Exercise: Simple habits college graduates do more often that radically improve their health

By Dr. Mercola

The CDC’s Summary Health Statistics, 2009 have been released, and it comes with some compelling figures for the overall picture of healthy people – and who don’t – among US adults. When it comes to how education affects health, it turns out that the more educated you are, the healthier you are.

The survey, which included data from more than 27,700 adults in the United States, found that college-educated people were more physically active and had a lower risk of heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other diseases. Other chronic health problems such as back pain, kidney and liver disease. or migraine headache.

The two are certainly linked, as exercise is directly linked to a reduced risk of many of the chronic diseases on that list. You certainly don’t have to go to college to get fit or realize you should, so wherever you go, it’s a simple health habit to keep in mind.

The majority of adults in the United States do NOT engage in vigorous physical activity

It’s true that college graduates seem to exercise more than most Americans, but that doesn’t say much when you consider the survey that found 55% of adults 18 years of age and older. never engage in any period of vigorous physical activity lasting 10 minutes or more per week.

When comparing activity levels between people with different educational backgrounds, the data showed that 79% of adults with a high school diploma had never exercised vigorously compared to 41% of adults with a high school diploma. bachelor’s degree or higher.

However, among those with a bachelor’s degree or higher, only 39% exercised vigorously three or more times a week, compared with 13% of adults with less than a high school diploma. These are staggering numbers no matter how you look at it, as overall only 28 percent of US adults engage in such activity three or more times a week!

What makes this finding even more poignant is that although most Americans don’t exercise nearly as much as they need for optimal health, 61% said they are in excellent or very good health. But it’s almost impossible to achieve great health if you don’t exercise! Of course, if you choose not to exercise, the only person being fooled is you!

Simple way to improve your exercise performance by 15%

The use of music by exercisers and sports enthusiasts is quite common and this fun addition can really make your workouts more effective by allowing you to work out. harder. Different types of music scores evoke different emotions, such as joy or melancholy, and certain types of music can spur you to run faster or keep running even when you’re tired. .

I find music to be an amazingly effective motivator to push me to the next level, and research shows this as well.

A new study published in the journal The Sport and Practice Scientist shows that responding to certain types of music can have a power-boosting effect by reducing feelings of fatigue or increasing performance. with a higher level of endurance, strength, productivity or strength than expected. To get the most benefit, the “right” music must be chosen, and researchers have determined the most effective music for exercise should be:

• Function for activity (rhythm should match your movement)
• Selected with desired effects (loud, fast music, percussion with lots of bass will increase stimulation, slower music will help you relax, cool down, etc.)
• Accompanied by lyrics related to movement, such as “the only way is up”
• In a tempo range of 125-140 beats per minute for most people

However, you don’t have to get bogged down in the details as choosing music is a highly personal and intuitive process. When a song gets you energized and starts working out, you know it, and these are the types of songs you should add to your workout playlist.

Studies have shown that listening to music while exercising can increase your endurance by 15 percent and your movements will likely follow the tempo of the song. For example, in one study where the tempo of the music slowed, the subjects’ exercise levels decreased as well. And when the tempo is increased, so does their performance. Your body may simply be responding to the beat on a more or less subconscious level, but the type and tempo of the music you choose to exercise can also affect your conscious motivation.

And together, the synchronicity of moving to the beat and being driven by the music itself allows it to work its magic.

Did You Know Exercise Can Do All This?

You know Exercise is good for you, right?

But did you know that, last year, after reviewing 40 articles published between 2006 and 2010, researchers found that exercise reduces the risk of two dozen health conditions, from cancer and heart disease to type 2 diabetes, stroke, dementia and depression? It even slows down its own aging rate! There are so many benefits of exercise that I can gain in this space, so I’ll just name a few of them.

One of the main benefits of exercise is that it normalizes your insulin and leptin levels, with the side benefits of weight loss and blood sugar normalization (I mentioned the survey found 35 % of adults are overweight and 27% are obese?weight loss is an advantage many people can benefit from). These basic elements in turn pour outward, creating a ripple effect of positive health benefits, including:

In fact, fitness is a much better indicator of overall health and longevity than body mass index (BMI). This means that even if you are overweight or obese, exercise will give you measurable benefits above and beyond weight loss.

