Exercise for many people is a chore, either in remembering to do it or because their muscles haven’t been used in awhile.  Muscles need regular work to make them strong and healthy.  If you watched the videos of Jack Lalanne you can see what exercise can give you as you get older.   Muscles need concentric contractions (getting shorter), eccentric contractions (getting longer), and static (stationary) contractions to stay healthy.  Here are some great static contractions and positional holds.

Here is an easy way to start your day or get a mid-afternoon exercise break.

Just do some static holds.  They can be an easy warm-up for other things or just another way to add some exercise to your day.

Straight arm side hold:

Try and hold it for 20 seconds.  If it is too hard, drop down and do it on your elbow.  Do both sides.

Pistol hold:

Do this without the weight.  This was the best picture I had.  This will be good for balance.  Do this on one leg.  Keep your other heal and butt off the ground.  Try 20 seconds without tipping over.  Good luck.

Push-up hold:

Just like you are going to do a one arm push-up, except just hold that position for 20 seconds.  If it is too hard use both hands or drop down to your elbows.

There you have 3 fairly easy exercises that you can do anywhere, anytime.  Keep doing them regularly until your arms and legs stop shaking when you do them.  If that was easy, go through and start over and do them again.

Have you seen that movie “Run Fat Boy, Run”?  It is actually a pretty inspiring movie and very funny.

Make your running rock your body.

As many of you know, my wife and I just got back from a triathlon.  Nothing heavy, but a good little workout, that keeps life and health in perspective.  Now, for those of you who are running or training for other sports with endurance this will help you.

This is a modification of our high-intensity workouts, but for running.  If you exercise long enough you will eventually feel that heavy, non-responsive feeling in your legs.  You may even call it the “wall”.  For those of you that want a good running movie check out “Run fat boy, Run.  Funny “wall” scene.

It is a vague barrier that is known as your lactic acid threshold.  As you use your muscles you create lactic acid.  Normally if the activity is low enough the lactic acid is recycled back into more energy for you, but when you work harder than your body can recycle it, it builds up.

New research suggests the lactic acid build up actually helps you combat fatigue.  The fatigue comes from other chemicals, and even you nervous system to help protect the body.  But, like weight lifting, your body can learn to improve and adapt.  If you want to improve your endurance and performance you need to improve your lactic acid threshold.  And sprinting will do that.

Just like our weight lifting at high intensity, sprinting is the running way to go high intensity.  Plus, I like it, because it doesn’t take time like regular tempo running.

So if you are looking for a little more fat loss add this to your routine every once in awhile.

Researchers tested two groups of runners for fat loss and metabolism.  The regular running group (aerobic) burned 48 percent more calories than our Sprint interval group (H.I.T-High-Intensity-Training group).  Despite that huge calorie difference the H.I.T group had 9x greater subcutaneous fat loss.

Wow!

H.I.T. training doesn’t burn lots of calories while exercising but really shines by turning on enzymes that burn fat long after you are done working out.

On your treadmill use the interval settings.
As you get stronger or faster, just sprint longer or harder and start adding some incline.  But, when you are sprinting, SPRINT, don’t do it half-way.  Focus and move those legs as fast as you can without going out of control.

Jack gives you some sound advice on health, chiropractic, and exercise.

Jack can save your life with this video about eating better.

New England Journal of Medicine

New info came out today.  Seems that breast cancer patients have been getting bad advice.  Doctors have been telling women to not to lift weights.  Well it turns out that there were some people who bucked the system and did very well.  Researchers found that after treatment, women who lifted weights had less arm swelling because they had better arm muscle tone.

Sometimes I wonder why we have to research common sense, they found:

Weight lifting:

• Boosted mood
• Improved muscle mass
• Decreased weight
• Improved bone strength

Women:  Hit the weights.  You don’t need to be lifting the big manly ones, but a regular course of lifting will do the trick.  My only observation is that women often lift much lighter weights than they can.  I think that women often feel if they lift heavier weights they will get big and bulky.  Not true.  In our area365.com program women start with 13-17lbs and they can do it just fine.  2 1/2 lbs. isn’t really heavy enough for most of you.  The bonus of using more weight, you don’t have to workout so long.  We all need more time.

Men:  If you have a significant female in your life, make sure she is lifting some weight.  Cardio isn’t enough.  The health benefits are significant.  My wife is a living example, she feels better, is nicer to me, and is looking better every year she gets older.

As a side note:  Use free weights, not machines.  The benefits are infinite.  So as a bonus, you can workout at home easily.  Save the gas and time of driving to a gym.

