Exercise is America’s solution to stopping 75% of disease!

Remember how I told you about my goal in life, to leave this world a better place than I found it? To get fired up each morning, I have a routine (spiritual, physical, and mental)…

Today, I’d like to talk about the importance of our physical routines. Okay, I know many of you think I am perhaps a bit too skinny; but there’s a story. I didn’t used to be this thin. In fact, I had pretty much let myself go while I was busy building the health clinics you all enjoy today.

I had put quite a bit of weight on….. I wasn’t listening to my body…. In case you missed my earlier newsletter on how I was confined to a wheelchair, you can read it HERE.

I have been recovering from my spinal trauma since 2019, by practicing yoga and stretching exercises, working up to some light weight training this Fall. Trust me, it’s not the most enjoyable part of my day, but the rewards give me such joy! I started off focusing on the goal of simply being able to walk (to the bathroom) again. Then, being able to come back in the office to see all of you. Next, it was to be able to pick up my daughter. Now it’s to be able to go fishing, swim and play with my daughter, even swing a golf club! My, how I’ve improved. It’s just taken time, two long years of time, and focusing on the end results to get me through each session!

I share my story, not to get sympathy, but to tell you from personal experience; that if you don’t take care of your body and listen to it’s subtle reminders (your pants getting tight, your joints aching, constipation, etc.) your body will take to more extreme measures to MAKE you pay attention! Don’t wait until you blow out your knees, have a heart attack, get a blood clot, or rupture a disc to pay attention. Trust me, it’s MUCH easier to dedicate a few minutes each week to stay in shape, than to be bedridden for weeks or months on end….

The good news is it doesn’t take a lot of time when doing the right kindof exercises. Plus, a regular exercise routine increases your overall level of fitness, which in turn boosts your immune system and makes you more resilient to illnesses.

According to the CDC, only 50% of Americans are getting the exercise they need. We as a nation are making ourselves sick with diabetes, heart disease, strokes, bladder cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, stomach cancer, depression, hip fractures, arthritis, and premature death, to name a few! Per the CDC , exercise can improve all of these illnesses (Link to the CDC article HERE). Surprised? This can be an easy fix….

As part of our “Make America Healthy Again” series, let’s dive into exercise, the minimums needed, immediate benefits, how to get started, and the best kinds.

Regular physical activity is one of the most important things you can do for your health.

If you’re not sure about becoming active or boosting your level of physical activity because you’re afraid of getting hurt, the good news is that moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, is generally safe for most people.

IMMEDIATE BENEFITS

A single bout of moderate-to vigorous physical activity provides immediate benefits for your health.

Some benefits of physical activity on brain health happen right after a session of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Benefits include improved thinking or cognition and reduced short-term feelings of anxiety for adults. Regular physical activity can help keep your thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp. It can also reduce your risk of depression and anxiety and help you sleep better.

LONG-TERM BENEFITS

Regular physical activity provides important health benefits for chronic disease prevention.

  1. Brain Health
    – Reduces risks of developing dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) and reduces risk of depression

  2. Heart Health
    – Lowers risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes

  3. Cancer Prevention
    - Lowers risk of eight cancers: bladder, breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, lung, and stomach

  4. Healthy Weight
    – Reduces risk of weight gain

  5. Bone Strength
    – Improves bone health

  6. Balance and Coordination
    – Reduces risks of falls

  7. Boosts immune function

REDUCE YOUR HEALTH RISK

Cardiovascular Disease:

Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death in the United States. Following the recommendations and getting at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity can put you at a lower risk for these diseases. You can reduce your risk even further with more physical activity. Regular physical activity can also lower your blood pressure and improve your cholesterol levels.

Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome:

Regular physical activity can reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is some combination of too much fat around the waist, high blood pressure, low High Density Lipoproteins (HDL) cholesterol, high triglycerides, or high blood sugar. People start to see benefits at levels of physical activity below the recommended 150 minutes a week. Additional amounts of physical activity seem to lower risk even more.

Already have type 2 diabetes?

Regular physical activity can help you control your blood glucose levels.

Cancer:

Being physically active lowers your risk for developing several commonly occurring cancers. Research shows that adults who participate in greater amounts of physical activity have reduced risks of developing cancers of the:

  • Bladder

  • Breast

  • Colon (proximal and distal)

  • Endometrium

  • Esophagus (adenocarcinoma)

  • Kidney

  • Lung

  • Stomach (cardia and non-cardia adenocarcinoma)

Improve your quality of life. If you are a cancer survivor, research shows that getting regular physical activity not only helps give you a better quality of life, but also improves your physical fitness.

