Health and Fitness is a very
important factor in all physical activities and Martial Arts is no exception.
Therefore, in this chapter we will be covering all aspects of physical and
mental training. "Before partaking in any physical activity get a full
medical check-up from your physician."
In 1993, the Centre for Science
in the Public Interest (CSPI) attracted extensive media attention when it
reported that Chinese restaurant food is unhealthy. A meal of kung pao chicken,
the centre claimed, is comparable to "four McDonald's quarter
pounders." In the months that followed this news, the CSPI focussed on
several other types of food—including Italian food, Mexican food, and movie-theater
popcorn—that, according to the centre's findings, contained unhealthy levels of
salt and fat.
The centre declared that fettuccine Alfredo is "a heart attack on a plate," that eating "chile rellenos is like eating a whole stick of butter," and that a medium-sized container of movie-theatre popcorn with butter-flavoured topping contains "more fat than a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big-Mac-with fries lunch, and a steak dinner with all the trimmings combined."
In response to this ever-growing
list of dangerous foods, Mike Rooky, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune,
undoubtedly expressed the frustrations of many Americans when he wrote, "I
can save the Center for Science in the Public Interest a lot of bother and
expense. All it takes is a simple announcement: If something tastes good, it is
probably bad.
If something tastes really dull,
it is probably good." In a humorous tone, Rooky asked, "Who knows
where the food nags will strike next? A deli?" Ironically, delis were one
of the CSPI's subsequent targets: It proclaimed that an egg-salad sandwich
"makes a Dairy Queen banana split look like a diet food."
The CSPI's campaign against
unhealthy food and the reaction to it illustrates the uneasy relationship that
often exists between health experts and the American public. Health
officials—with the help of the news media and advertisers—produce a constant
stream of information about the health effects of various foods, beverages,
chemicals, drugs, lifestyles, and activities.
These reports ceaselessly implore
the public to adhere to dietary and fitness guidelines that are continually
being updated, revised, and amended. Because these recommendations are in
constant flux—and often contradict one another—frustration such as that
expressed by Rooky is commonplace. Some people adopt the attitude that because
risks are ubiquitous and health problems are unavoidable, it is futile to
attempt to alter one's behavior to avoid the inevitable.
Daniel Minturn, a shipping clerk
interviewed by Richard Wood bury in Time magazine, succinctly summed up this
philosophy as he prepared to eat a cheeseburger: "Everywhere you turn,
it's a warning for this and a warning for that. So what's wrong with just now
and then going out and enjoying what you want?" In fact, health experts
who challenge the CSPI's claims suggest that Minturn's attitude is the correct one.
Elizabeth M. Whelan, the president of the American Council on Science and
Health, argues, CSPI's diet advice is "lite" on science and
"reduced" in common sense. It overlooks the fact that what is
important is one's overall diet, not the occasional consumption of any specific
food. The key to healthy eating is a balanced, varied, moderate diet—and there
is room in that overall scheme for fettucini and popcorn. Whelan and others
accuse the CSPI of oversimplifying nutritional science. These critics contend
that the restaurant foods cited by the CSPI are safe in moderate amounts, and
that the CSPI ignores the fact that the degree of risk posed by fat and salt
intake varies among individuals. For example, Jacob Sullum writes in National
Review, "While too much (salt) aggravates certain kinds of hypertension,
there is no Medical reason for people in general to avoid it." Similarly,
he argues that although "a high-fat diet may increase the risk of heart
disease in some people, that does not mean that fettuccine Alfredo, kung pao
chicken, and chile rellenos are poison." Not only do experts debate the
dangers posed by fat levels in particular foods, they also disagree about the
risks and benefits of different types of fat. The food guide pyramid developed
and issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1992 recommends
using all fats and oils "sparingly." However, according to Michael
Mason, a staff writer for Health magazine, this advice is misguided because it
fails to differentiate between kinds of fat.
While saturated fat has been
linked to heart disease, Mason notes, monounsaturated fat may actually benefit
the cardiovascular system. Mason argues that by lumping all fats and oils
together, the USDA calls for cutting olive oil, which is a source of monounsaturated
fat. Simultaneously, according to Mason, while the pyramid advises cutting fats
and oils, it allows for two to three servings per day of red meat, which is
high in saturated fat. To rectify these inconsistencies, Mason endorses an
alternative pyramid that was developed in 1994 by the Harvard School of Public
Health, Old ways Prevention and Exchange Trust, and the World Health
Organization. Based on the traditional Mediterranean diet, the new pyramid
recommends eating red meat only a few times a month and calls for daily use of
olive oil.
Along with contradictory
information on nutrition, the public also receives mixed signals on exercise.
For example, during the 1970s and 1980s, experts recommended that Americans
engage in vigorous exercise for a minimum of thirty minutes a day, five days a
week.
In 1993, however, new guidelines
were released jointly by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The CDC and the ACSM
called for moderate exercise and said that the recommended daily amount of
activity could be "accumulated in short bouts" rather than during one
workout, as was previously recommended. Then, in 1995, a study authored by Win
Lee, an assistant professor of medicine at the Harvard School of Public Health,
concluded that vigorous exercise—but not moderate exercise—was associated with
greater longevity, suggesting that only vigorous exercise could help people
live longer. Reflecting the public's confusion, an Associated Press article
reporting on Lee's study began, "Run! No, walk. No, run!"
