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                         August 9, 2002

Use exercise principles for better body

Commentary by Maj. Danny J. McMillian
KACH Physical Therapist

One of the remarkable features of the human body is its ability to adapt. Cut a finger, strain a muscle or even break a bone and, unless you continue to mistreat the injury, odds are you will be fine in a matter of days or weeks.

The body also adapts to the everyday stresses placed upon it. If you fail to regularly challenge your body, it tends to grow soft and weak. On the other hand, if you overstress the body, you risk becoming injured or ill. The key is to find a balanced approach to exercise. Over the next few months, this series of articles will help you plan an effective exercise strategy and provide tips to deal with any injuries that may set you back.

Let’s first consider the types of exercise we want to include in our program. Most people think first of endurance exercises such as walking, running, biking or swimming. These exercises have proven health benefits and also allow us to sustain our daily activities with less stress on the cardiovascular system. Increasingly, health and fitness experts are recommending that we supplement endurance exercise with strength training (resistance exercise). Such exercises improve our resistance to injury and counter the natural tendency to lose muscle and add fat as we age. They also improve our ability to lift boxes, climb stairs and push furniture.

In addition to endurance and strength training, mobility exercises should be a part of any fitness program. Seek out exercises that improve flexibility, balance, coordination and movement skills. The benefit will be felt during tasks such as squatting to lift from the ground, reaching to place items on a top shelf and side stepping taxis on NYC streets.

Now that you have an idea of the type of exercises you should perform, it is useful to review some of the key principles of exercise:

- Progression: As mentioned earlier, our bodies adapt to the stress, just not all at once. If you try going directly from the couch to a 10K, odds are you’ll be back on the couch -- resting your injuries. For endurance exercise you should increase the length of your sessions by no more than ten percent per week. If your walks are 30 minutes this week, add no more than three minutes next week. For strength training, you must consider two factors: the total number of repetitions for each exercise and the weight lifted. It is best to increase only one of these factors at a given time. Error on the side of caution when adding more resistance. Five percent or less is recommended.

- Regularity: When it comes to exercise, it’s good to become a creature of habit. Doing little during the week, then going all out on the weekend is a recipe for injury. Plan to train for endurance three to five times per week. For strength training, try to work each major muscle group at least once per week, but no more than every other day. Mobility exercises such as stretching, yoga, and Pilates can be performed daily unless you feel overly sore the next day. If so, cut back to every other day.

- Overload/Recovery: Work, then rest, then repeat. That is all that is meant by overload and recovery. Overload provides the challenge the body needs to get better. Recovery ensures that the body has time to adapt. If you work too hard, too often, injuries and illness are likely to follow. A good rule-of-thumb is to allow the body 48 hours between similar exercise sessions.

- Variety/Specificity: One way to provide recovery and still be active is to have adequate variety in your exercise program. Many individuals do this by alternating days on which they train endurance with days they train for strength. Mobility exercises can be added to either type of workout. Even within your endurance and strength workouts, you can vary the types of exercises. Using multiple modes of exercise in an effort to improve fitness and prevent injury is also called cross training. Specificity, on the other hand, means your workouts look more or less like your goal activity. So if you want to run a 10K, the principle of specificity says you had better do some running. If you only plan to exercise for health and general fitness, specificity is not an issue. Even goal-oriented exercisers often benefit by adding variety to their routines.

If you have questions or want more information, please call the KACH Physical Therapy-Sports Medicine Clinic at 938-3324.