How To Adjust Your Body To Exercise

Why Your Body Is Already Willing And Able To Make The Transition To A More Active Lifestyle

by Jeffrey Rothman, MA, OTR


Your Innate Ability

You are ready to get started exercising and you are not confident about what you can do. Truth be told, I could motivate you right now to do an outrageous workout, perhaps run a marathon.

It is simple. I'd give you $5,000 for the first mile run, $10,000 for the second and go on from there. This, of course, would not be a wise plan.  Tomorrow, while counting your riches, your body would be a mess.

Your calves would be on fire, your low back would hurt, and it's possible that you would have done permanent damage somewhere. Obviously, this would not be the best way to begin a workout program. 
 
Your Body's Internal Balance

Your body is constantly modulating between what is possible and what is sensible. If you were out in the wild, and you happened upon a bounty of food, and got out of shape for lack of need to hunt, and then one day, a lion strolled into your oasis, you would run that marathon and suffer the soreness and chronic pains later.

That is not the position that I want you to put yourself in. I want to guide you slowly out of your oasis of fast food, elevators and automobiles. As your body begins this journey, it will train itself to hunt and forage, to become accustomed to the wild, before that first adrenaline pumping chase.

The First Phase
 
During this phase, a few physiologic things are happening. Your body quietly adjusts to its new circumstances. Your heart will become more efficient at pumping blood. Your muscles will be traumatized on a micro level and rebuild themselves in a stronger fashion. Your bones will begin to absorb more calcium.

Your body will take the new input that you are giving it, and reallocate your energy resources. A parallel process will begin in your brain as neurotransmitters re-balance their proportions to reward you for your new activities, rather than reward your stinginess with your energy resources.


 
This first month that you begin to exercise, while vitally important as a basis to your ongoing lifestyle change, is not yet imprinted in you. Your body is not sure if this is a transient moment, or a fundamental change.It is straddling the fence between energy conservation and vitality.

After you have completed the month, your body will understand that it is under new circumstances and that it needs to be ready.
 
Where to Start, Use What You Have

You probably have some old fitness plan, device, or gym membership that you don't use. Good, I don't particularly want you to look for something new. Changing your lifestyle is not about the product, the place or even the methods of your exercise.

If you have an old video, dust it off, if you have a gym membership, find your ID card, if you have an abdominizer, gazelle, treadmill, stepper, glider, whatever, pull it out of the closet. It is important to understand, that your success does not reside in the form of the exercise that you do.

For the most part, the products that are sold on the Home Shopping Network or at Sports Authority or wherever are adequately designed and tested to perform their task. Your gym likely has more options than you would ever consider trying, and for certain, there are an infinite number of classes and videos available. As far as I am concerned, choosing amongst them is like picking a color for your new car. Just choose one and drive.
 
The Plan:
 

• Week 1:
• -15 minutes of exercise each day (rest included if appropriate).

-Minimum of two types of workouts alternating days. So, don't do 15 minutes of push-ups or 15 minutes of climbing stairs multiple days in a row.

-Do not work to exhaustion or until you are out of breath, however, do work. For instance, if you already have days where you are on your feet walking for 15 minutes, then a 15 minute walk would not count for you as a workout, you would need to pick up the pace a bit, sweat.

-Do something that you like. I got a workout last week trying to fly a kite with my son.

-Do something convenient (stairs or hills in your neighborhood are good).

-Drink water before and after.

-If you miss a day, come back the next day.



Week 2:

Same as week one, stay with it!

Week 3:

Did you manage at least four days each of the past two weeks?

If so, congratulations, you are right on track. Now, start stretching the workout out. Add a couple of minutes to your workout. If it feels good, take your eyes off of the clock and go.

If not, don't worry, you are way better off that you did anything at all, you are on your way, just continue on! If you are having significant soreness from weeks one and two, stick with the week one plan until your body is ready for you to move on.

Week 4:

If you stretched it out last week, you are ready to discover the really gratifying part of working out. The first thing you are going to do this week is push the 15 minute minimum up to 20 minutes as often as you can.

This is going to give you a nice little bit of emotional feedback. The second thing is open you mind to the idea that one day this week or next, you are going to have a longer harder workout than you have done to date.

You are going to "air it out", push in a way that you would not have thought your could have three weeks ago. Don't force it. This day will come to you, just be ready for it. When it does, go with it (within reason, don't hurt yourself).

Congratulations! You are ready to experience the fun part of exercise.  I would love your feedback when you have had that first great, gratifying workout. Feel free to e-mail me and let me know if I can use your story to help inspire others. 

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Jeffrey Rothman is an Occupational Therapist, practicing in West Palm Beach Florida. Jeffrey assists people to return to their productive lives after illnesses, injuries, and surgeries. He takes a particular interest in shoulder rehabilitation, pain management.  Please email Jeffrey;  he welcomes your comments and questions.