We are designed to move, and our ancestors used huge amounts of energy for gathering food and making shelter. You don’t actually have to spend hours in the gym to be fit, but you do need to use your body in the way that nature designed it. We were not meant to sit in an office all day, travel to work in a car, and collapse in a heap in front of the television at the end of the day. In 20 years from 1975 to 1995 the average person walked an average of 20 per cent less with a drop from 255 miles to 200 miles a year.

We are probably suffering from an epidemic brought on by TV remote controls, vacuum cleaners and washing machines. All these devices which make our lives easier, also rob us of valuable body-moving opportunities. Small changes to your routine can pay immense dividends. Walking briskly to work, or getting out early and walking at least a few blocks. Taking the stairs instead of the lift. Carrying the groceries back from the shops instead of taking the car. If we did all of these we would burn up hundreds of extra calories daily without having to enrol for aerobics classes. Just climbing five flights of stairs every day for life, will significantly lower your risk of heart disease. If you walked an extra mile a day, without eating more, you would lose 6 lbs in a year. So from now on you can surprise your partner by washing the dishes every night!

To burn 100 calories you need to:

Walk 2.5 mph for 20 minutes

Weed the garden 22 minutes

Wash the dishes/clean house 28 minutes

Wash the car/sweep floors 30 minutes

Vacuum 38 minutes

Do the ironing 50 minutes

Sit & read/watch TV 105 minutes

Sleep 120 minutes

Physical activity can clear your mind and help to keep stress under control, by helping to remove adrenaline from the blood. Exercising for one hour causes the release of endorphins. It also helps to increase the motility of the colon and many people with problems of going to the bathroom get tremendous benefit, which in turn helps the body to detoxify. Women’s hormonal problems benefit from regular exercise because it helps to normalise hormone levels. If you exercise regularly you are likely to have considerably less problems with PMS, the menopause and breast cancer when compared to women who do not exercise. The increased oxygen consumption that happens with exercise is believed to be the reason that exercise can significantly improve the situation for people who suffer from panic attack or agoraphobia.

If you find that you have trouble with your sleeping patterns, exercising is one of the quickest ways of using up excess energy and ensuring a night of good sleep. Do not exercise just before going to bed though, as you will find that it is too much of a stimulant. You can however do relaxing exercises in the evening to help you become more drowsy.

The benefits to the cardiovascular system are huge. If you are doing a cardiovascular work-out then you will improve the strength of your heart muscle. If you are doing relaxation exercises then you will be working on stress, which is one of the biggest risk factors for cardiovascular problems. Exercising at an intensity to get the maximum benefit for your heart, and also to burn up the most body fat stores means working at an intensity which raises your pulse and gets you warm, but not so fast that you are out of breath and cannot hold a conversation. This is about 75% of your maximum pulse capacity which is the best fat-burning range to work in. It is not absolutely necessary to work out your pulse rate, but if you do then you can monitor how fit you are becoming by how much your pulse rate drops after exercising.

You need two figures to work out your recovery rate. Your pulse immediately upon stopping exercise. Take your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by four to get the figure. Then take you pulse exactly one minute after stopping exercising.

Take the second figure from the first. Therefore, if your pulse was 140 when you stopped, and 100 a minute later that would be 140-100=40. Divide by ten. Therefore: 40/10=4.

Your fitness level can be checked against this chart:

Less than 2 Poor

2-3 Fair

3-4 Good

4-6 Excellent

Greater than 6 Athlete level

Remember to always warm up, and cool down from exercises. Build up slowly to your full intensity to avoid pulling any muscles. If you have a pre-existing cardiovascular problem, osteoporosis or any other serious health concerns it is best to check with your doctor first. Warm up and cool down from exercises by walking on the spot (for instance) for three or four minutes, and doing stretches of all the major muscle groups, particularly the leg muscles (see page XX). Also drink ample fresh water to avoid dehydration.

YOGA - TAI CHI - PILATES - PSYCHOCALISTHENICS (TM) - CALLANETICS All these options are slow and have a meditative quality to them. Initially you will probably need instruction and you should be able to find classes near you, or if necessary a video. Many of these focus on energy centres breathing rhythms and isolating muscle groups, and they have a strong therapeutic element to them.

REBOUNDING - HOME GYM These suit a person who prefers not to go out to exercise. There is no need for classes, special instruction (though learning to correctly use complicated equipment is a good idea). Perfect for the person who wants to exercise at different times, and especially if you find you are making excuses for the inconvenience of exercise.

CYCLING - SWIMMING - FAST WALKING - DANCE All these are rhythmic activities which also give you a cardiovascular work-out. They will suit people who wants to exercise on their own and they can be done at almost any time, needing the minimum of equipment and instruction. You also have a great excuse to take advantage of fine weather with cycling and walking, and listening to great music with dancing. Swimming supports 90 per cent of your body weight virtually eliminating the potential for injury. Water aerobics uses the fact the water is 800 times more dense than air and creates a resistance which is like working with weights.

