Exercise & Longevity: The Facts

Intervals for Weight Loss

Glucosamine for Osteoarthritis

Measuring Your Cardiorespiratory Fitness

Review Shows Chondroitin to Be Effective for Osteoarthritis

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Exercise & Longevity: The Facts
Longevity & Jogging The Mayo Clinic reports "A study of more than 4,000 Danish men indicates that regular joggers are less likely than non-runners to die of any cause."

Men: Walk for Sexual Health
A brisk 2 mile walk each day can reduce men's risk of impotence according to a study published in the August 2000 issue of Urology.

Miracle Cure Found: Walking
"Results from a 20-year long Nurse's Health Study have shown significant decreases in the occurrence of breast cancer and Type II diabetes in women who engaged in 'brisk' walking or other vigorous exercise for seven hours a week, and as little as three hours a week for heart disease reduction."

Walking Retirees Live Longer
"Our findings in older physically capable men indicate that regular walking is associated with a lower overall mortality rate. Encouraging elderly people to walk may benefit their health."
Hakim, AA, Petrovich H, Burchfiel CM, et al. Effects of walking on mortality among nonsmoking retired men. New England Journal of Medicine. 1998; 338:94-99.

Intervals for Weight Loss

If you're like most people, finding time to exercise can be a challenge, so you want to get the most out of the time you do have. Including "intervals" in your exercise routine can help you maximize your weight loss and fitness results.

Intervals are brief periods (about one minute) of more intense exercise mixed into your regular aerobic exercise sessions. For example, if you're walking, you would do a one minute interval of faster walking about every five minutes throughout your exercise session.

Here's how it will look.. you'll start with your normal three to five minute warm-up and then five minutes into your workout you do your first interval, one minute of faster walking (or perhaps jogging). At the end of that minute you should be "winded" and ready to slow down. You'll slow down to your normal exercising speed for the next four minutes and then your fifth minute is another one minute interval. This pattern continues throughout your exercise session.

You'll derive several benefits from intervals..

1. Intervals can help you to get past a weight loss plateau.

2. Intervals increase your aerobic fitness level by "pushing the envelope". While doing your interval you cross the anaerobic threshold into anaerobic metabolism, forcing your body to become conditioned to more intense exercise.

3. Your increased level of fitness means that a given level of exercise will feel easier and that you will be able to exercise at a higher intensity which "burns" more calories.

4. Your increased level of fitness also means that you will be less fatigued from daily activities and you'll have more "energy" throughout the day.

5. Intervals increase your basal metabolic rate (BMR), causing you to burn more calories 24 hours-a-day.

6. Intervals cause you to "burn" more calories during your exercise session and for several hours afterwards.

7. Intervals will tone the involved muscles to a greater degree than your regular aerobic exercise would.

8. Intervals can make your exercise less monotonous and help the time pass more quickly.

9. Intervals will energize you!

If you'd like to put a little excitement into your exercise, and you're looking for better results, give intervals a try!

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry
Copyright 2000 by Greg Landry, M.S.

Measuring Your Cardiorespiratory Fitness

Your Cardiorespiratory (aerobic) fitness level is improved through a program of consistent aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming, jogging, cycling, aerobic dance, rowing, etc. Increasing your Cardiorespiratory fitness level is important because of the many positive affects on your health and well-being. It has a direct affect on your quality of life and it enables to you to lead a more active lifestyle. It also enables you to increase the intensity and duration of your exercise sessions, which leads to increased caloric expenditure and an increase in your basal metabolic rate (metabolism).

Testing your Cardiorespiratory fitness level periodically enables you assess your progress and motivates you to continue to improve. Dr. Kenneth Cooper developed a simple cardiorespiratory fitness level test called the "12 minute walk/run." The objective is simply to travel as far as you can in 12 minutes by walking, jogging, or a combination of the two. PLEASE NOTE: You should NOT do this test if you are not currently exercising on a regular basis or if you have just started an exercise program. Also, you should always check with your doctor before making any changes in your activity habits or participating in any strenuous physical activity.

This test can be used on a regular basis, perhaps monthly, to monitor your progress. You start with a five to ten minute warm-up of walking at a slow to moderate pace. Then you start at a given point and travel as fast as you can for twelve minutes. Measure the distance that you traveled and refer to this chart for your score:

Note: distance is in miles
"<" means less than
">" means greater than

Age 15 - 30

Female >1.5 = excellent
1.4 = good
1.3 = borderline
<1.2 = needs work

Male >1.7 = excellent
1.5 = good
1.4 = borderline
<1.3 = needs work

Age 31 - 50

Female >1.4 = excellent
1.3 = good
1.2 = borderline
<1.1 = needs work

Male >1.5 = excellent
1.4 = good
1.3 = borderline
<1.2 = needs work

Age 51 - 70

Female
>1.2 = excellent
1.1 = good
1.0 = borderline
<0.9 = needs work

Male
>1.3 = excellent
1.3 = good
1.2 = borderline
<1.0 = needs work

If your score isn't what you want it to be, you CAN improve it by losing fat and by developing a program of regular aerobic exercise. Keep a record of the date and the distance you travel for the twelve minute test. Do the test once a month and I think you'll be encouraged by your progress. The key is to get moving!

Author and exercise physiologist, Greg Landry
Copyright 2000 by Greg Landry, M.S.

Copyright © 2000 Integrative Medicine Communications

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