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Make Time for Exercise By James H. O'Keefe, M.D. We are always telling you about the importance of exercise for improving your health and specifically reducing the risk of heart disease. Fitting it into our hectic daily schedules, however, is difficult for many people. The latest studies show that two out of three Americans are not regularly active, and this is a major problem. Like many of our patients, doctors are very busy people. We usually start our days before the sun comes up, and often don't get home until it is dark. Our days are typically filled with important appointments that have been booked weeks and sometimes, months in advance. Additionally, unscheduled situations arise requiring our attention throughout the day. Still, the cardiologists at Cardiovascular Consultants tend to be pretty darned good at not just "talking the talk, but also walking the walk" when it comes to fitness. Here is some advice from our own Cardiovascular Consultants doctors about how and why they make time for their daily exercise. Richard Moe, M.D., has been exercising every morning since he was diagnosed with high blood pressure as a 21-year-old-student. Dr. Moe says the chronic health problems we tend to get are often life-long issues. When his patients ask how often they have to exercise, he responds by saying, "Just on the days when you are stressed, or overweight, or obese, or have high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, or diabetes, or heart disease." For most Americans, this means we need to exercise every day. Exercise has the power to revolutionize our health and vitality like nothing else can. Many of us who exercise do so first thing in the morning, even though it means we have to roll out of bed a bit earlier. Dr. Moe finds that an early morning workout is the only way he can predictably exercise everyday. He also finds that he feels generally better during the day if he has exercised that morning. Working out first thing in the morning assures that you will get your fitness activity done before the rest of the world wakes up and has a chance to start harassing you with obligations. As an added perk, you won't have that nagging guilt about exercising hanging over your head for the rest of the day. If you wait until after work, many people feel too tired, hungry, or emotionally exhausted to muster the energy it takes to overcome their inertia. My wife, Joan, has figured out that she doesn't allow herself the luxury of her morning shower until her exercise is done. Keep it Simple Most of the Cardiovascular Consultants doctors who exercise daily do it right in their own neighborhoods or homes. An ideal exercise program involves pulling on your workout shoes and clothes, and walking out your front door to get some fresh air and activity. Robert Conn, M.D., shuns morning workouts, but has developed a habit of "forced late afternoon exercise." Even when he comes home from work feeling unmotivated or fatigued, he has learned to force himself to workout. "After the first several minutes of forced exercise I discover renewed energy and vitality. I finish the workout with zeal, and it wakes me up, shakes off my lethargy and allows me to be more productive and enthused for the rest of the evening. I find that the older I get, the more important this exercise-induced energy boost becomes." David Skolnick, M.D., always thought of himself as more of an "academic than a jock" while growing up in Pittsburgh, Penn.; so regular exercise didn't come naturally to him. Yet, he couldn't help but notice that his patients who exercised regularly were more vigorous, looked and felt better, and were much easier to keep alive and healthy than those who weren't exercising. So now he stays fit and trim by walking frequently, including walks with his kids to their school on many mornings. He even makes it over to the gym before work a couple times a week. When he began there, a fitness trainer asked him what his goals were. Dr. Skolnick replied: "I just want to live longer." On the other hand, Anthony Magalski, M.D., has always been something of a jock- and as the Kansas City Chiefs' cardiologist he's even a physician for jocks. His daily workout includes strength training, like pull ups and weight lifting, as well as aerobic exercise, like running or swimming. He prefers exercising after work, often at a 24-Hour Fitness club near his home. He regularly does interval training, which involves repeated cycles of maximal effort for about 30 to 60 seconds followed by one or three minutes of recovery. Dr. Magalski says, "When you stop doing the hard things, life doesn't get easier; the easy things just become hard." By the way, if you are thinking about doing interval training, let us check you out first. Michael Hajdu, M.D., also exercises after work, and indeed science shows that the late afternoon is predictably the time of the day when your body is most ready for exercise, even if your mind might not be. Your muscles are stretched out, your fuel tank is full, and your hormones are in their ideal ranges for physical exertion. Dr. Hajdu says, "I couldn't run four miles even if I was being chased by a rabid pit bull!" But he does love to bicycle, hike, and plan adventures, like bicycling across entire states, or hiking into and out of the Grand Canyon. In fact, Dr. Hajdu is planning to cycle 1,000 miles across the northern Great Plains this summer. He says, "Hey, if I don't train, I am literally going to drop dead on the side of a Nebraska road sometime in mid-July!" Ken Huber, M.D., president of Cardiovascular Consultants, also likes to plan adventure vacations. Last year he climbed the tallest peak in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro. Another of our doctors, Mike Zabel, M.D., recently qualified for the Boston Marathon and will run it on April 16, 2007. What if you can't seem to drag yourself out of bed in the morning to exercise, and find you're too tired to get it done after work? A refreshing exercise session over the lunch hour just may be your ticket to fitness. Get out for a 30-minute brisk walk over the noon hour, and you can still have time to eat a light and healthy lunch. Exercise in the middle of the day is not just convenient, but also invigorating. Studies show that a 30 to 60-minute workout at lunchtime lowers stress, improves productivity, and leaves you happier for the rest of the day. I personally find this to be my favorite time to exercise, and do it whenever I get the chance. So, if I seem a little flushed and sweaty at your early afternoon appointment, please forgive me. I like to think of life as a grand adventure that I need to train for in order to fully appreciate all of its beauty and opportunity. |
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