Damn it!
An email just came that said someone I used to work with died yesterday at age 62.
That makes two in a month - John and George. George was only 49. Both died way too early. Heart attacks.
damn it!
so sad for their families
The last time I saw them both were in terrible physical shape - delightful people, but pure couch potatoes. Sports meant stretching out on the couch and watching someone else and neither could be convinced to take even a short walk. It is difficult coming to the realization they are no longer around and I have to wonder what the story would have been if they would have taken better care of themselves.
A few nights ago Grant and I were talking about our mutual love of walking. I've always enjoyed it and find it a place to think. Some of you share this addiction and I've been lucky enough to have had some great conversations on longish walks. Mostly I take them to clear my mind and enjoy a bit of nature, but it is impressive how many unsettled problems managed to connect up and solve themselves during these times. I'd go so far to say that most of the insight I've had so far has managed to manifest itself on walks and bike rides.
It turns out there are additional benefits to this modest form of exercise if it is regular and long enough and this is why I mentioned the sad deaths. Apparently very little exercise is required to increase your likely lifespan. I'm not terribly surprised by the numbers reported here ... a third of adults get no regular exercise. Even 15 minutes a day can make a measurable difference, but the recommended levels are at least 150 minutes a week. Thowing in a bit of more intense aerobic exercise is even better.
It is very difficult to encourage exercise without coming off as sanctimonious. In light of the deaths I feel compelled to write a bit, so take it in that light.
Our need for regular exercise is basic. Most of us have basal metabolic rates that account for about 70% of our energy expenditure - it is generally felt our bodies are made for the 50% to 60% range. Seriously inactive people may be as high as 80%. I probably would be a complete couch potato if it weren't for a couple of benefits - the clarity of mind one gets during long walks, the serendipity that sometimes comes with being a bit closer to the natural world (for several months a vulture accompanied me and I've had a fawn back into me), and a few hours of a good feeling following aerobic exercise. Those are seriously positive and enough to recommend activity even if no other benefits existed. Not to mention it is a relatively inexpensive pleasure - I get about 1600 miles from a pair of Asics.1
When I started consulting I swore to myself that I'd take an hour off for a walk every day no matter what the weather and no matter where I was. I've kept that promise at over the 99% level and even take walks during ice storms. They are often the highpoints of my day - a period where clarity comes easily.
Aerobic exercise is great too. I'm slowly restarting my rowing after my injury in August and am noticing an improvement in how I feel for hours afterwards as well as my mental alertness.
It is sometimes difficult to budget time, but I timeshift enertainment time from the evening to my early morning rowing sessions with an iPod. An hour of walking seven days a week and an hour of aerobic exercise five times a week seems to agree with me. Start a program of your own and give yourself an unfair cognitive advantage over your competition. You're also likely to be more healthy and live longer - assuming you don't walk in front of taxis in NYC (I can hear Juliette laughing now).
One of the companies I consult with considers exercise important enough that they match a half hour. If you put in an hour of exercise, they'll let half of it count as work. You also get a free lunch as part of the deal. Their gym facilities are wonderful and trainers regularly visit to help out. I'm told about a third of their workforce uses their gym at least twice a week.
It is inspiring to realize that some go much further - a few of you are much more serious than me. Dave and Pip run marathons. My niece Magi is a very serious runner and took first place in a fifty mile marathon a few weeks ago. She manages to run about an hour a day for training and "several hours" on Saturdays.
Colleen did serious training on the sand - trying sprinting and jumping in the sand some time for a sense of the added difficulty. Fueling her was a 6,000 Calorie a day propositon. Imagine doing routines the one in the video five days a week along with everything else an athlete does.
It is comforting that you don't have to go to the extreme levels that Magi and Colleen chose. Fortunately simple walking and maybe a bit of low impact aerobics have a very positive impact... these days Colleen is down to walking the dogs and kickboxing and some regular gym time these days and still feels great. Even with this comparatively light load her BMR probably only accounts for half of her caloric requirement.
Note that unless you are into megaexercise you are unlikely to have much success with it by itself for weight control. In an hour of rowing I do about 150 watt-hours of work and require about 750 watt-hours of energy. That is equivalent to roughly 650 Calories - about two Snickers. It helps, but to remove a pound you need to remove about 3500 Calories. So exercise for other benefits and enjoy the modest benefits of a slightly higher caloric requirement.
Make it a game if you can - just start something and give it some time until you get to the point where it is more of a gift than a burden. The benefits can be amazing. I don't want to hear about others going before their time. And if you have kids teach its value to them!
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1 inexpensive per hour. My shoes average $100 a pair so we're looking at six and a quarter cents per mile - a bit more than what I pay for car tires
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