The uncertainty caused by such
contradictory information can lead some people to become discouraged and to
adopt a careless attitude about their personal health and fitness. However,
amid the cacophony of competing recommendations, a few generalizations can
safely be made. Most experts agree that some exercise is better than no
exercise, and most agree that the best diet is a varied one low in saturated
fat. In Health and Fitness: Opposing Viewpoints authors examine diet, exercise,
and other things for instances. What Behaviors Pose the Greatest Health Risks
and Benefits? Are Exercise and Weight-Loss Treatments Beneficial? Are
Alternative Therapies Viable? Is the Health Care Industry Effective? Throughout
these chapters, issues that affect the health and fitness are discussed and
debated.
Maybe you've never done much in
physical fitness, but you would like to learn about it and see what's involved.
Or maybe you have been exposed to some aspects of exercise, but don't feel that
what you learned was balanced and comprehensive enough. Maybe you've noticed
signs of aging and disuse in your body, and want to do something about it.
Most books, videos and television
programmers dealing with health and fitness are narrow in who they're aimed at,
the methods they promote and the information they provide.
Aging and longevity research has
shown that physical exercise is the most important single factor for a healthy
long life. In the many thousands of years of human evolution, it's only during
the most recent fragment of time that large numbers of us have had the dubious
luxury of inactivity.
We live under sedentary
conditions that are alien to the way our internal organs, skeleton and
musculature evolved. Exercise returns us to a more natural condition. Reaction
times and hormones tend to remain at more youthful levels for physically active
people. You don't need long gut-wrenching workouts to benefit. You need a
persistent long-term programmed of moderate intensity. Fitness requires some
effort on your part. Don't let anybody tell that you can get health and fitness
gains without some effort. However, a well-directed programmed will minimize
the effort and maximize the gain.
Few Questions Related to Health and Fitness:
· What are the three basic categories of exercise and their priorities for health and fitness?
· Considering the diet that most
people eat, what are the main problems?
· When it comes to making
adjustments to improve our fitness and health, how long should we continue
these before we can resume our old bad habits? A few months? A couple years?
Until we find somebody to date? The rest of our lives?
Read on if you would like the answers to those questions. Exercise Answers
Physical exercise falls into three categories:
1. The leading priority is cardiovascular fitness, which is exercise aimed at the heart muscle. The main concern in fitness is to stay alive and a strong heart helps in that regard. Cardio-vascular fitness exercises work large muscle groups in a light persistent manner so that those muscles demand increased blood and pumping action from the heart. Typical examples are running, biking, and aerobics. Research indicates that cardio-vascular (CV) sessions lasting about 30 minutes every day are sufficient for most fitness purposes.
Most people are unaware that for each individual there's window of exertion that CV workouts should fall within to get the desired effects. You'll be shown how to determine the intensity level of exercise necessary for you to get an optimum conditioning effect from your CV exercise sessions.
2. The next priority in physical fitness is stretching the major muscle groups and strengthening the lower back. The value of a long life is diminished if a person is stiff, partially immobile or in nagging back pain. It's remarkable how little exposure and emphasis this point gets. The only equipment you need is your living room floor. Stretching exercises should be done a few minutes daily.
Keeping the lower back muscles flexible and strong should be a high priority in any fitness plan. There's a tendency for men to discount stretching exercises and concentrate on strength training. That's not smart. Physical prowess is greatly enhanced by limberness. In most sports, the best athletes have a flow of motion that is simply not possible with stiff weak back muscles.
3. The last fitness priority is strength training. This is the type of exercise that gets the most attention. Weightlifting can make you look good but it shouldn't be the first priority in fitness training. A barbell set, a weight bench and a good workout plan are all that's needed. Used with common sense, working out with barbells is as safe as any other method. The strength training routine takes about 30 minutes, every day. Over a period of months, the average person can improve their strength greatly and make their appearance more youthful and attractive. This applies to women as well as men. Women normally don't gain muscle mass like men sometimes do with intensive weight training but they do gain a more healthy, youthful athletic appearance.
(The overall plan is to work out 5 or 6 days a week for about 30 minutes each time. You alternate the days between cardiovascular and weight-lifting exercises, with a little overlap that will be described later. In addition, every day you spend several minutes doing stretching routines. In addition to exercise, many people should adjust their diets away from excessive quantities of food, and away from food that is loaded with fat and sugar.)
Healthy changes in exercise and diet should be lifelong, not for some limited pe io cif t nee. Changes that are realistic for a lifetime have to be sensible—not extremist fad-oriented or requiring so much time or effort that they become burdensome and get abandoned. Sensible methods that can become lifelong habits are what you will see here.
Working Out
Exercise in the most comfortable convenient room in your house or apartment. Have a TV and a radio/tape player there, so that you can merge the time with entertainment. It should be a brightly-lit area and if you have children, it will be a good influence on them to see you exercising. Don't confine your work-out area to the basement or garage. The idea is to make it as enjoyable and convenient as possible, and to make it as habitual as possible.
