Chiropractic Care and Your Exercise Program
Doing regular vigorous exercise is an important part of a long-term
health strategy. Chiropractic care is another key component of a plan
that includes good nutrition, sufficient rest, and enjoyable activities
and interests with family and friends.
Regular chiropractic care helps make good health possible.
Our bodies need to be in peak condition in order to derive the full
benefits of the exercise we're doing and the good foods we're eating.
Being in peak condition is associated, in large part, with a fully
functioning nervous system and a spinal column that is biomechanically
sound. By identifying and correcting mechanical blockages in your spine
and the related areas of nerve interference, your chiropractor will help
you to function at your peak. As a result, you will gain maximum
benefit from the important steps you're taking to enjoy high levels of
health and wellness.
Everyone knows he or she “should” be doing regular exercise, but
most people have not exercised in so many years that they don’t know
where to begin. As a result, people start and stop various training
programs and routines. They join gyms, buy workout clothes, spend
hard-earned income, and ultimately fail to follow-through because they
don’t have a clear idea of how to exercise effectively.
One of the issues relates to the many choices available. You can
lift weights, swim, ride a bicycle, run, take Pilates classes, take yoga
classes, or play tennis. But the challenge lies in selecting the form
of exercise that’s best for you, and then having the specific knowledge
to begin training in a way that will be beneficial and not harmful.
It’s actually easy to hurt yourself if you’re returning to
exercise after an absence of many years or, for some people, of decades.
Doing too much too soon is a typical cause of an exercise-related
injury. Doing the wrong type of exercise for your level of preparation
is another major cause of these injuries. Getting hurt doing exercise is
a real deal-breaker for people who didn’t really want to exercise in
the first place. If you haven’t exercised in years, finally work up the
motivation to start doing something, and hurt yourself after a few days
or weeks of your new program, quitting and never going back becomes a
very attractive option.
But exercise is a key factor in maintaining overall health and
wellness. If you’re committed to the long-term health and well-being of
yourself and your family, regular vigorous exercise is critical. The
solution, at least in the initial phases of returning to fitness, is
walking for exercise. Walking avoids the vast majority of pitfalls
associated with other types of exercise. Walking is low-impact, requires
minimal equipment, and no gym memberships are needed. Walking is done
outside in fresh air and sunshine, providing many additional benefits
beyond those gained by exercise as such.
Walking is excellent exercise,1 and yet it’s important
to follow some basic guidelines. Starting slowly is the main
consideration. If you haven’t done any vigorous physical activity for
months or years, 10 minutes of walking at a modest pace should be
sufficient for your first day of walking. Five minutes out and five
minutes back. Make 10 minutes your limit even if that amount feels like
too little. It’s always better to do a little less exercise than a
little too much. Add approximately a minute a day, until you’re doing a
30-minute walk at a modest pace. With this quantity of comfortable
walking, you can now begin to increase your pace. Ultimately, 30 minutes
of walking at a brisk pace will provide sufficient health benefits for
most people, based on the principle of five or six vigorous exercise
sessions per week.
The long-term results of such a program are profound.2,3
Consistent vigorous exercise helps to lower blood pressure, prevent
heart disease, reduce the incidence of stroke, reduce the incidence of
diabetes and obesity, and improve outcomes in patients with cancer.
Walking for exercise is an efficient, enjoyable, and easy way to enable
you and your family to begin obtaining these long-term health benefits.
Posts