Strengthen Your Bones and Muscles:

As you age, it’s important to protect your bones, joints, and muscles – they support your body and help you move. Keeping bones, joints, and muscles healthy can help ensure that you’re able to do your daily activities and be physically active. Doing aerobic, muscle-strengthening, and bone-strengthening physical activity at a moderately-intense level can slow the loss of bone density that comes with age.

Hip fracture is a serious health condition that can have life-changing negative effects, especially if you’re an older adult. Physically active people have a lower risk of hip fracture than inactive people.

Regular physical activity helps with arthritis and other rheumatic conditions affecting the joints. Doing 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity, if able, plus muscle-strengthening activity improves your ability to manage pain and do everyday tasks and improves quality of life.

Build strong, healthy muscles. Muscle-strengthening activities like lifting weights can help you increase or maintain your muscle mass and strength. Slowly increasing the amount of weight and number of repetitions you do as part of muscle strengthening activities will give you even more benefits, no matter your age.

How does this relate to physical activity? If you’re a physically active middle-aged or older adult, you have a lower risk of functional limitations than people who are inactive.

 Multicomponent physical activity is physical activity that includes more than one type of physical activity, such as aerobic, muscle strengthening, and balance training. Multicomponent physical activity can be done at home or in a community setting as part of a structured program.

Increase Your Chances of Living Longer:

Science shows that physical activity can reduce your risk of dying early from leading causes of death, like heart disease and some cancers. This is remarkable in two ways:

  1. Only a few lifestyle choices have as large an impact on your health as physical activity. People who are physically active for about 150 minutes a week have a 33% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who are physically inactive.

  2. You don’t have to do high amounts of activity or vigorous-intensity activity to reduce your risk of premature death. Benefits start to accumulate with ANY amount of moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity.

HOW TO GET MOTIVATED!

If you have not been physically active in a while, you may wonder how to get started again. Here are some tips:

  • Look for opportunities to reduce sedentary time and to increase active time. For example, instead of watching TV, take a walk after dinner.

  • Set aside specific times to make physical activity part of your daily or weekly routine.

  • Start with activities, locations, and times you enjoy. For example, you might like morning walks in your neighborhood; others might prefer an online class after work.

  • Try activities with members of your household for motivation and mutual encouragement.

  • Start slowly and work your way up to more physically challenging activities. For many people, walking is a particularly good place to begin.

  • For example, you could break the recommended 150 minutes of physical activity each week into smaller amounts of about 25 minutes a day every day.

STRATEGIES TO OVERCOMING OBSTACLES…

As you just start, the obstacles might seem difficult to overcome. The following list offers common obstacles and strategies for overcoming them.

Obstacle: I don’t have time to be physically active. Try this: Monitor your daily activities for one week. Identify at least three 30-minute time slots you could use for physical activity.

Obstacle: I don’t have anyone to go with me. Try this: Develop new friendships with physically active people. Join a group, such as the YMCA or a hiking club.

Obstacle: I’m so tired when I get home from work. Try this: Schedule physical activity for times in the day or week when you feel energetic.

Obstacle: I have so much on my “to do” list already, how can I do physical activity too? Try this: Plan ahead. Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule by writing it on your calendar. Keep the appointment with yourself.

Obstacle: I’ll probably hurt myself if I try to be more physically active. Try this: Consult with a health professional or educational material to learn how to exercise appropriately for your age, fitness level, skill level, and health status.

Obstacle: I’m not coordinated. I can’t learn something new at my age! Try this: Skip the dance classes if they require coordination; choose activities such as walking or biking instead.

Obstacle: My job requires me to be on the road; it’s impossible for me to exercise. Try this: Stay in places with swimming pools or exercise facilities. Or find an exercise you enjoy and be sure you can access it on a mobile device wherever you are.

Obstacle: I have small children and it’s impossible to have time to myself for exercise. Try this: Trade babysitting time with a friend, neighbor, or family member who also has small children. As children get older, family bike rides or walks might be another option.

TYPES OF EXERCISE

Aerobic: In this kind of physical activity (also called an endurance
activity or cardio activity), the body’s large muscles move in a rhythmic manner for a sustained period of time. Brisk walking, running, bicycling, jumping rope, and swimming are all examples. Aerobic activity causes a person’s heart to beat faster, and they will breathe harder than normal.

Aerobic physical activity has three components:

  • Intensity, or how hard a person works to do the activity. The intensities most often studied are moderate (equivalent in effort to brisk walking) and vigorous (equivalent in effort to running or jogging);

  • Frequency, or how often a person does aerobic activity; and

  • Duration, or how long a person does an activity in any one session.

