Webster defines exercise as an activity that requires physical or mental exertion, especially when performed to develop or maintain fitness. With this said I want to talk about how you know what type of exercise you are doing and for some this may not sit right and it may hurt some feelings but in the end I hope we all have a much better understanding of what we are doing.
I know you have heard that Americans are getting fatter every year. Why is that when we are “exercising” more now than we have every exercised before? Are we just not doing enough or what? Is it our dietary habits? What is it and how can we stop this trend.
Well we are getting fatter as a nation and we are exercising more than we ever have in history but are we really? Absolutely not and this is when the definition of exercise needs to be explored. Once again exercise is an activity that requires physical or mental exertion. You see there is a difference between physical and mental exercise. Here are some questions that I just want you to think about and answer and in my next blogs I will give you my opinion own what I feel they are.
1) A person in their daily routine walking up a flight of stairs instead of taking the elevator. They have never taken the elevator before and walking up stairs is just common place. Is this physical or mental exercise?
2) A person sitting in their easy-chair and reading a good book. Is this physical or mental exercise?
3) A person working in their garden weeding and planting. Is this physical or mental exercise?
4) A person putting in long hours at their job. Constantly in meetings and meet new people and at the end of the day they are just tired. Is the physical or mental exercise?
5) A person going for a brisk walk at a really fast walk. Physical or mental?
6) A person taking their dog out for a walk. Physical or mental?
7) A person taking a friend out for a walk and they are walking for a few hours while talking and solving each other’s problems. Physical or mental?
8) A person running miles outside preparing for an upcoming event. Physical or mental?
9) A person who runs every day at the same pace and same distance and now that distance has become very easy for them to run but they just don’t want to increase speed or length. Physical or mental?
10) A person riding their bike at a slow pace avoiding as many hills as possible and when they come to a hill, they walk up the hill instead of riding up the hill. Physical or mental.
11) A person going to the gym to workout. They get there and run into some friends and strike up a great conversation while working out a little. Three hours later they leave not feeling tired or muscle fatigue. Physical or mental?
12) That same person going to the gym and really hitting the weights hard. Sweating like they never sweat before and in the end feeling totally spent. Physical or mental?
13) A person doing exercise but only to the point where they almost begin to sweat. At that point they stop activity to get water and check pulse rate. They don’t want their pulse to get above 100 beats per minute. After thirty minutes they are finished and on their way home after stopping at the grocery store for food. Physical or mental?
14) A person who starts running but once they get to the end of the block and they begin to breath heavy they stop and walk the rest of the time at an easy pace. They do this for 3 miles. Physical or mental?
15) A person who goes to the gym once or twice a week and exercises their full body. Physical or mental?
16) A person who goes to the gym five days a week to exercise and exercises their full body. Physical or mental?
17) A person who teaches aerobic classes three times a week at the local gym. They teach entry level classes and have been doing so now for a few years. Physical or Mental?
18) A person who hangs out with really well built people. They don’t dear to walk into a facility but they like hanging around people who do. Physical or mental?
19) A person who runs a mile a day. They run the same mile everyday and have been doing it for a few years now never intending to break that routine. Physical or mental?
20) Person who goes to the gym one time a week for about one hour. The other days they work in an office at a desk behind a computer. All the activity they get is that one day. Physical or mental?
IN my next few blogs I will be giving you my honest opinion on whether these activities fall into the Physical or Mental categories. I would love to hear what your answers are.
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