit.
Always remember one word about exercise: slow. Exercising can prolong your life. Exercising slowly can save your life.
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