Although these components make up an aerobic physical activity profile, research has shown that the total amount of physical activity (minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity in a week, for example) is more important for achieving health benefits than is any one component (frequency, intensity, or duration). All time spent in moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity counts toward meeting the key guidelines.

Muscle-Strengthening Activity

This kind of activity, which includes resistance training and weight lifting, causes the body’s muscles to work or hold against an applied force or weight. These activities often involve lifting relatively heavy objects, such as weights, multiple times to strengthen various muscle groups. Muscle-strengthening activity can also be done by using elastic bands or body weight for resistance (climbing a tree or doing push-ups, for example).

Muscle-strengthening activity has three components:

  • Intensity, or how much weight or force is used relative to how much a person is able to lift;

  • Frequency, or how often a person does muscle-strengthening activity; and

  • Sets and repetitions, or how many times a person does the muscle-strengthening activity, like lifting a weight or doing a push-up (comparable to duration for aerobic activity).

The effects of muscle-strengthening activity are limited to the muscles doing the work. It is important to work all the major muscle groups of the body—the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms.

Bone-Strengthening Activity

This kind of activity (sometimes called weight-bearing or weight-loading activity) produces a force on the bones of the body that promotes bone growth and strength. This force is commonly produced by impact with the ground. Examples of bone-strengthening activity include jumping jacks, running, brisk walking, and weight-lifting exercises. As these examples illustrate, bone-strengthening activities can also be aerobic and muscle strengthening.

Balance Activities

These kinds of activities can improve the ability to resist forces within or outside of the body that cause falls while a person is stationary or moving. Walking backward, standing on one leg, yoga, tai chi, or using a wobble board are examples of balance activities. Strengthening muscles of the back, abdomen, and legs also improves balance.

Flexibility Activities

These kinds of activities enhance the ability of a joint to move through the full range of motion. Stretching exercises, yoga and tai chi are effective in increasing flexibility, and thereby can allow people to more easily do activities that require greater flexibility.

Can High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) be Helpful for Cardiovascular Health?

Most of the benefits of physical activity have been studied with moderate- or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Recent research has examined high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which may provide similar reductions in cardiovascular disease risk factors as those observed with continuous moderate- intensity physical activity. HIIT is a form of interval training that consists of alternating short periods of maximal-effort exercise with less intense recovery periods. This type of exercise can improve insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and body composition in adults.

Interestingly, adults with overweight or obesity, and those at higher risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, tend to have greater cardiovascular benefits when doing HIIT compared to normal-weight or healthy adults.

HOW MUCH TOTAL ACTIVITY IS RECOMMENDED PER WEEK?

When adults do the equivalent of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, the benefits are substantial. These benefits include lower risk of all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Physically active adults also sleep better, have improved cognition, and have better quality of life.

As a person moves from 150 minutes a week toward 300 minutes a week, the health benefits become more extensive. For example, a person who does 300 minutes a week has an even lower risk of heart disease or type 2 diabetes than a person who does 150 minutes a week.

Furthermore, adults who are regularly active at or near the higher end of the key guideline range—300 minutes a week—gain additional health benefits. These additional benefits include further risk reduction for several cancers and prevention of unhealthy weight gain (by physical activity alone).

Older adults should aim to do at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week, or an equivalent amount (75 to 150 minutes) of vigorous-intensity activity. They can also do an equivalent amount of activity by doing both moderate- and vigorous-intensity activity.

Older adults should strongly consider walking as one good way to get aerobic activity. Walking has many health benefits, and it has a low risk of injury. It can be done year round and in many settings.

HOW MANY DAYS A WEEK and FOR HOW LONG?

Aerobic physical activity preferably should be spread throughout the week. Research studies consistently show that activity performed on at least 3 days a week produces health benefits. Spreading physical activity across at least 3 days a week may also help reduce the risk of injury and prevent excessive fatigue.

All amounts of aerobic activity count toward meeting the key guidelines if they are performed at moderate or vigorous intensity. Episodes of physical activity can be divided throughout the day or week, depending on personal preference.

Examples of Different Aerobic Physical Activities and Intensities, Based on Absolute Intensity

When using relative intensity, people pay attention to how physical activity affects their heart rate and breathing. As a rule of thumb, a person doing moderate-intensity aerobic activity can talk, but not sing, during the activity. A person doing vigorous-intensity activity cannot say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.

