Just get off the couch Many years ago, I began a serious exercise regimen with the goal of improving cardiovascular fitness and body composition (muscle-to-fat ratio). I think my mother was happy I was doing this and to keep me motivated said,son, always remember, anything is better than nothing. Ive never forgotten that and have repeated it to others countless times. Well, a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association showed Mom was right and its good news for the many whove not been exercising because they think they either dont have enough time or the physical ability for long exercise sessions. Read carefully: as little as 10 minutes a day can improve your cardiovascular fitness. The research found that when overweight or obese sedentary women started to exercise an average of 10 minutes a day, they increased their peak oxygen consumption (a measure of cardiovascular fitness) by almost five percent compared to women who stayed on the sidelines. Five percent may not sound like much but its actually pretty significant and a decidedly noticeable improvement. For people whove been really sedentary, youre getting a benefit almost immediately. Just get off the couch, advised the studys lead author, Timothy Church, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Preventative Medicine at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Louisiana State University. It was surprising to us, the idea that as little as 10 minutes of exercise a day could provide benefit in terms of fitness, he added. Also surprising was that the intensity of exercise the women in the study engaged in was very low, probably equivalent to walking at a speed of a couple of miles an hour. Of course, as you would expect, the researchers also found that while a little bit of exercise was beneficial, more exercise boosted cardiorespiratory fitness even higher. This is great news for couch potatoes and for the aging, said Church. There are people that cant obtain the recommendations for exercise, but now, we see if you cant get 150 minutes a week, you stand to benefit even if you get half of that. Physical activity is clearly beneficial for your health. This study shows that any activity is good, and more is better, said Dr. I-Min Lee, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Lee said: Even with a little bit of physical activity, there was a significant improvement in physical fitness...with a very doable dose (of exercise), you can start seeing health benefits. To add to this, an Australian study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggested a combination of fish oil supplements and exercise may help improve cardiovascular health more than either one alone. The study found that the addition of fish oil to regular exercise resulted in a larger decrease in serum triglycerides, a larger increase HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, and greater improvement in exercise-induced vasodilation (a healthy opening-up of the blood vessels). Exercise improved blood vessel flexibility, and both exercise and fish oil reduced fat mass. The study confirms the findings of earlier research that found that exercise and fish oil benefit cardiovascular health, the authors said, and also suggested that fish oil could be a useful adjunct to exercise programs designed to improve body composition (muscle-to-fat ratio). I was happy to see this because for some time Ive suspected that Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) could play a role in bodyfat reduction. However, always consult your doctor before beginning any exercise program and/or the use of fish oil supplements. Rusty Improta, B.S. Nutritional Consultant Gettysburg, Pa.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:54:19 +0000
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