Thursday, November 18, 2021

Can You Play Catch-Up With Exercise

 I found this post today and it’s worth reblogging. This is a question often asked. Even people in good physical condition are prone to miss workouts. Maybe because of your job or maybe your family or maybe we haven’t workout in years and want to start all over again. This author answers that question. Exercise at any age will improve your health. Once you start, stay with it and over time your vitals will improve and you will lose body fat.

By Brenda Goodman, MA
We’re are approaching the new year, and for many of us, that means our resolutions to eat better, get more sleep, and exercise are probably running headlong into real life.

Sure, it’s great to get to the gym every day, but sometimes a daily workout has to go if you’ve been up all night with a sick child or maybe you’re not ready to get back to the gym. Ditto for the idea of packing a healthy lunch and getting plenty of shut-eye.

But don’t give up. Science shows that even if you’ve been less than perfect, you can still reap big health benefits if you catch up.

Didn’t exercise enough last week? Being a weekend warrior has almost as many benefits as Monday-through-Friday workouts. Didn’t get enough shut-eye? Extra ZZZs for a couple of nights can help undo some of the physical harms of cheating your sleep. Ate too much? Studies show that you can make up for overindulging — and even lose some weight — by just being a part-time calorie counter. In fact, experts say, embracing imperfection can help you reach your health goals.

Weekend Warriors Still Win

Before you read on, I want you to know that I tried the hit and miss game when I was trying to lose weight. If you’re doing maintenance you can play that game of missing some workout or overindulging once in a while, but when you’re trying to lose pounds I found it hard to cheat without gaining the weight I lost. In other words, if I was on course to lose 2 pounds a week and I had been losing for several weeks, just one binge meal might cost me a week of progress. I would stop losing, and maybe in gain a pound, but if might take me two weeks before I’d start to lose again.

You’ve probably heard that you need to get about 150 minutes of moderate physical activity like brisk walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity like jogging, or some mix of the two, each week. But very few of us reach that goal, which is recommended by the CDC and World Health Organization.

In fact, most Americans get less than 10 minutes of moderate exercise every day, according to a 2015 study that used data collected on nearly 8,000 adults who wore activity monitors for a week. A tiny fraction of people in that study — about 3% — were barely active during the week, but they made up for it on weekends, averaging about an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity on both Saturday and Sunday.

Now, a new study suggests these “weekend warriors” may be on to something. The study, which included data from more than 63,000 adults in the U.K., found that adults who reported meeting physical activity recommendations by squeezing all their exercise into just one or two sessions a week had a 30% lower risk of early death than people who got no exercise at all. They also had a lower chance of dying from cancer or heart disease than people who were sedentary.

Okay, I can see that something is better than nothing, but you can’t lose weight being a weekend warrior. If you are doing maintenance and are in fit condition, then a weekend warrior might be able to stay fit with two hours or so of extreme exercise on the weekends.

My secret is every day, even if it’s only for 10 minutes, I’ll run through all the exercise I can squeeze as fast as I can. If that’s 10 minutes, okay, tomorrow I’ll do more, but every day I do some exercise. And If I have time, I’ll do yoga after dinner. I’ve been doing this for a few years and have no trouble maintaining my weight strength.

The secret to good health is to lose your body fat and strengthen your muscles. By doing this you’ll increase your blood flow and become a healthier person. When your body is functioning properly, which doesn’t just mean that your feeling fine, it means that all your organs are doing what they should be doing, you will be a much healthier, happier person who doesn’t have to depend on their doctor for their quality of life. 

I'll add one tip: Missing occasionally won't hurt your fitness plans, but those who miss too many times tend to ease off their plan and end up quitting so be careful.

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.

If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 









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