Hundreds of Thousands of Americans spend millions of dollars each year on diet pills, "magical" exercise devices, and misrepresented health and fitness products, when in all actuality a good set of dumbbells and a brisk walk may be all you need to get in better shape than you've ever been in. What can you do with nothing but a set of dumbbells, you ask? Provide resistance to your body's movements - also known as weight lifting. That's all weight lifting is - resistance. The terms "weight lifting" and "resistance training" have become one in
same because they are describing same activity - moving your body under more resistance than it normally has to handle.
In fact, you've just stumbled upon basic secret of exercise in general! Whether you are talking about resistance training, Pilates, Yoga, cardiovascular activities, or any other form of exercise, all of these programs have one thing in common - performing more activity than you would get sitting on couch. WHY should you exercise, though?
How about defying aging process for starters? Do you know that primary reason why elderly people end up in nursing homes is because they lose ability to think and move on their own? Do you also know that entire process of thinking and moving on our own happens because we do it every day? Until we retire, that is. Once we don't have to go to work anymore, or deal with scheduling and lifestyle issues, suddenly only thing that we have to think about is whether to watch game shows or soap operas all day long, and only exercise we get is deftly flying our fingers over remote control.
Mush. That's what our brains and bodies turn into when we stop using them. Think you are still sharp as a tack, and at height of your game? Try to say alphabet backwards in 30 seconds or less.
Yes…. sharp indeed.
What about physically? Think that you can still hold your own even though you don't really exercise much? Stop reading this article and drop down on floor for some correct-form push-ups. Did you do at least 30 if you are female, or at least 40 if you are male? No? How about 20 or 25? 15? Unless you pulled off 30 or 40, you are probably at less than 50 percentile mark for your gender - health conditions notwithstanding.
Okay, so you've determined that you aren't exactly Olympic athlete material. So what? You don't even like sports, let alone being very good at them. That's fine, and there is nothing wrong with that. So what about fat? Do you like bodyfat? Do you find it physically appealing? Do you think it's healthy? If so, we're done speaking. Go on about your business, and thanks for reading this far.
For everyone else, here is a newsflash: In America today - year 2004 - obesity related health conditions account for more deaths in United States each year than all known forms of cancer COMBINED. Heart Disease alone is number one killer of American adults, and it is a PREVENTABLE CONDITION!
