Exercise, The Key To Fitness

Ok, in my opinion, here is the best workout as I see it currently.  It is called High Intensity Interval Training, (HIIT).  You can really do any exercise that you want, just follow this protocol.  The entire workout is twenty minutes, and you only workout every other day.  Any more than that is too much if you are working out correctly.  If you are working out properly, that is all that you will be able to do, trust me.  Whatever the exercise, you will do a simple warm-up activity like jogging in place for two minutes.  At two minutes, you will perform the exercise of your choice for thirty seconds.  You need to do it with maximal effort such that at thirty seconds, if you had to do another second, you couldn’t.  You will then spend ninety seconds in recovery, like jogging in place again.  The idea here is to get your heart rate back down, which if you did your thirty seconds correctly, should be pounding.  You will repeat this sequence for a total of eight cycles, (30 seconds maximal effort, 90 seconds recovery).  You then end with 3.5 minutes of cool-down, which makes  20 minutes total.  So, you will exercise hard at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 minutes, for 30 second jaunts followed by a 90 second recovery period.  You will need a stopwatch and a heart monitor is a really good idea.  Several free interval timers are available for download on smart phones such as the iPhone.  If you are not already in good shape then your full force effort should be only about 80% effort.  A good rule of thumb for heart rate is 220 – your age = maximal heart rate.  You should not exceed this initially, but as your health improves you can.  (I personally exceed that number routinely).  If you are out of shape you should stay around 80% of that number until you feel you can go harder.  Obviously if you have preexisting heart disease, or any condition which may be a contraindication to this type of exercise, you should consult with your primary physician/cardiologist first before undertaking any exercise regimen whatsoever.

Now, as far as the exercise.  Initially, you may just want to jog/run in place more briskly and with exaggerated limb movements for the 30 seconds.  I personally like to perform strengthening exercises for the 30 second intervals.  Exercises such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, etc. work nicely.  You can also combine them into interesting regimens such as assuming the yoga “chaturanga” position, (the down phase of a pushup), and running in place for thirty seconds.  (This is most difficult).  You can do different routines on different days to target different body parts and just to keep it interesting.

It is pretty common to eat simple carbohydrates following following an intense workout, and this is certainly accepted as being pretty much gospel amongst those in workout circles.  However, I propose avoiding simple carbohydrates for two hours post workout, (HIIT workout).  There has been evidence to suggest that this increases release of HGH, (human growth hormone), which is much more desirable than any benefit you would derive from eating carbs following an HIIT workout regimen.  The way this works is in that glucose once in the bloodstream causes an  insulin response, which in turn blocks HGH release.  By avoiding the carbohydrate intake this is not an issue.  This will indeed boost your caloric consumption and overall benefits from the exercise regimen the whole day through, rather than just for the 20 minutes invested in the exercise.

As per the “Basic” level fitness below, I do recommend focus on the “eccentric” phase of movement for all exercises performed.  This is explained below under “Basic Fitness and Entry Level Exercise”.

You can find more bodyweight exercises than you could ever find time to perform by searching YouTube.   Use a search term such as HIIT bodyweight exercise.

Core Fitness

This regimen is not nearly as intense as the afformentioned information, which is intended for those looking for super-fit status.  These basic core movements involve the use of a Swiss therapy ball

Core Strength Is Essential For Stability And Balance

The link below will take you to the itunes store, where the podcast videos can be downloaded for free.  You can view these in itunes on your PC, or, sync them with your ipod to take to the gym or wherever you will exercise.  There are more than 20 different exercise videos available here, all free, and each separate and distinct and created to target a different group of muscles.

http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=213988477

If you do not use itunes, you can use this link to view the exercises in You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ridgelinefitness&p=r

I have chosen these exercises, which I have in the past done myself, because they offer challenging levels of fitness for strengthening not only overall muscular tone, but specifically, core strength and tone, which is key in balance and in prevention of injuries.  If you do not already have a therapy ball, you can usually find them for under $20 at any local store and we carry them in our office at that price.

As with any exercise routine, never perform any exercise which causes overexertion or causes discomfort or aggravates pain.  Call or email our office, (info@dcneuro.net), with any questions you may have regarding your condition and the appropriateness of exercise therapy.

Enjoy the exercises and lets all stay fit and balanced!

The fitness videos provided are courtesy of www.ridgelinefitness.com.

Basic Fitness and Entry Level Exercise:

If you are new to exercise, I think you will find the following information extremely helpful.  Recent studies have demonstrated that the “negative” or “eccentric” movement of an exercise, offers the most beneficial changes to both the muscles being exercised and your overall blood chemistry.  Further, it has been suggested that even doing as little as one 30 minute session per week will make favorable changes in your overall health.

So what exactly is a “negative” or “eccentric” movement?  Any activity requires both a concentric and an eccentric component.  The concentric component is the phase whereby the muscle is shortening while performing the activity.  An example would be curling a dumbbell.  The eccentric phase of the movement would be the phase of movement whereby the muscle is lengthening while still under load.  Using the same example, this would be the lowering of the dumbbell after curling it.  So what does this mean and how can you exploit this information to improve your health?  Well, it means that something as simple as walking down steps, or down a hill, (yes, the easier half!) can be very beneficial with respect to changing your health.  If you are already exercising regularly, you can get more bang for the time expenditure by accentuating the eccentric phase of all of your exercise movements by performing the concentric phase over 1-2 seconds, the eccentric phase for 3-4 seconds.  For example if you are doing a pushup you should lower yourself to the mat slowly, 3-4 seconds.  Push up in 1-2 seconds.  This technique can be applied to most any workout routine.

Studies have shown that exercising in this way actually causes the most desirable changes on blood chemistry in reversing deleterious changes such as all of those associated with the metabolic syndrome, (obesity, hypertension, type II diabetes, etc.).

If you are not already exercising, try and formulate a 30 minute session once per week to perform eccentric activities such as walking down steps or any activity accentuating the eccentric phase.  Naturally it would be better to perform an exercise session at least three times per week, but if you are currently doing nothing, once per week is a major improvement and will evoke desirable changes in your overall health.  As your health improves you will find it easier to invest more time in additional exercise sessions.  There is no one who cannot find thirty minutes per week to exercise.