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Exercise
for Everyone
"Oh,
I hate running," is one of the most common things I hear a
man say when I suggest that exercise might go a long way toward
helping him feel better. It's almost as if the word "exercise" has,
for many guys, come to mean "pain."
What they don't understand is that you don't start by climbing Mount Everest.
If you're just taking up an exercise program, high-intensity activities such
as running are exactly what you don't want to do. The chance of injury for
an untrained guy is just too high, and you're likely to become discouraged
when you compare your performance to those who've been doing it a while.
Instead, start by looking for activity in your every-day life so you can develop
a base of fitness. There are plenty of low-risk, fun ways to burn calories:
Walk
instead of driving the car
It may not burn calories as quickly as running, but I'll bet that you can walk
a lot longer than you can run. Lousy weather? Try a treadmill; a recent study
found it to be the most effective of the machines. Calories burned (170-pound
man) = 310 per hour.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator
If it's only a few floors, it won't take any longer, and you'll arrive energized.
Calories burned = 500 per hour.
Play golf, but walk and carry or pull
your clubs
You'll get nearly twice as much exercise as in a cart. Calories burned = 425
per hour.
Garden
It uses up more calories than walking 15-minute miles. Calories burned = 375
per hour.
Go Dancing
Sweep your sweetie around the ballroom floor for a workout that's the equivalent
of doing moderate calisthenics. Calories burned = 350 per hour.
Play with your children
A little energetic play—don't get them too excited!—helps
all of you in multiple ways. Calories burned = 310 per hour.
Chores
OK, they're not necessarily fun, but somebody's gotta do it, and you need the
exercise. Mowing the lawn (no riding mowers, now) is a good place to start.
Calories burned = 350 per hour.
To put it all in perspective, you could have been at the office (115 calories
per hour), watching TV (75 calories per hour), or having sex (115 calories
per hour). Fine goals, within limits, but there should be plenty of time for
more energetic pursuits.
Once you've picked up the pace of your life and have begun to feel
more fit, then look into a more-intense form of endurance exercise—maybe
even mountain climbing. Approached sensibly, exercise is fun and
satisfying. Before long
you'll wonder how you got along without it.
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