Worst exercises for your joints

As we age, our bodies' joints (knees, elbows, shoulders, wrists, and so on) are among the first (of many, alas) parts to wear out.
After years of step aerobics, my knees began to hurt so much that I went to an orthopedic specialist and asked her if she could fix my knees so I could do step classes again. She said, we can work on fixing your knees but you're going to have to give up step aerobics.
Lesson learned! I rarely use a step for exercise, and even then use one or sometimes no riser.
Step isn't the only exercise to avoid if you want to preserve your joints. Check out this article for the "8 Worst Exercises for Your Joints. Here's the top five (or should I say, bottom five):

Jumping jacks -- not a good idea!

• 1.       Jumping jacks
• 2.       Running
• 3.       Tennis
• 4.       Boxing
• 5.       Step aerobics

Can you be "fat but fit" -- and healthy?

Check out this article summarizing research about whether and how exercise can have significant health benefits even for people who maintain too much weight.
It reports a rigorous, longer term study indicating that while being overweight has (as we know) many negative ramifications on the length and quality of life, exercise can mitigate those effects.

For a Healthier New Year, Do This! (Tips, part 3)

Healthy Foodie Rule #3: EXERCISE 45-60 MINUTES A DAY.
Yes, that's a high standard, and it's not always possible. But if you count every type of physical exertion, from walking to stretching to crunches on your bedroom floor, over the course of a day you can usually reach this minimum level of exercise.

Most exercise specialists agree that if you can't do 30-45 minutes of cardio in one time period, it's okay to spread shorter bursts throughout the day. Take a 20-30 minute walk in the morning and another on your lunch break or after work -- whatever works best in your schedule. We bought a treadmill about a year ago and put it in our basement, where we also installed a television with cable hookup, so watching the Today Show before breakfast helps me to get through 30 minutes of cardio. It's been great in the cold, dark months when outdoor exercise is impractical. 

But cardio exercise isn't the whole story. You also need to incorporate strength training and stretching. Pilates counts as strength training, and yoga gets the stretching in, making both of those practices quite beneficial.

A big change in my fitness routine has been that in October, I signed on to work with a trainer. She's helping me with strength, endurance, mobility and improving my posture. If you can't fit that into your life, then figure out some other way to do weight-bearing exercise at least a couple times a week.  

I find that my health and happiness -- including managing stress -- depends on keeping up this exercise regimen. Exercise is vital. And remember, the more you exercise -- the more you can eat!

BEST TIME TO EXERCISE: before breakfast?

This is really interesting news, as published in the NY Times this week. Apparently, getting your workout in the morning before you eat can help counteract any over-indulgence you may have committed on the previous day. Here's part of the article, and go here for the whole thing.

The holiday season brings many joys and, unfortunately, many countervailing dietary pitfalls. Even the fittest and most disciplined of us can succumb, indulging in more fat and calories than at any other time of the year. The health consequences, if the behavior is unchecked, can be swift and worrying. A recent study by scientists in Australia found that after only three days, an extremely high-fat, high-calorie diet can lead to increased blood sugar and insulin resistance, potentially increasing the risk for Type 2 diabetes. Waistlines also can expand at this time of year, prompting self-recrimination and unrealistic New Year’s resolutions.

But a new study published in The Journal of Physiology suggests a more reliable and far simpler response. Run or bicycle before breakfast. Exercising in the morning, before eating, the study results show, seems to significantly lessen the ill effects of holiday Bacchanalias.

Since we recently put a treadmill in our basement and the weather outside has gotten way too cold (and icy sidewalks) for outdoor exercise, I've been doing about 30-35 minutes on it before breakfast for the past couple of days. Who knew that this was a brilliant move? :-)

Which matters more, diet or exercise? (Part 2)

The answer to this question (which matters more, diet or exercise) depends on the context of the question.

If you are asking about which is best for your overall health, the scientific evidence thus far comes down on the side of the importance of exercise. Moving our butts on a regular basis -- even if it's doing everyday activities such as taking stairs instead of elevators, walking between offices instead of emailing, doing yardwork and housework, parking farther away from the door of the store than you have to -- protects against heart disease, some kinds of cancer, diabetes, makes us sleep better, and a whole lot of other great benefits.

But if you are asking about weight control, I am convinced that diet trumps exercise for keeping the pounds off. A recent visit to my doctor reinforced that belief.

He said: Your exercise habits are terrific, keep it up. But if you want to lose weight, you have to watch what you eat very carefully. And eating healthy foods is not the whole story; you also have to watch portion size. If you eat too much (too many calories) you will gain weight, or at least you'll be unable to lose pounds.

Words to the wise!

What Matters More: Diet or Exercise?

Ideally, we'd all like to be thin and athletic, right? We'd never eat junk, fit perfectly into our skinny jeans and compete in marathons, or at least be able to run up flights of stairs without getting winded.
But since most of us can't do all that, it's interesting to think about what our top health goal should be.
Well, according to new research, it seems that being active -- getting regular exercise -- is more important than dropping the pounds.

Here's the scoop, from Real Age:

"Is your health goal to get thin or to get active? Science suggests it may be best to think more about breaking a sweat than about stepping on the scale.

"In a recent study, being inactive translated into a higher risk of heart disease, regardless of a person's body mass index (BMI).

Get Moving
"BMI is a measure of overall body weight that takes into consideration a person's height. Medical experts have used it as an indicator of body fatness and thus a tool for determining disease risk. But in a recent study, inactive people were in a higher heart-risk category no matter what their BMIs were. Seems their couch-potato ways translated into a disproportionately big waist, irrespective of how much -- or how little -- they tipped the scales. And a too-big waist means big trouble for the heart.

Body Composition
"Having a BMI within a normal range is great, but it's not the be-all and end-all of good health. You can have a normal BMI and still be unhealthy -- especially if you don't exercise. In the recent study, inactive men had a higher risk of future heart disease compared with active men. Again, this was regardless of BMIs and bathroom scales. Inactive women fared even worse than men when it came to heart disease risk, and it's all because activity affects body proportion. Exercise makes it less likely that your body fat will get stored in the most dangerous place you can store it: around your abdomen."