You're not alone in eschewing exercise. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, nearly a quarter of Americans don't exercise at all, and about half don't meet the required guidelines for regular cardiovascular workouts. Those guidelines, recently revised and available from the Healthy People 2000 program promoted by the College and the Centers for Disease Control, call for "regular, moderate intensity workouts" of some 30 minutes or more, done most days of the week. Additionally, two weight training sessions done weekly can reduce the risk of osteoporosis in older men and women.
The first thing you need to do is convince yourself that increasing your activity level is a good and necessary thing. How about lowering your blood pressure, reducing cholesterol levels, enhancing glucose tolerance, reducing back pain, and increasing bone density and muscle tone? How about just looking better? All you have to remember is that with a little time and effort, all this can be yours. Once you're convinced, consult a physician before you start any fitness regimen!
Now What?
If the thought of exercise reawakens junior high school fears of inadequacy and despair, consider going to your friends online for help. In Health & Fitness, there's a section devoted to exercise, as well as sections for running, master's swimming, bodybuilding, and martial arts. Log on and ask questions -- How do you start? How long does it take to become proficient? Are there clubs in your area? Will it hurt (and will anyone notice)? What's the learning curve?
There are other options online. Tennis, boating, golf,scuba diving, soccer, basketball, can be found in the Sports Forums. Look to the Outdoor Activity Forum for the lowdown on cycling, surfing, skiing, in-line skating, hiking, and skateboarding. You might even want to try the Gardening Forum. Somewhere on CompuServe is an athletic activity with your name on it.
On My Own or With Others?
Another issue might be whether you want to exercise on your own, or under the helpful eye of a gym or health club trainer. Before you do, check out the articles on choosing a health club and choosing a personal trainer, both available in the Exercise and Fitness library of Health & Fitness as CLUB.QUE and TRAINE. Should you want to learn about exercises to do on your own, like the abdominal crunches in the video, there are many files in the Health &Fitness Forum Exercise Library like WAIST.TXT, LEGS.TEXT, ABSFAQ.TXT, FLEXIB.TXT, ABSBAC.TXT, and more. The Holistic Health Forum also has numerous files for at-home exercising, like the text program EXERCI.COM
The advantages of a gym include the variety of activities, help when you need it, and opportunity to exercise in inclement weather. Also, you can investigate weight training, one the best ways to tone and strengthen muscle. Benefits of weight training , if done in a controlled and consistent way, are now being shown in people regardless of age. An additional benefit includes the increased calorie-burning capacity of muscle: Your body actually burns more calories. FITNES.TXT or FITNES.ZIP, both of which appear in the Exercise and Fitness Library of Health and Fitness, covers the relative benefits of weight training, circuit training and aerobics. BTW, after the frenetic leaping about of the '80s, it may come as a relief to find out that aerobics are being overhauled. You might just as likely be stepping, sliding, or enduring "basic training" at the new aerobics classes.
