Why Do We Workout?

Oh, my hiatus is over and I'm back in business. I was kicking my butt the other day at the gym, one-hour straight of kettlebells, jump rope and running. I actually left a puddle that I had to get a towel and mop up, gym courtesy and all. As I was limping out of the gym doors I had to ask myself why I do this to myself, even more interesting, why do people pay me to do this to them?

The psychology behind choosing exercise over lethargy would probably show that people unleash similar hormones and enzymes when they workout, as they do when they have sex. I'm sure the research is out there, I just don't feel like looking it up; instead I am going to pull from my experience and tell you that it is not any ware near an orgasm but finishing a workout feels oh so good. I put myself through ritualistic torture because I like the way it makes me feel and look.

The thing is it takes a while to get to a point where you actually take pleasure out of the routines that you put yourself through. You really have to break through, and work to obtain a level of fitness that allows for the mix of pleasure and pain. Your physiology will bitch and resist until you create an internal environment that converts the strain as euphoria. Words from the fitness hippie, "just let it happen man."

Video Gamers Guide to Fitness

Can you relate? It is two-o'clock in the morning, it has taken you most of the day to make it to this level and you only have three levels left before you finish. This weekend has been planned for months, your girlfriend actually booked a trip to her parents to coincide with this game release. You have horded enough Mountain Dew and Doritos to last for three days. At this point I am guessing you look less like Kratos and more like Peter Griffin with well conditioned thumbs. I am also guessing that you have called my bluff and exclaimed in defiance, "Ha, what does he know, I don't even have a girlfriend!"

Until the recent release of the Nintendo Wii exercise and video games didn't exactly compliment each other. An article printed in the Science of Mental Health found that kids, specifically boys, are playing video games more then the watch TV. In fact, the study was able to show that eighth-grade boys spent almost one entire day a week playing video games. Is it a huge surprise to see that childhood obesity is on the rise along with game counsel sales?

OK gamer, I know there is little compromise when it comes to how you utilize your free time especially when you have just bought a new game. Even mentioning exercise may seem like some foreign concept you have long ago dismissed as a distraction to more important objectives.

I can't say that I am with you but I do empathize, I like playing my X-box as much as the next guy. However, I am a casual player, I'll play a little on the weekends when it is negative-ten-degrees outside or when I get home from the bars and that Redbull and vodka kicks in. Chances are your average ten-year-old player could kick my butt any day of the week with little to no effort at Halo. So, I am going to give you an "Easter Egg" for how to improve your health level and stamina in the real world.

You can get away with a very respectable home gym for under fifty-dollars consisting of some hand weights and a stability-ball. Then set up a system for yourself as to how you will utilize your equipment throughout the game. For example, every time you die do either ten push-ups, sit-ups or curls; every time you complete a level do a six-exercise circuit. I know this isn't simple, to actually stop play for any amount of time can be annoying but, you may find this compromise might actually help you think better. The increased blood flow should help with those cramps in your hands and thumbs to allow for longer play. Besides, it is one thing to play video games all of the time, do you actually want to look like you play video games all of the time?

Here is an example of a six-exercise circuit you can do while your game is loading, do each exercise once for 15-20 repetitions.

Stability-ball dumbbell press-

Stability-ball french press

Seated Stability-ball shoulder lateral raise

Standing up-right dumbbell row

Dumbbell curls

Dumbbell lunge

Exercise as Medicine

Graduating from the University of Colorado in Boulder I landed my first job as a pharmaceutical sales representative working everything North of Denver. It was a great first job, company car, an expense account, and part of my territory included most of the popular snowboarding spots. I would go out everyday and try to convince physicians that my products were the best choices for their patients suffering from poor cardiovasucular health.

I would start many of my conversations with a patient picture; "Doctor, let me ask you, do you have one of those out of shape, middle aged patients that has tossed exercise to the curb years ago and has uncontrolled hypertension?" Many of them would shake off the image they see every morning in the mirror and agree with me that they did have this type of patient. The thing was that they all had this type of patient and I new it; my job was to convince them to prescribe a pill instead of pushing a better way of life.

Medicine is changing, the price of health care is getting higher while the coverage offered by employers is decreasing. In this hostile environment you can't help but to be proactive about your health and doing what is best for yourself and the people you care about. Exercise is medicine, inexpensive and available to everyone, it can be taken a couple times a day or as needed. You should never skip a dose but if you do, make it up the next day and it will work just as well.

In the commentary "Exercise is Medicine" by Harold Elrick, MD, Dr. Elrick sites the eight most common preventable medical disorders in the US: "heart disease, cancer, stroke, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, and osteoporosis." These are diseases of the lazy and overworked, what has happened to our society, what are we living for, and why our we dying out of shape and over weight?

There will never be a pill, surgery, or medical procedure that could benefit and enhance so many aspects of an individual the way exercise does. I am not just talking about diseases, fitness positively augments intelligence and thinking in general by increasing blood flow to the brain. Losing weight promotes positive self-image and increases self esteem; you feel better, look better and save the money that you would normally spend on a therapist.

When I worked in surgery I would often hear doctors say, "you either pay for it now or suffer with it later." The wisdom in these words echo in my head every time I miss a workout or see an obese person struggling up stairs or watch my mom smoke another cigarette. Going into this year you have to stop making excuses, stop thinking about why should you exercise and realize how much better you will feel when you do. This isn't a bitter pill to swallow, but if it does give you any problems just hide it in some peanut butter, you won't even know the difference.

New Years Resolutions

Hey,

Welcome to the new year; funny thing how the changing of a date allows us to wipe the slate clean on the previous 365 days. So be it, any opportunity to change your life for the better should always be taken advantage of. By this time most of you believers out there have either made you resolutions or are contemplating what they will be.

Do I even have to mention that the statistics are not in your favor; I have decided not to even include how little of a chance you have of actually following through. Instead, I will focus on the strategies that have worked for myself and others. After working through the internet I have come up with this quick compilation of some of my favorites.

Dr. Stephen Kraus at the "SelfGrowth.com" website suggest four of the top strategies for keeping on track with your resolutions. My favorite two are create a plan for success as well as a plan for slip-ups. Plan through what you want and how you will get it, be detailed, be specific, and be realistic. Build your plan around a time line that includes check points along the way to a set goal. Also keep in mind how you will identify setbacks and deal with them as they occur along the path to success.

At the "GoalsGuy.com" Gary Ryan Blair suggests that you tackle only one resolution at a time, "divide and conquer." This is such an important point to make because few people pick just one aspect to change in their lives, most identify many different things. Try to avoid laundry listing the things you want to improve instead pick a handful of tasks and work through them one at a time.

Looking at "About.com" Wayne Parker points out that your should focus on the positive goals not negative "leave behinds." Say that you want to quit smoking, instead of writing down "I want to stop destroying my body by filling my lungs with toxic, carcinogenic, life shortening smoke," write "I want to improve my life and make the world better for myself and those around me by not smoking." You know who you are.

These are just a couple of my favorites for achieving success this year to get in shape and lead a more satisfying life. If you haven't put it on your list please start exercising and eating better on a regular basis. Exercise is medicine, it should be taken daily and enjoyed often. For more tips please visit me at www.naturalselectionwellness.com.