Vindication

Readers know how I feel about exercise. I HATE every step on the treadmill. I DETEST lifting weights and with winter coming I will DISLIKE my outdoor walk, trekking poles or not.

Why do you do it then?

I struggle through it every day because I am certain it is the only thing that is slowing down the rate at which I am degenerating. Now I find there is research that I am right. Exercise is the best medicine.

Yesterday I picked up a copy of TIME magazine with its cover photo of a man skipping. The headline was:

THE EXERCISE CURE. THE SURPRISING SCIENCE OF A LIFE CHANGING WORKOUT
The story within is just short of fascinating. It is lengthy but the writer offers a summary by answering 4 questions. I reproduce them here.

QUESTION: How much exercising do I really need to be doing?

The world Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise most adults to do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity each week and twice-weekly muscle strengthening.

QUESTION: what counts as moderate-intensity exercise?

everything you think of as exercise plus lots of stuff you don't, including brisk walking, playing with the kids, walking the dog, carrying heavy groceries or gardening. Do at least 10 minutes at a time, and break it up however you want.

QUESTION: Is high intensity interval training as good as regular training

more research is needed, but evidence suggests that short, all-out burst of exercise bring unique benefits. They're also a great option for the time-crunched. New research shows that as long as you go hard, intervals are just as effective as longer workouts, even for people with some chronic diseases.

QUESTION: I hate lifting weights, Can I just do cardio?

Sorry, but if your goal is to live longhand healthier, you should do both because they offer different benefits. Cardio will prevent you from being winded after climbing the stairs, while weight training will build muscle and bone, which protects against injury.

You are never too old to get your S@#t together and start exercising. Practitioners claim it's exhilarating! Maybe for some. For me it is time-consuming and tedious, but I will continue faithfully until the day I lose the war. Until then, my aim is to frustrate my dark passenger aka PD. I picture him slogging through quicksand while I stand on a rock and watch his progress decelerate. It takes all my determination to keep him slogging, but I am succeeding. You can too, but keep in mind the old saying that success is not the result of spontaneous combustion. You have to set yourself on fire.