EXERCISE IS LIKE AN OXYGEN BUFFET FOR YOUR HEART AND LUNGS

Now that you’ve got it all squared in the kitchen, you can amp your lifestyle by doing some exercise. Before I begin any type of exercise, I do some breathing to get rid of stale air (residual volume) in my lungs. I do it by breathing in once and forcefully blowing out air 3-4 times.

EXERCISE:

• Then I either do burpees (100x/day). I will tell you right now that I hate this exercise because it is ridiculously exhausting, which is exactly why it is incredibly effective. It tones EVERYTHING: arms, forearms, legs, butt, and strengthens your core.
  
  From doing zero burpees to one day just slugging it out and completing 100 burpees was excruciating. I woke up at 4am in pain and had to find ibuprofen so I could go back to sleep. But now, I can do it almost every day. It doesn’t get easier while you’re doing it, but I do not wake up in pain anymore.

• Or run uphill as fast as I can 5-7 times. Running uphill is so effective because of the resistance of gravity. You are practically fighting against your weight. It is calorie burning and once you get to the top, I assure you, you’ll definitely feel it. Running on flat concrete hurts my knees and hips. But since I have started running uphill, I never get those pains anymore.
  
  
  
  I walk down hill because running down hill is really bad for your knees. Just enjoy your walk. Let it be a reprieve before you do another high intensity run up the hill. I liken it to driving a stick shift. It is so much harder and you burn more fuel going from a complete stop to first gear, then second gear, etc. than to shift from 4th gear to 5th gear. It takes more energy to move from a stopped position.

• Another great exercise is jump rope because it’s high intensity cardio with jumps that tone your legs and butt. There are no shortcuts to looking and feeling fit and healthy. It is hard work, discipline, and commitment. You owe it to yourself to give your body the best fuel.
  
  Exercise is like taking your heart and lungs to a well deserved Oxygen buffet. – Kaplan professor.

THE SCIENCE:

Most of us have day jobs where we are seated most of our waking hours. Some of us sit in front of the computer for 8 hours a day. Prolonged sitting has been found to be detrimental to our health and is independent of exercise. This means that even if you work out right after work for about 30 mins – 1 hour every day, this does not cancel out the effects of sitting down for 8 hours.

An interesting study showed that prolonged sitting increases your all cause mortality by 24%, death from cardiovascular disease by 18%, death from cancer by 18%, increase cancer incidence by 13%, and increase development of diabetes by 90%. It is recommended to stand up at least every hour to stretch, go to the bathroom, walk around the office, or walk over to talk to a co-worker instead of texting or emailing.

Compiled and written by: Loudette Ma Paz Hizon-Guevara

Reference:
Aviroop Biswas, BSc; Paul I. Oh, MD, MSc; Guy E. Faulkner, PhD; Ravi R. Bajaj, MD;
Michael A. Silver, BSc; Marc S. Mitchell, MSc; and David A. Alter, MD, PhD: Sedentary
Time and Its Association With Risk for Disease Incidence, Mortality, and Hospitalization
in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ann Intern Med. 2015;162(2):123-132.