"Exercises
to Improve Your Health, Energy, Digestion and
Your Love of Life!"
by Frederic Patenaude
Did
the title of this article catch your
attention? I hope so. Most of us don't
mind finding out new ways to feel better
and have more energy. Yet, I'm afraid
I'm not going to teach you anything
that you don't already know.
Some people talk about the “benefits”
of exercising, such as increasing blood
flow to your brain and major organs,
improving digestion, reducing stress,
increasing alertness, and boosting your
immune system. That's a way to look
at it.
Another way is that since our bodies
are meant to move everyday, so it's
not that exercises brings us any “benefits”
- this should be our natural state -
but it's more that not exercising actually
has negative consequences!
According to an article published in
the Health & Fitness sections of
the About.com Site, skipping exercise
for two days in a row has bad effects
on health.
It makes sense that we're meant to live
an active life. Being sedentary was
not the norm for human beings, even
in the Western world, until just a few
decades ago.
If you want better health, improved
digestion, more energy and love of life,
make a commitment to exercise EVERY
SINGLE DAY, even if it's just to go
out for a 30-minute walk.
Personally, I never had a session of
exercise - biking, a long walk, hiking,
yoga, weight lifting, or running - that
I regretted. Even though I might not
have felt like doing it when I started,
I never thought to myself, "Jeez,
I shouldn't have gone for that bike
ride" or "That was such a
bad idea to take that yoga class!"
***Exercise and Hunger***
When you exercise everyday, you will
awaken your “true hunger.”
If you've read my book “The Raw
Secrets,” (http://www.therawsecrets.com)
you know the importance of eating when
you are truly hungry.
We know for example that hunger is widely
recognized as a sign of health. Lack
of appetite is also widely recognized
as a sign of ill health.
Now, many of you have written to ask
about this true hunger concept. Some
people say that if they only eat when
they are truly hungry, they hardly eat
anything at all! Not even enough to
sustain them.
The key to awaken this lost sense of
hunger is to exercise everyday.
***Walking More for Health***
I'm personally trying to implement a
new habit in my life. Every morning
after I wake up, I go for a walk. While
this is not the only exercise I try
to get, it is a great way to start the
day.
Otherwise, what I normally do is either
start working immediately or check my
e-mails. Not a good thing.With the morning
walk, it gives me time to wake up, breathe
some fresh air, get some exercise, meditate
(or something like it), and if I want
I can listen to audio-books on my iPod
while walking.
Are there many health benefits to walking?
Yes, but those are many health benefits
of exercising in general. A 1-hour brisk
walk with a few hills burns around 300
calories, so as many as a 30 minute
jog.
Walk an exercise most people can do
and the joys of walking are numerous.
Breathing fresh air, taking time to
see new places, beautiful surroundings,
etc. It's also an exercise most people
can do or start doing.
If one day you have absolutely no desire
to exercise, go for a 1-hour walk. You'll
feel much better afterwards.
A dog needs to walk everyday or else
it's not going to stay healthy. Isn't
it the same for us?
***Rebounding Exercises for Health***
What exercises can you do on a rainy
day? Some people like to go jog in the
rain, the mud and the cold. They are
the brave ones. I like to watch them
from my window. But seriously, that's
not my style.
What can you do instead? I found a great
workout I can do inside on a rainy do
(or when it's too cold to go outside).
It's rebounding, a way to exercise that
is complete and has several health benefits.
I won't talk about the so-called benefits
of "cellular exercise." Because
of the up-and-down movement of rebounding,
apparently the lymph gets moving and
this helps to detoxify and slow-down
aging. I'm not sure if this is true,
but it sounds great.
For me, the real benefits of rebounding
is that it's something you can do inside
on a rainy day. Plus, it can be a great
cardio-endurance-toning workout if you
know what to do with the rebounder.
So two tips for rebounding:
1- Get a good rebounder. Not those cheap
ones at Walmart. Get something that
will last and will give you a real bound.
My rebounder is a NEEDAK that I got
on E-bay.
2- Get a DVD workout for rebounder.
Most people have no idea what to do
with their rebounder. I had one for
years and the only thing I was doing
with it was to jump up and down once
in a while, and it got boring. Since
then, I got a great DVD which as several
workouts, one which is 45 minute long
and is great for many aspects of fitness.
You can get it from Urban
Rebounding, a company that also
sells rebounders.
***The Magic of Calisthenics***
Everybody should learn a series of body-weight
exercise. Not only are they something
you can do anywhere (even when traveling),
but they are also great to build strength
and endurance.
Calisthenics include pushups, pullups,
squats, lunges, and so on, including
the thousands of variation on each exercise
that can allow you to get the results
that you want (strength training or
endurance).
In a future article, I will give you
a routine of body-weight exercise you
can practice anywhere to have a great
workout at no cost.
***Multi-Tasking***
Finally, I'd like to add that doing
cardio-vascular exercise or walking
can be a wonderful way to grow and learn.
You can listen to recordings (either
on a tape or CD player or iPod) to learn
languages, listen to audio books, and
learn something useful at the same time.
When I was studying German, Spanish
and Portuguese, I was using every single
minute I could to listen to language
learning methods, including during exercise
(but not during sleep!).
Now, I listen to audio books (I have
a subscription to Audible - http://www.audible.com)
and learn about things that interest
me. I listen to audio-books when I'm
on my bike, when I go for a walk, and
of course when I drive. I listen to
music too, and sometimes I just look
at the landscape.
Whether you use this exercise time to
also learn and grow is entirely up to
you. But keep in mind that daily exercise
in a health requirement - and also a
great joy!
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