How Much Exercise Do You Need? Author: Dr. Pierre DuBois

“Exercise” Versus “Lifestyle Activity”: How Active Are You – Really? 

The

most frequent questions I get are: “How much exercise do I need?” and “What’s the best way of getting that exercise?” If you are like most people, working out just for the sake of working out does not really appeal (although there are many dedicated gym buffs who couldn’t live without their daily workouts!).

We all know that it’s important to exercise regularly if we want to live a long and healthy life. However, if you find the idea of trotting along on a treadmill for 15 minutes and then spending half an hour of working out on Nautilus machines to be about as exciting as a trip to the dentist, then this article is for you!

What the Experts Recommend:

Experts recommend that we get at least 150 minutes of exercise each week to stay in shape. But many people find taking this much exercise at once (or in three 50-minute stretches) too daunting. The good news is that a recent study conducted by researchers at Boston University that was published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that bouts of exercise lasting less than 10 minutes a couple of times daily, such as the kind you get when cleaning the house, were sufficient to meet your weekly exercise needs.

What the Study Showed

Over 2,000 participants were included in the study, more than half of whom were overweight. Motion detectors were attached to each of the subjects for eight days, and an average of half the participants met their weekly exercise quota of 150 minutes. The average participant met his or her quota with exercise that lasted less than 10 minutes at a time. The types of exercise ranged from moderate (heavy cleaning, walking briskly and sports such as golf and badminton) to vigorous (running, hiking, shoveling and farm work).

As long as the participants met their 150-minute per week quota, no matter the length of their exercise, they had lower body mass index, smaller waists, lower triglycerides and better cholesterol levels than those who did not meet the quota.

Assistant professor at Boston University’s School of Medicine, Nicole Glazer, says “This study really speaks to the idea that some activity is better than nothing. Parking a little bit farther away, getting off the bus one stop early – all of these little things can add up and are related to a healthier profile.”

For years, researchers have studied the effects of exercise from practicing sports or visiting the gym. However, according to Glazer, “This idea of lifestyle activity is one that is under-measured in research studies.” Activities such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, using a push mower instead of a riding mower, etc. can add up to a significant amount of energy expenditure. Experts still stress that it’s important to also get in some traditional forms of exercise and not merely replace it with lifestyle activity. Still, any exercise is useful.

“The levels of sedentary behavior in this country are alarming. So the concern that someone’s going to stop exercising and instead just get off the bus a stop earlier, that’s not my concern,” Glazer says. “The real question is, is this a stepping-stone? Is this the way we can get inactive people to do any sort of activity? People will come up with any excuse to not exercise. I don’t need to worry about my giving them one. They’ll be able to think of something.”

The Bottom Line:

•Experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise a week
•That doesn’t mean that you need to be a gym rat or marathoner. Ten minute exercise intervals centered around everyday lifestyle activities can be sufficient.
•So you are out of excuses. You have the time. You have all the equipment you need. You don’t even need special workout clothes.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Chronic pain and illness can inhibit you from engaging in a regular exercise program. Chiropractic care could be the answer! At Dawn of Health Chiropractic, we make sure that your nervous system is clear and free of interference. Your Nervous System is the way your brain communicates with your body and any interference in those messages causes dysfunction in your muscles, tissues and organs. We focus on removing this interference and allowing your body to function at its maximum potential. Please call us at 919-303-2213 to schedule an AT NO CHARGE consultation to see how we can help you get the most our of your life!

Headaches present many different ways as you can see from the picture above. Knowing what type of headache you are having is important as well as paying attention to when you are having headaches. Many people try to mask the headache with drugs only to have another headache. Why? The drugs only mask the symptoms…ie. the headache. The drugs don’t resolve the real reason why you have a headache. At Dawn of Health Chiropractic, we offer a low-force and gentle chiropractic approach to find the cause, correct it and allow your body to function better!

If you or anyone you know suffers from headaches, call us at 919-303-2213 to set up a consultation with Dr. Strunk AT NO CHARGE.

Chiropractic was founded on a premium philosophy…God put the most amazing healing power inside each of us. He breathed His own life in to our bodies and formed us with His own hands. Whether one believes in God or not, it is a scientific fact that the human body has an inborn wisdom. It is a self-healing, self-regulating organism capable of not only staying well, but overcoming any disease or illness known to man. All the healing power is in the human brain. The brain’s only job is to keep every organ, cell and tissue functioning and healing for up to 120 years proven through medical research performed at Harvard University. The brain travels through the brain stem, down the spinal cord and over the nerves to the body. The nerve system (brain, brain stem, spinal cord and nerves) is the only organ in the entire body encased with bone. The skull wraps the brain along with 24 movable vertebrae shielding the spinal cord and nerve roots. When the spine is in its proper alignment the nerve system is protected, allowing for 100% communication from the brain to the organs. For you to be truly healthy there must be a brain-body connection with no interference. Have you ever had your Nervous System checked for interference??

Are you healthy? Is the lack of symptoms enough evidence to prove that you are in fact, healthy? …NO!

Health comes from the inside out, and is dependent upon our body’s ability to regulate itself. When our bodies become sick, they are losing a battle with the stressors that continually bombard the body from many different directions. We need to eliminate these stressors, remove any nerve interference with Chiropractic Care and give the body the proper fuel, so that when bombarded, we are able to deal with these stressors.

It is important that we realize that a lack of symptoms isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Let’s take the high blood pressure debate raging on in our country today. A patient goes in for a routine annual physical. They are diagnosed with “high blood pressure.” This is a symptom. It is the bodies warning sign that it is not able to regulate the blood pressure correctly. What is causing this increase in blood pressure? The doctor prescribes a medication to lower the blood pressure. Months go by and the patient is seen for a follow up appointment. The blood pressure has stabilized and is deemed normal. The drug is working. But has the drug moved this patient any closer to health? The answer is no. They are not any healthier than they were before. In fact, some would argue that they are farther from health, because they have yet to address why their body was not able to respond to the stressors and regulate without the use of the drugs. And now they are at risk from the prolonged use of high blood pressure medications, and the side effects that are associated with them. Their symptoms are gone, but they are not healthier.

Diagnosing chronic illnesses and treating them with drugs and surgery is not the way to prolong healthy life and save money. The only way is by educating people on their lifestyle choices will affect their overall health and most importantly being free of nervous interference. Our bodies are healthy and resilient when we create the proper environment and take responsibility for our health. At Dawn of Health Chiropractic, we specialize in removing the cause of nervous system interference allowing your body to express themselves as they were designed to do.

Please call us today to schedule a FREE consultation to get your Nervous System checked!  Also, you can visit www.dawnofhealthchiropractic.com to learn more about us and our office. 

If you or anyone you know has back pain and would like to try a gentle, non-invasive approach to target the CAUSE of the problem, call us at Dawn of Health Chiropractic. Call 919-303-2213 to “Regain your health, for a better life!”