Lafayette Journal & Courier

Shaping up for summer: Start slowly...

April 6, 2008

(College of Liberal Arts) -- About two years ago, Judy Cooper of Battle Ground was in the worst shape of her life.

"I had quit smoking and started eating" the 50-year-old said. "I put on so much weight. I felt horrible and was tired all the time."

To improve her health, Cooper joined Lifelong Fitness, a personal training studio in Lafayette and has since shed the extra pounds and is training for a mini-marathon -- something she thought she would never do.

After a long winter that continues to persist into spring, many people may be tired of sitting around the house and eager to get back in shape.

"We are tired of the winter, tired of the rain, cabin fever have gotten to us," said Marianne Fleming, physical therapist at Lafayette Rehabilitation Services, a division of Unity Healthcare.

"So this is a time we will start seeing some more injuries," she said. "Spring time is coming and they want to get out and some of these people haven't been active all winter and that's when injuries happen."

So to avoid injury, what's the best way to get back into shape?

The most important thing when starting an exercise program is to start slowly, said Dr. Mike Krauss, sportsmedicine physician with Lafayette Orthopaedic and Sportsmedicine Clinic at Unity Healthcare.

Krauss recommended starting with low-impact exercises, such as biking, swimming, walking or using elliptical machines to build a base of strength and endurance before starting high-impact exercises such as running, basketball or soccer.

He also included weight-training, but recommended that beginners seek professional instruction or use weight machines to avoid injury.

A reasonable time allotment for exercise is 45 minutes, five times a week, including both aerobic conditioning and weight training, he said.

He recommended weight training two times a week for older people.

Acknowledging that many people may be crunched for time, he said as people age, aerobic conditioning is more important than resistance or weight training.

Steve McKenzie, interim director of the A.H. Ismail Center on Purdue University's campus, agreed that aerobic conditioning is important.

But he also added that exercise is more than just running.

"One of the fallacies of exercise is that just because you are active means you are automatically flexible and maintaining your strength," he said.

McKenzie emphasized that people have to do aerobic, flexibility and resistance training exercises because these are the key components to adult fitness.

Aerobic exercise uses large muscle groups of the body primarily the hips and legs. It raises the heart-rate over time and keeps the heart rate at a sustained level for at least 10 minutes.

The goal is to do at least 30-minutes of aerobic activity a day, which makes the heart and lungs more efficient so people have better endurance and can be active longer.

Resistance training is any type of exercise aimed at strengthening the muscles. It can be a push-up, which uses an individual's own body weight, free weights, weight machines, or even rubber or elastic bands.

The main benefit of resistance training is maintaining strength, which enables the body to be prepared for everyday demands, such as lifting bags of groceries or moving furniture.

McKenzie said stretching is important to maintain flexibility. If people don't stretch before walking or running, over time the muscles start tightening or shortening. This can contribute to low-back pain because the muscles put extra strain on the lower back muscles, which are weaker.

"Just because you walk or run doesn't mean you are flexible," he said. "You have to intentionally stretch your muscles."

Like Krauss, McKenzie said aerobic exercising is the most important of the three as far as keeping you healthy and acting as a preventative measure against diseases such as heart disease and diabetes.

Dave Hughes of Lafayette noticed the health benefits once he started working out at Lifelong Fitness with a personal trainer.

"My main goal of coming in was to be healthier," said the 37-year- old. "There's a lot more that happens inside than just the physical, getting in good shape and losing weight was a side effect of getting healthier. I feel my immune system is up pretty high."

Before working out, Hughes couldn't keep up with his two sons.

"Just running in the yard with my two boys was enough to wear me out," he said.

Like many people, Hughes had a lot of excuses for not exercising before committing to a regular routine.

Krauss said there are no excuses for not exercising even if you cannot afford a personal trainer or the gym.

"A few simple weights, a walking program on your own, even in the winter go to the mall," he said. "There are a lot of ways to do it certainly on a budget."

He said it's one thing to do it for a couple of months, but people need to make exercise a life-long habit not just a new year's resolution.

That's just what Chris Lydman of Lafayette decided to do. The former Navy diver had been active all his life, but once he retired in 2005, his active lifestyle started fading.

For about a year, the 44-year-old stopped working out completely.

"I started to see the pounds start creeping," he said. "I noticed I was sleeping more and out of energy."

Simple everyday activities tired him out such as moving furniture or taking the dog for a walk.

He decided, he needed to get back into the gym, so he joined International Sports Clubs in January. Since then, he has lost 27 pounds, sleeps less and feels better.

Lydman offers words of encouragement to those who might be where he was three months ago.

"The first couple of weeks were definitely the hardest, but just push through and don't do to much too soon," he said. "Try to get back into something you are familiar with (such as) walking, biking or swimming."