American College of Sports Medicine

The one thing all doctors agree on is people need more exercise.  I occasionally see a patient with a regular exercise program going, but it is rare.  I came across these updated recommendations and thought you’d like them.

Their Recommendations:

• An optimal strength-training program will include shortening, lengthening, and static muscle contractions including single and multiple joint exercises.  Dr. Altman here-this is really good advice except if you do single joint exercises you are opening your self up to imbalance and injury.

• Maximize your intensity by training large muscle groups before small muscles.  Do multiple joints before single joints and high intensity before low intensity exercises.  Dr. Altman here- Again, skip the single joint exercises and for the most bang use high intensity exercise unless you have lots of time on your hands.

• Beginners should do 8-12 reps per set, two to three days per week.

• Intermediate and advanced weight trainers should vary their program between 1-12 reps per set using a program that varies the volume and intensity of the workout.  It should be between three and five days a week.

• The rest of the article contains recommendations for heavier loads and hypertrophy, which I am not concerned with.  Most of you are not anywhere near that level or need to be as big as a football player.  To me it is better to be in good shape so you can do anything life throws at you versus being huge.  There are many disadvantages to being really large with either fat or muscle.

• “The important thing is to train regularly and consistantly.”

• Gee, that sounds a lot like our exercise program.  If you need some regular encouragement or ideas on what to do next, you can follow along with me at area365.com  Winter is coming.  This program will keep you in shape all winter long and never leaving your house.

(American College of Sports Medicine, 2009)
For those of you not exercising, when you start, expect some soreness the next day.  When your body isn’t used to doing exercise or anything else that challenges your muscles, you can expect some soreness.

Does that mean it is bad?  No

Should you notice weight loss or muscle gains? No

Your body changes slowly and over time.  But it does change.  If you workout once and don’t feel anything but sore, don’t quit.  One month, or even two months down the road you might hop on the scale and notice, “wow, I dropped 10 lbs.”

Each day is like the journey of a 1000 miles.  It sounds daunting to think about walking 1000 miles.  But, if you put one foot in front of the other and walk a mere 12 blocks (1 mile) in New Ulm.  In 2 3/4 years you will have covered 1000 miles.  If you did just 12 minutes of exercise a day, in 2 3/4 years you will have a significantly better body and fitness.  Each day if you choose to eat an apple instead of a donut you will make the small changes that will also add up.

Give yourself time.  Make small choices everyday and don’t have huge expectations, but do them because you know better and want to be healthier.  No one is watching over you, these are your choices alone.  If you eat the donut, you won’t be immediately fatter.  That is also the danger.  It seems harmless.  We are a culture of “right now”.

I think that is how someone can get to 500lbs.  They add it so slowly they adapt to the new size.  Just as someone can get that large, be doing the healthy things again, they can lose the weight and get back into shape, but it takes years.  It can be done.  It boils down to daily choices, they make up a lifetime.

Some of my easy daily routines:

1. I get up and drink a big glass of water.
2. I try and get as much protein as I can for breakfast.  No cereal.  (This morning I had left-over curry chicken with pineapple, peppers and broccoli.)
3. I take supplements (always Catalyn, Cruciferous complete, Cataplex B, Cardio-Plus, Adrenal Complex, Rhodiola & Ginseng).  I take other stuff depending on my needs.  But this is the basics.
4. I spend a little quite time before patients start coming.  (mental health)
5. I love a big lunch, more protein if possible.

Some less than daily things for health:

1. I lift weights every 2-3 days at home.  Area365.com forces me to keep up and publish more workouts and fitness information.  It helps me and patients.
2. I get adjusted weekly.  I feel so much better and my body works better.  The older I get the more I appreciate this.  This is a secret to growing old gracefully.  Here is this mornings story:

“It took a year and a half, but my knee feels better now.  I had knee pain going down the stairs.  I never thought to tell Dr. Altman about it, and I come every month.  After a couple of adjustments, it was quite a bit better.  Now I don’t even notice it.”
-Agnes Bushard

Just in case you don’t know what we do, here is a short list of what I adjusted today.

• Ankles

• Knees
• Hips
• Elbows
• Wrists
• Fingers
• Ribs (front and back)
• Collar bones

3. Help the world get a little healthier one day at a time, sign them up to get these emails on our website  www.docaltman.com  A few articles a week will keep you on track.

4. Try this,  give away your clothes that are “too” big for you right now.  French women don’t really use a scale to measure their bodies, they use clothes.  If they start to get tight, they workout more or eat better and get back in shape to fit in the clothes again.  They don’t go buy bigger clothes.

5. Remember to just do a little each day.  Put down the donuts at church and have an apple when you get home.