TENNIS - ROWING - FOOTBALL It helps some people with their motivation to do sports if they feel that someone is waiting for them at the court or pitch. These will suit you if you are competitive and get the edge by measuring yourself against other people. Team sports help you to learn about co-operation.

AEROBICS - JOGGING - CIRCUIT TRAINING All high intensity, suit person who is fairly fit and energetic, though you do not have to go at full tilt and can work to your own level and build up your fitness level.

A rebounder is a mini-trampoline which is designed for home use. It can store neatly behind a wardrobe or under a bed, and can be pulled out and in use in less than a minute. Make sure you buy a model with six legs.

Rebounding has several major benefits. Because you are working against gravity - you hit the trampoline at around 3G - it pushes the lymph around the lymph channels making it a superb bonus to cleansing your system. It is also low impact and is very gentle on joints for anybody with any injuries. You can work totally at your own pace and gently bounce for 5-10 minutes or get a full high-intensity work out for 20-30 minutes, whichever suits you. Because bouncing is fun and brings out the child in you, it does not really feel like exercise and is uplifting for the spirits.

Bouncing on the spot needs little exertion and is a good intro. You still get all the benefits of lymph being moved around your body.

LETS TWIST AGAIN

Increased the bouncing and bring your arms into play. Twist at the waist, moving your arms and hips in opposite directions.

Your ankles need to stay together as you take small sideways jumps, as if you were dodging slalom poles when skiing. Your arms swing back and forth in opposition.

Jogging can be done at different intensities. Increase the intensity by pumping your arms, or by kicking your legs behind you. Another variation is to do knee lifts.

This is high intensity rebounding. You can do jumping jacks to the side, bringing you arms up to shoulder height, or forwards and backwards, moving your arms back and forth in opposition.

If you don’t have the energy or time to do a full work-out or even a full relaxation/meditation routine, you can get immense benefit from doing a few stretches for five or ten minutes. If you stretch and stay supple your musculature will benefit, and you mind will benefit. With advancing years we will quite often ‘seize-up’ and daily stretches is the best way to ensure that this never happens. Use it or lose it! You can do these stretches almost anywhere - at home or at the office (in the lavatories if necessary). But do aim to get five minutes peace while you do these stretches.

Kneel on all fours with your hands and knees a shoulder-width apart. Breath in and then as you exhale lift and arch your back and tuck your head and your tail down. Hold for a moment in a deep stretch before you return to your original position. Breath in and on the out-breath reverse the movement by creating a hollow in your back, and tilting your tail up, and your head back. Return to your original position.

While standing hold on to the back of a chair or table edge, bend one knee and place the other leg 24 inches behind you with the sole of your foot on the floor. You will feel a stretch at the back of the knee of the extended leg. Hold for a count of 20. Repeat with the other leg. Now steadying yourself with one hand, use the other hand to pull your leg up behind you and feel a stretch in your front-thigh muscle, while you count to 20. If you can extend the leg a little further behind you by pulling with your hand. Repeat with the other leg. Now sit on the floor, put your feet together and clasp with your hand. Pull your body forwards with your hands so that your head goes towards your feet and hold for a count of 20. While you are on the floor extend one leg in front of you, and tuck the heel of the other leg into your groin, or as far as you can. Bend over pointing your nose towards your knee. Hold for a count of 20 and then repeat with the other leg. Do not worry if you do not get very far with these stretches initially, you will get better more limber!

Stand tall, while you reach one hand over your back to the middle of your shoulder blades. Increase the stretch by gently applying pressure to your elbow with the other hand. Hold for 20 and then repeat with the other arm. Now clasp your hands behind you while interlocking fingers. Stretch your arms out behind you while you feel the stretch in your upper back and shoulders. Hold for a count of 20. Finally, arch your kneck forward, allowing your chin to drop onto your chest. Very slowly circle your head over one shoulder and make a full circle until you return to your starting position. Make sure that you are not tensing while you do this. Repeat on the other side. Repeat twice more on either side.

• Choose a means of exercise that you really enjoy. Exercise is not meant to be endured, but is intended to be fun.

• Three lots of 10 minutes exercise daily is just as beneficial as one lot of 30 minutes exercise.

• Take an antioxidant supplement 30 minutes before starting exercise to protect against the damage that increasing oxygen levels can do to body tissues.

• Stay hydrated always drink a large glass of water before you exercise, and one just after as well. If you are thirsty during exercise top up with water as well. Only three per cent dehydration of a muscle leads to a reduction in muscle tensile strength of ten per cent.

• Pump up the volume and dance! It is free, makes you feel good, and is a terrific all-round aerobic exercise.

© Suzannah Olivier 2000

To follow through on this read Stress Protection Plan and Maximising Energy. Click here for more information