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You may circulate copies of the Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Newsletter by Manually forwarding it, providing you forward the issue in it’s entirety, no fee is involved, and you may forward no more than three issues to any one individual. You may not attach advertising or otherwise modify the text of the newsletter.

Senior Exercise & Health Newsletter

       December 1, 2008      Issue Vol. 8  No. 12

      From time to time we offer “IN HOUSE” specials  

          on our Website: www.doctorsexercise.com

Savings are substantial***

Be sure to check them out.

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Need a gift for a loved one or friend? Giving a gift of

                 health is giving a gift of love! 

In This Newsletter

Introduction

Healthfully yours

Health Hints

Introduction***

The Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Health Newsletter is written monthly, solely for information to help seniors, baby boomers and anyone who may have an interest in staying healthy, living a vigorous, active lifestyle and combating the aging process. It does not constitute the practice of medicine and is not meant to prescribe treatments. It is offered strictly as an educational aid. Any medical problems you may have, we recommend that you seek the help of your physician or other healthcare professional. Discussing your intentions with your doctor is always the proper procedure. The newsletter also includes know-how in the form of useful tips and links to more extensive material on the Internet. You may wish to share this newsletter by sending a copy to a friend, neighbor or relative and suggesting they subscribe to it.

This newsletter is scanned for viruses and is virus-free before it is sent to recipients!

Website: http://www.doctorsexercise.com 

How to Subscribe or Unsubscribe: Send your email address with subscribe or unsubscribe to e-mail address below:

E-Mail address: doc1@gate.net 

Healthfully yours****

Exercise—Do’s and Don’ts

There are literally hundreds of exercise programs available and it seems there is always another touted each day. It can be a very daunting task to pick one that is right for you. In choosing an exercise program that is right for you, the first rule of thumb is to discuss it with you healthcare provider. Several factors will need to be considered. Your healthcare provider will take into consideration, your age, physical condition and any conditions that can impact your ability in doing certain exercises.

After receiving the recommendations of your healthcare provider as to the length, type and intensity of exercise you can perform, it will be up to you to pick an exercise program that you are comfortable with. This is where it can become a hit and miss way of finding a program you will be happy with. It is a known fact that most people who start an exercise program will abandon the program within a month or less.

In choosing a program, one has to take into consideration, how much time you can devote to it, the time of day that is best for you, and do you wish to travel to a gym, or exercise at home. I personally have gone through this dilemma well over twelve years ago. Being busy in the office, I did not have the time, and frankly the desire to go to a gym. With this in mind, I decided to develop my own exercise program that could be performed at home. There were a few criteria that I wanted in the program. The program was to be a non-impact, full body workout, without the use of any equipment or gadgets. It was a program that can be performed in the home, or even in a hotel room when travelling, and of course time was off the essence. The entire program was to take only 15-20 minutes.

With these specifics in mind, I developed the “Doctor’s Senior Exercise” program. It should also be mentioned; this is a program that should not really be relegated as age specific because of the word senior in the title. The program lends itself to any age group and is excellent for group performance as well. More information can be found at: www.doctorsexercise.com.

The reasons for exercising are many. Any individual, no matter the age, can improve the quality of their life and add years to their longevity. Exercising regularly will make the individual more independent by improving their vigor. This can prevent falls and possible fractures. There are many more benefits, such as improving and preventing cardiovascular, circulatory conditions, colon cancers and type 2 diabetes. Exercise is also an excellent mood lifter and helps prevent stress and depressive states. In addition to managing to control weight, it builds your muscle strength and maintains the integrity of the skeletal structure.     

Specific do’s and don’ts when doing any exercise program are listed in the health hints below.  

Health Hints***

1.      As mentioned above, first discuss your ability to exercise with your healthcare provider. Individuals with breathing problems may need special deep breathing exercises. These exercises can dramatically improve their physical conditions and ability to exercise on a regular basis.

2.      Choose an exercise program that you will be comfortable with and one you will be dedicated too. You will know you have the right program if you feel guilty when missing to do it for one or two days in a row.

3.      When starting an exercise program, start slowly and increase it’s intensity and reps gradually until you feel you are at a comfortable level and reaping the benefits you should be getting.

4.      If at all possible, do your exercise program on arising. This will help loosen your joints and muscles that have stiffened during the night. This will help invigorate you for the rest of the day

5.      Do not over-do exercising until you feel exhausted. Constantly overdoing exercise can impair your immune system increasing stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline.

6.      Do not concentrate on exercises that target one area of the body only. For example do not exercise the upper extremities only. It is important to do total body exercises so that you develop and strengthen the muscles that support the spine and pelvis.

7.      Do not eat before exercising. It can take 3-4 hours for the food to leave the stomach. The stomach requires at least 80% of the blood circulation it can get to use in the digestive process. Exercise will draw this needed blood from the stomach to the muscles of the body.

8.      Eating a few hours after exercising will help restore needed glycogen to the muscles. This is the sugar stored in the muscles before exercising.

9.      Do not exercise if you have a chest cold. However, if your cold is confined to the head only, exercising is permitted. 

10.  Exercise in obesity is an important adjunct as a weight reduction adjunct. The obese individual will use more calories with the same amount of exercise than those who are not obese. Therefore, a regular exercise program in combination with a diet that reduces the normal daily calorie intake by least 500 calories will help the individual with a slow but gradual weight loss.

11.   Aerobic exercise can aid in the prevention of athersclerosis. The exercise to be effective should be performed for 12-15 minutes without stopping. The object is to raise your pulse rate from 30 to 50 beats per minute. To obtain your desired heart rate per minute, use the following formula: -  220 minus your age times 75 percent.

12.  When you stop exercising for any length of time, you will start to lose muscle tone as well as any cardiovascular benefits you had while exercising.

13.  And finally, for those living sedentary lives, no matter how old you are, it’s never too late to start an exercise program after discussing your physical capabilities with your healthcare provider. 

Doc Cane        

Copyright, Disclaimer, and Trademark information Copyrightã 1997-2003 Emanuel M. Cane. All rights reserved. Except stated below, this material or parts thereof may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed by any means whatsoever without explicit, written permission from the author.

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You may circulate copies of the Doctor’s Senior Exercise & Newsletter by Manually forwarding it, providing you forward the issue in it’s entirety, no fee is involved, and you may forward no more than three issues to any one individual. You may not attach advertising or otherwise modify the text of the newsletter.

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