Thanks to the article in Time magazine last week, there has been a lot of attention paid at the controversy surrounding the actual benefits of exercise when it comes to weight loss. While author John Cloud sure got people defending both sides of the argument, a closer look at this ensuing discussion in the weight loss and weight loss maintenance world is needed.
Cloud may have created a more convincing and less dangerous argument had he recommended the function and usefulness of maintaining a regular, moderate-intensity workout routine rather than suggesting that exercise and reduced caloric intake are perhaps not required to lose weight.
I cannot promise that all mental health professionals take their own advice, but I try not to speak outside of my own experience. I suppose I could say the same thing for dance instruction. Recently, when working with a fairly new salsa student, I encouraged him to try to get the pattern of the basic step cemented by just walking around his house left-right-left-pause, right-left-right-pause, stepping toe to heel rather than heel to toe. While I worked with him for almost an hour just reviewing all the details of the basic step, I was reminded yet again what a great workout just this basic dance step can be. If you really concentrate on proper technique and body isolations, you are using a lot of different muscles, and I find just one song can have me out of breath.
Being active is very important and requires a huge commitment to find time every day to exercise. I am going to have you rate your physical activity on a daily basis. The physical activity guidelines state that an individual should exercise at least thirty minutes a day for three to five days a week. That is just a guideline though; recommendations for physical activity are as follows: forty-five to sixty minutes of exercise for five to six days a week.
These guidelines and recommendations are tough to achieve and will definitely take a lifestyle change if you have not already done so. The daily rating scale is as follows:
Each day is worth 20 points:
- If you exercise for an hour you get 20 points
- If you exercise for forty-five minutes you get 15 points
1 Comments
