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THE AEROBIC EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION

Click on the cover to purchase a copy of the Aerobic Fitness Diary

It's a big ask expecting to stay healthy

without keeping yourself fit.

AEROBIC FITNESS

Your level of aerobic fitness is a good indicator of the condition of the system responsible for transporting oxygen to working muscles: - the heart, lungs and blood vessels. However, to restrict the importance of aerobic fitness to the cardiovascular system does it a grave injustice. On the contrary, your level of aerobic fitness is perhaps the best indicator of the health status of most of the key body systems.

Only 10 to 15 percent of people over the age of 30 years participate in sufficiently vigorous activity (of the huff and puff variety) each week to maintain a reasonable level of health of those key body systems.

Then when they feel crook they head off to the allopath thinking that swallowing a tablet or slurping down a syrup will save them the bother of doing some aerobic exercise, lack of which caused the dysfunction in the first place. Hello!

FREQUENCY

According to the research, the stimulus to improving aerobic fitness is at least three vigorous aerobic sessions a week. 4's good, 5's better and  6 is best. If you're overweight, diabetic (or prediabetic) hypertensive or depressed, double it.

DURATION

20 minutes is good, 30 minutes is better and 40 minutes is best.

INTENSITY

Along with time, the intensity of your aerobic exercise needs to be taken into account. They say that you need to get your heart rate to at least 60% of your maximum heart rate (MHR) to gain an aerobic training effect. 70% is probably more like it. 80% is achievable and sustainable for people in good aerobic condition and something worth aiming at. Maximum heart rate is said to be 220 minus your age.

The people I see who are in the best of health are those who have a vigorous aerobic training program, for 40 minutes on most days of the week. I see little evidence that ambling around the block for 10 minutes  three times a day does much for the cardiovascular or any other system, or that it has much of an impact on lowering stress levels. Anyone who prescribes that amount of exercise, in the expectation of their customer becoming fit and healthy is talking through the back of their neck.

THE EXERCISE PRESCRIPTION - AERABYTES - where time meets effort

How stupid would it be to be prescribed a medication without a dosage or how often to take it. Same thing applies to exercise. Treat it as a medication and work to a prescription that includes time and effort, rated against your heart rate.

The concept of Aerabytes is outlined in more detail in these pages, but for now, the concept of Aerabytes is about linking time with effort - the effort being matched against heart rate. Get yourself a heart rate monitor and do the job properly. Then you'll find out whether you're on the way to getting the benefits that vigorous exercise promises.

Want to know more about the Aerabyte concept of exercise prescription click here.

INTENTION

The road to hell is paved with good intention.

The likelihood of achieving your fitness goals will be increased if you write down what you plan to do at the beginning of each week. Write down what you're going to do, when you're going to do it, who you're going to do it with, for how long and what level of effort.

Break your exercise sessions down into manageable units, day by day, week by week, month by month. Click here to purchase a copy of the Aerobic Fitness Diary.

INSPIRED AND MOTIVATED TO BE FiT AND HEALTHY

German philosopher, Neitzsche said, 'Learn to enjoy the things you need to do.' For many people hearing that sort of stuff is likely to provide cold comfort, and yet its probably true. One of the things we need to do in an affluent society is keep fit.

Click here if you want a list of the benefits that come with exercising vigorously on a regular and systematic basis. Few people ever got fit by ambling around the block for 10 minutes 3 times a day at half rat power. The fit ones got fit through the vigorous expenditure of energy, the vigorous injection of oxygen into their body and the vigorous stimulation of their various elimination systems.

So, as much as you may not like doing it initially, once you start to experience the benefits of a vigorous aerobic exercise program you'll be inspired and motivated by the results to keep going. Staying focussed on the benefits is a key to maintaining your exercise program. Start with the end in mind.

The corollary is that as soon as you start to become dysfunctional and 'dyseased' you'll be able to recognise that something within your body is out of kilter and that it is highly likely that good working order can be restored by vigorous exercise (along with a better diet and mediation). Instead of (or as well as) a trip to the doctor, start exercising.

If you want to check whether you're on the way to becoming dysfunctional complete the Mind and Body Profile and the Health and Fitness Checkup.

When it's all boiled down you have to ask yourself the question 'Why do I want to be fit and healthy?' If you can't think of a good reason it's probably because you have plenty of reasons for being unfit and unhealthy! So, put on your elastic tracksuit dacks and your Ugg boots. Rug up. Stay in front of the TV. Keep stuffing yourself with chocolate sultanas and buy more health insurance.

BREAK THE VICIOUS CYCLE

If you're going to break the vicious cycle of inactivity you'll need all the help you can get. In particular you'll need to stay one step ahead of that part of your mind which says, 'Give up.'

It seems to be a tough assignment for most people to maintain the motivation to do the things they need to do to keep fit and healthy.

The surgeries and cemeteries of the Western world are littered with the bodies of people who either never took part in a fitness program or who started one and then gave it away.

Yet some people do manage to keep their level of motivation up and maintain a regular and systematic aerobic fitness program.

When asked 'Who is the role model for physical activity in Australia?' the reply is invariably Prime Minister, John Howard. When you think of John Howard and physical activity, think of three words, 'discipline', 'persistence', 'consistency'.