Exercise should become part of your daily routine. That
means setting aside 30 minutes to an hour a day about five times a week. The
daily activity period, or periods, should be considered as being as essential a
part of your life as eating, sleeping, bathing, and dressing. Pick a time, or
times, most suitable for you. If it is convenient for you to carry out much or
all of your activity in one period each day, fine; divided periods of activity
can also serve the purpose. Some people, early starters, like to exercise
before breakfast. For others, this is impossible. Many men find it convenient
to exercise late in the afternoon or before lunch. Never perform any exercise
sooner than one hour after a meal.
GADGETS Keep
equipment to a minimum It's a good idea to
avoid complicated apparatus and overreliance on weights, pulleys, and other
devices.
BASIC PRINCIPLES Whatever program of activity you propose to
engage in, check with your physician to be certain it is suitable for you. And
your physician may.
Have valuable suggestions for activities particularly suited
to you. Start slowly. Rush in without preparation and lift 200 pounds over your
head-or even try to--and it may be your last act on earth. Take on a routine of
mild setting-up exercises and you may feel a bit better, but this is far short
of what you can get out of well-planned activity. What is needed is a program
that follows certain key principles. Tolerance is one. There should be no
sudden demand on your body or burst of tremendous effort.
Excessive straining beyond the level your body is ready for
accomplishes nothing and may produce injury. Overload is another. Easy workouts
continued endlessly day after day value but it is limited value. You have to
push yourself just easily, then gradually begin to work a little harder, working
8 I Building General Health as Preventive Therapy just slightly beyond the
first feeling of tiredness, but still within your limits of tolerance.
Your
body has more capacity than it is called upon to use. Give it a bit more load
than usual and it can handle it. Progressively, it will become able to handle
more. Progression is another important principle. As you maintain' a regular
schedule of exercise and your strength and endurance grow, your activities will
become easier for you. Continue them at the same level and you will maintain
the improvement. To go beyond, you can make the work- outs progressively more
strenuous, if your physician indicates this is desirable, until you arrive at a
level of fitness you want to achieve.
