FITNESS MATTERS
Healthy workouts
DR. SANJIVA WIJESINHA
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A regular gym workout is one of the best ways to staying fit.
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Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar
Building strength: Exercise for a healthier and longer life.
Recently I discovered that my friend Jamshed (Jimmy to his friends) had joined a gym and went there thrice a week for a one-hour workout. What took me completely by surprise was that Jimmy is not the sort of fellow one would associate with lifting we
ights in a gym.
For a start, he is one of those who since childhood never considered it necessary to undertake physical exercise. About the only weightlifting he did in school was carrying a couple of heavy books from one classroom to another and the only regular lifting in the recent past was lifting a glass to his lips. In fact, the few muscles he has been exercising rigorously for the past 50years have been the muscles of his jaw and tongue.
The second thing that made me greet his news with incredulity was the fact that he had celebrated his fiftieth birthday a few weeks ago. My first reaction was to almost blurt out “But aren’t you a bit old for this sort of activity?” Fortunately tact and prudence prevailed.
Increasing trend
On reflection, however, I realised that he is the latest example of an increasing band of people who, in the past, we would have described as middle aged who are now taking to regular physical activity. Just go for a stroll at dawn and you can see plenty of young and old people on a brisk morning power walk or serious jog.
And more significantly, many “older adults” are pumping iron these days — lifting barbells, curling dumbbells, doing their quota of bench presses and biceps curls and half squats, pushing and pulling weights on pulleys and machines — all with the aim of toning their bodies and building their muscle strength.
Why this 21st century desire to workout in gyms? I believe that the main reason for this enthusiasm is that once you get to 50 years, you become conscious of your own mortality and are only too aware that you have reached that vulnerable age when mortal ills are waiting to creep up on you.
If you are going to delay the inevitable heart attack, stroke or kidney failure as long as possible, then this is the time to start taking active steps. Research has convincingly shown that Resistance Exercises (the muscle toning and strengthening exercises one can do in a gym) are one of the best forms of maintaining good health.
Keeping the muscles and joints working helps prevent the inevitable stiffness, arthritis and muscle wasting that comes on with age. Another benefit is that exercising one’s muscles against resistance helps burn blood sugar.
Use muscles regularly
It stands to reason that muscles that are used regularly burn more blood sugar than muscles that are inactive and strong muscles obviously can burn more blood sugar than weak ones. Strengthening one’s muscles and using them frequently will help prevent the onset of diabetes; for those who do have diabetes, physical exercise certainly helps achieve better blood sugar control.
Moreover, running on a treadmill or working out on a rowing machine is a good way of exercising your heart, which has to pump more strongly and circulate blood faster, as you work up a sweat. So this type of aerobic activity (which can be done in a gym even in inclement weather) helps keep the heart in good shape and the blood pressure from becoming too high. As an added benefit, if you burn up calories and tone up your muscles, you can expect your weight to come down as well.
I think Jimmy has made a wise decision. I don’t think he will ever become a Mr. India or win a body building contest. But if he sticks to his resolution and maintains his commitment to doing regular gym workouts, he will certainly enjoy a healthier and longer life.
The writer is a surgeon and general practitioner based in Australia.
