MYTHS ABOUT EXERCISE
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
İRevised, 2008, The
Center For development
Today
it is almost heretical to present a cautious view about exercise. In view of the heavy promotion of
exercise, I wish to present another side of the picture. Some people are not only not helping
themselves with vigorous exercise - they are doing themselves harm. Here are some of the myths of exercise:
MYTH #1. Strong muscles and a
beautiful body indicate you are in good health.
These
may make you feel like you have health, and everyone may tell you how wonderful
you look. However, I work with
people who look great, but have cancer or some other disease. It is certainly wise to care for your
body, but health goes far beyond muscles and body shape.
Judging
yourself or another based only upon how much or how many exercises one does is
insane. Human beings need to have
the strength to achieve a healthful lifestyle and that is about all. Physical strength is only one parameter
of health and ot an important one.
MYTH #2. A healthy heart and healthy
arteries indicate you are healthy.
This
is a recent fetish. Experience
with many people shows that if your body chemistry is truly in balance, your
arteries and heart will be excellent.
This is not to say that exercise is not needed. Some gentle walking is excellent for
circulation and the cardiovascular system. However, it is easy to overdo in trying to tone up your
muscles and one system that can be negatively affected is the cardiovascular
system.
Gentle
exercise is beneficial for everyone, but a narrow-minded focus on
cardiovascular fitness is insane. Recently
a 25-year old woman consulted me complaining of fatigue and depression. She was doing aerobic exercise 3-5
evenings a week. Her heart and
arteries were probably fine, but her glandular system was so exhausted she
could hardly get out of bed in the morning. Her hair analysis indicated a depleted, exhausted body. Exercise was just aggravating the
problem. This case is typical of
the 'exhausted exerciser'.
MYTH #3. Exercise rebuilds your
body.
Exercise
assists circulation of the blood and oxygenation of tissues, and can help
rebuilding in this sense. Mild to
moderate exercise is excellent for these purposes. Excessive exercise, however, can stress
the heart, arteries, and glands.
They are forced to respond to stress, and to use up energy in that
response. Muscles enlarge as a
response or accommodation to stress.
Large muscles are not a sign of health in themselves.
Healing
and rebuilding is largely a biochemical phenomenon, requiring proper nutrients,
and often requiring much rest so that energy can be directed to the area in
need of healing. Research supports
the idea that moderate exercise can provide the same benefits as vigorous
exercise. The point is, don't
overdo exercise any more than you would overdo any other activity.
To
exercise when you feel well is great.
To exercise "in order to feel well" is skating on thin
ice. Today, most people are subtly
malnourished due to consumption of food that is low in trace elements and other
nutrients. No amount of exercise
will make up for these deficiencies.
It is a mistake to think you can compensate for a biochemical problem by
exercising.
The
result may be that you will feel well for a while. Later, you will find yourself addicted to exercise. If you skip it for two days, you will
feel depressed, constipated, irritable or exhausted. This occurs because exercise stimulates the adrenal glands
and can keep exhausted glands functioning - like whipping a tired horse. If you stop whipping, naturally the
horse will not feel like getting up or performing well.
MYTH #4. Exercise cannot be
harmful.
Most
marathon runners are good for several years. Then some of them must retire because they are 'burned
out'. Many professional athletes
die young. Indeed, they have one
of the shortest life spans of any group of adults.
Here
is something interesting. The slow
heartbeat of professional runners is due in part to their healthy heart, but
also due to a mechanism to slow their metabolism, because they put such strain
on their heart. Cysteine is
released from muscle tissue and slows the thyroid. The idea that since a little is good, more must be better,
can be lethal when applied to exercise.
Here
are some guidelines for exercise:
1. Don't use your pulse as your only guide. Many people are not that healthy, in
spite of a normal pulse rate.
2. Follow common sense. Don't push past exhaustion. Listen to yourself before you listen to any coaches, experts
or friends. Go at your own
pace. Do as much exercise as you
need to keep yourself fit for your lifestyle and that is all.
3. Don't use exercise as a crutch or drug. If you are running to get away from
your problems, you are misusing exercise.
If you are addicted to exercise, work toward getting unhooked, as you
would with any other addiction.
Addiction is not health, even if it makes you look and feel fantastic
while you do it.
4. If you skip exercise for a few days, you should
still feel very well. If you skip
your exercise and begin to feel depressed, exhausted, constipated or irritable
you are probably using exercise as a whip. Cut down slowly and look into other reasons why you are
feeling this way.
5. A tissue mineral analysis performed by a lab
that does not wash the hair, and interpreted by someone who understands it
well, can tell you if you are overdoing exercise. There is a list on this website of practitioners whom I personally
train and whom I trust. The
others, I do not trust with hair analysis. Click
here to reach that page.
The
properly performed and interpreted hair mineral test will often indicate
adrenal exhaustion. Gentle
exercise is acceptable and helpful for these people. Vigorous exercise in this condition only slows regeneration
and is quite dangerous for your health and healing.
6. Studies show that gentle to moderate exercise
regimens provide as much benefit as vigorous exercise. Involve your whole body. Exercise outside in the fresh air
whenever possible. Flexibility is
as important as strength and endurance.
Stretching and deep breathing are vital for health.
Walking,
swimming, bicycling and gardening are excellent. Long-lived people of the world often work hard and long, but
not necessarily strenuously.
Meditative exercises such as yoga or tai chi are also excellent. These involve stretching, deep
breathing and a moving meditation as well as developing strength and endurance.
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