WHY EXERCISE?
by Allen Tabe

Most machines don't improve with use. An old pickup truck won't gradually become a sports car just by driving it fast. And a pocket calculator won't change into a supercomputer by imputting lots of numbers or complex formulas.

The human body is different. As most weightlifters know, the more use their muscles get, the stronger they become. And unused muscles do not remain preserved; neglect causes them to waste away. And without use they become weaker. In fact you lose 2% of the muscle strength after each 96 hours of unuse. Daily, people's muscles do a lot of work that the individual is hardly aware of - lifting their bodies from one position to another, maintaining their posture against gravity, and lifting and moving "things" from one place to another. And it is not until we overdo the activity that the pain we feel makes us aware of the "work" we have done with our bodies.

But daily work can be made even easier IF we spend just a short period of time exercising. I usually give this as an example. If you have only so many heartbeats given to you in your lifetime why waste them walking or running on a treadmill for 20 to 30 minutes a day which elevates your heart rate? But after you get off the treadmill, your heart rate lowers the more fit you become. Well, do the math. Elevated heartbeats for that short period of time equals lower heartbeats for the 23 and 1/2 hours of the whole rest of the day. And that could add years to your life as well as life to those years by making your everyday activities easier as your body becomes stronger! And the stronger you become, the less prone to injury you will be.

Try it, you might like it! And it will be good for you too!

For comments, questions or suggestions . . . please email Allen