Vigorous exercise even increases growth hormone production

Human growth hormone (HGH) is often referred to as the “fitness hormone.” The higher your growth hormone levels, the healthier and stronger you will be. When you turn 30, you enter the so-called “somatopause”, at which point your human HGH levels begin to drop dramatically. This decline in HGH is partly responsible for accelerating your aging process, so maintaining HGH levels becomes increasingly important with age. The longer you can keep your body producing higher levels of HGH, the better your health and strength will be.

Many people choose to inject it for this reason, even though it is a banned substance in almost every professional sport. However, I do not recommend HGH injections, due to potential side effects and cost.

Fortunately, your body produces HGH naturally when you work your super-fast muscle fibers during intense, vigorous exercise like Peak Fitness. This is why it is a pity that the majority of Americans do NOT exercise vigorously with high-intensity interval training, as they completely miss this powerful anti-aging strategy.

I have previously discussed in great detail how to properly perform Peak Fitness exercises, but to summarize the main concept: there are three different types of muscle fibers – slow, fast, and fast 2A (superfast) – and types Different exercises involve one or more of these muscle groups. In order for your body to naturally increase HGH production, you must engage your fast 2A muscle fibers.

Strength training, or types of plyometric burst exercises, will engage your fast muscle fibers. However, only high-intensity cardio exercises, such as Peak Fitness, will target your fast 2A fibers. and promote HGH. Traditionally performed aerobic cardio only works with your slow muscle fibers and can actually interfere with natural HGH production by causing your fast 2A fibers to atrophy from lack of use. Peak Fitness can be done with or without exercise equipment, although I prefer to use a side bike or elliptical machine and it is best to take only 20 minutes two or three times a week to reap all the benefits. both benefits.

Here are the key principles, along with a video demonstration below:

1. Warm up in three minutes
2. Then try as hard as you can for 30 seconds
3. Recovers for 90 seconds (still moving, only reduced intensity)
4. Repeat 7 more times for a total of 8 reps
5. Cool down for a few minutes afterwards by reducing the intensity to 50-80 percent

What Other Types of Exercise Are Important?

If you’ve just returned to exercise, you’ll need to take it slow. Trying to do too much at once can lead to burnout and make you less likely to continue your program.

To start, you can try jogging for a very short period of time and gradually increase it over time. Or you can try alternating walking with periods of brisk walking to combine the ultimate Fitness mindset. Then, as your body grows more conditioned, you can ramp up your workout to a higher intensity.

Also remember that it’s best to vary your exercises to include all of the different aspects of strength, endurance, and flexibility, such as:

• The ultimate exercise
• Regular aerobics
• Strength training
• Core exercise
• Prolonged

You also don’t need to fall into an exercise “routine”, as you can easily change the routine to keep yourself interested. In addition to Peak Fitness, my new approach now is Pilates, which I started a few months ago. I do private training with a certified instructor who is a fanatic about doing exercises properly, and I really enjoy it and look forward to the changes it will make. out in my core strength and flexibility. Yoga is another great exercise that is used and enjoyed by many people. If you don’t know where to start, I have tons of free tools on my site to help you get started.

My beginner’s fitness page includes many tips and tutorials, as well as links to other helpful information. If you are experiencing emotional resistance, you might want to try some of the recommendations from Five Ways to Get Your Fitness Habit Back, and remind yourself how much you have to gain to gain from it!

A meta-analysis, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, included a total of 22 studies that assessed the effects of exercise on mortality rates for nearly 1 million people. It clearly turns out that if you currently live a very sedentary lifestyle, simply incorporating some light to moderate activity, five days a week, can significantly reduce your mortality rate. Those who engaged in moderate-intensity activity seven days a week reduced their risk of death from 19 to 24 percent.

So the more you put in, the more you get, but for a little bit of hard work that takes up only a fraction of your time in a day, you’ll get huge health benefits. their physical and mental health. and behave well.

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