Moderate-Intensity Activities

  • Walking briskly (2.5 miles per hour or faster)

  • Recreational swimming

  • Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour on level terrain

  • Tennis (doubles)

  • Active forms of yoga (for example, Vinyasa or power yoga)

  • Ballroom or line dancing

  • General yard work and home repair work

  • Exercise classes like water aerobics

Vigorous-Intensity Activities

  • Jogging or running

  • Swimming laps

  • Tennis (singles)

  • Vigorous dancing

  • Bicycling faster than 10 miles per hour

  • Jumping rope

  • Heavy yard work (digging or shoveling, with heart rate increases)

  • Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack

  • High-intensity interval training (HIIT)

  • Exercise classes like vigorous step aerobics or kickboxing

KEY GUIDELINES

Adults have many options for becoming physically active, increasing their physical activity, and staying active throughout their lives. In all cases, adults should try to move more and sit less each day. In deciding how to meet the key guidelines, adults should think about how much physical activity they are already doing and how physically fit they are. 

Inactive or Insufficiently Active Adults

Adults who do not yet do the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week (inactive or insufficiently active) should work gradually toward this goal. The initial amount of activity should be at a light or moderate intensity, for short periods of time, with the sessions spread throughout the week. People likely gain some health benefits even when they replace sitting time with light-intensity activity. Sitting less and doing moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity has even more benefits. The good news is that “some is better than none.”

The biggest gain in benefits occurs when going from no physical activity to being active for just 60 minutes a week.

To reduce risk of injury, it is important to increase the amount of physical activity gradually over a period of weeks to months. For example, an inactive person could start with a walking program consisting of 5 minutes of walking several times each day, 5 to 6 days a week. The length of time could then gradually be increased to 10 minutes per session, 3 times a day, and the walking speed could be increased slowly.

Muscle-strengthening activities should also be gradually increased over time. Initially, these activities can be done just 1 day a week starting at a light or moderate level of effort. Over time, the number of days a week can be increased to 2, and then possibly to more than 2. Each week, the intensity can be increased slightly until it becomes moderate or greater.

Active Adults

Adults who are already active and meet the minimum key guidelines (the equivalent of 150 minutes of moderate- intensity aerobic activity and 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity every week) can gain additional and more extensive health benefits by reducing sedentary behavior and increasing physical activity above this amount. Most adults should increase their aerobic activity to exceed the minimum level and move toward 300 minutes a week. Adults should also do muscle-strengthening activities on at least 2 days each week.

One time-efficient way to achieve greater fitness and health goals is to substitute vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for some moderate-intensity activity. Using the 2-to-1 rule of thumb, doing 150 minutes of vigorous- intensity aerobic activity a week provides about the same benefits as 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity.

Adults are encouraged to do a variety of activities to reduce the risk of injury often caused by doing too much of one kind of activity (this is called an overuse injury).

IN CLOSING…

To be honest, there is NO WAY to Make America Healthy Again without getting Americans moving!

Of the (15) staggering statistics I outlined in our previous newsletter (read HERE if you missed it) over half are directly related to sedentary lifestyles.

From “Preventable chronic diseases accounting for 75% of our nation’s health care spending” to “Obesity rates in children tripling over the last three decades”, it will be impossible to turn these trends around without getting Americans off the couch and from behind our personal devices and computers!


Remember,

We can’t give away our health to any one. Our health is our responsibility, to preserve and protect.

Wellness promotes active awareness and participation in measures that preserve health, both as an individual and in our communities. Maintaining wellness and optimal health is a lifelong, daily personal commitment.

If you are having a hard time getting started with an exercise routine, or just can’t seem to overcome the obstacles to getting started, don’t beat yourself up! Make sure to let us know by calling or telling us when you visit the office, and we will get you the help you need.

Our families need to BE healthy, to STAY healthy, if we want to LIVE as long, or longer, than our parents did.

We need to improve the Health of Americans, NOW!

Maintaining wellness and optimal health is a lifelong, daily commitment by each of us, every parent, and every caregiver in our nation.

The best way to maintain health is to preserve it through a healthful lifestyle rather than waiting until sickness or to address health problems.

I hope that this newsletter today has helped you understand how important physical exercise is, and what you can do to help yourself, family and friends. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a doctor to make a difference. Many times it’s just spreading the word, or setting an example, or even making a phone call to someone that will help make a change in their world.

As you dedicate yourself to educating this generation, you can affect positive health impacts, by helping to prevent a multitude of chronic illness, including PREVENTABLE diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Thank you for joining me in making a huge difference in our children’s future and Making America HEALTHY again!

Please remember the (5) Essentials we talk about at Ferguson Life Health Centers…

  • Mindset

  • Nerve Supply

  • Nutrition

  • EXERCISE

  • Minimizing Toxins

and follow along with me over the next few weeks, to discover what we can do for our children, families and communities to Make America Healthy Again!

Dr Derek Ferguson