Fitness and Health

Fitness is gained through a number of ways, primarily strength training and cardio exercise.  If you are new to fitness training, check with your physician or health care professional for advice. Take it easy to start as you can increase your effort as you go. Make it fun and enjoyable but you’ll need to push yourself some but not to exhaustion. The comments on this webpage are mine and based on my experience. You are encouraged to seek advice from others to corroborate it and learn more. If you feel lightheaded, dizzy or otherwise uncomfortable slow down and walk or stop or sit down if needed. 

You can workout at home with weights, bands, balls and other equipment. You can use your own body weight and no equipment at all via yoga movements. Cardio benefits help strengthen your heart and give you increased stamina. Walking, swimming, jogging, skiing and other sports that raise your pulse rate will help you achieve better fitness and ultimately a lower, resting heart rate.

Equipment can range from modest cost to expensive as in multifunction home gyms.  Training with modern equipment is available at gyms, fitness centers and clubs. You can even have a trainer come to your house and work with you one-on-one. Some will use Zoom Video Conferences to train you remotely

Be sure to look at videos on YouTube for exercise. There are literally thousands. For those in the Apple Ecosystem, take a look at your iPhone’s Fitness App and check out Apple Fitness+. Here you can find videos from beginner to advanced in a number of fitness programs. With an Apple TV device you can stream it to your TV so it seems like you are in a studio.  Find cycling, yoga, pilates, meditation and so on. Your activity will be tracked on your app so you can see your progress which important.

Fitness, together with healthy eating of nutritious foods, improves your health and wellness and probably enjoyment of life.  You can start easy and mix up your routines to keep up your interest. Set goals and check them off as you achieve them. A training partner makes things more fun and helps keep you motivated if you workout together. It’s important if you are serious to attempt an hour of training daily. 

There are many studies on maximum heart rate formulas. Most popular of them are:

• [ 220 – Age ] – most common and widely used maximum heart rate formula
• [ 207 – 0.7 x Age ] – more precise formula, adjusted for people over the age of 40
• [ 211 – 0.64 x Age ] – slightly more precise formula, adjusted for generally active people

Unfortunately, neither of above-mentioned formulas are gender-adjusted. Generally women tend to have a 5-to-10-beat higher maximum HR than men, so that is additional something to account for.

After calculating your maximum heart rate and starting your training, you can go for 65-70% of your max. As you improve aerobic capacity, you might increase to 70-80+%. Here you begin to experience anaerobic threshold. The anaerobic threshold is the highest exercise intensity that you can sustain for a prolonged period without lactate substantially building. Talk to your trainer or physician as you attempt training at this high level.

An Apple Watch or heart monitor will show you how you are doing so you can try to stay in your preferred zone. 

When the weather is hot you may have to dial back outside activities but you can keep going as you acclimate. When it’s cold, dress appropriately and you can peel off layers as you warm up. ALWAYS be sure to stay hydrated whether it’s warm or cool weather. If it’s especially hot, drink water or maybe some sports drinks before you start. Limit the sports drinks with lots of sugar. A little is ok, but better to drink that bottle of water. For long sessions with higher exertion, you’ll need some fuel too in the form of “energy” bars or gels such as Luna, Cliff, Goo or other similar products available at grocers or running stores. Keep the water intake up and drink while exercising, even if you don’t really feel thirsty.

The pictures show the kinds of things that will help keep you healthy whatever the season.

The video below is a swim on the Spurwink River  going upstream from Higgins Beach, Maine. It’s a pleasant two mile swim that we have to time with the tide. If you are too near low tide you’ll have to wade over some sandbars. Enjoy nature where you can especially with family and friends. Swimming is a great cardio exercise to give you a break from running. 

It’s never too late to start improving your health. A long time runner told me, “Dead last, beats did not finish, which definitely beats, NEVER STARTED.”