Exercise for endurance
22/01/20 04:20
Back in the 1970’s I was teaching stress management to Chicago executives as part of my internship with the Wholistic Health Care Center. We knew then that exercise was an important factor in building mental health. The research was fairly clear even though physicians did not know all of the mechanisms. People who developed regular patterns of exercise exhibited a more positive outlook on life and reported less emotional distress. Because we were dealing with people who had very demanding jobs and struggled with work/family balance, we began using the term “exercise for endurance” and promoting exercise programs because they enabled people to function in high stress positions with a greater deal of success. All of this was before we had the kinds of data that now is readily available from wearable devices. It was before the days of personal trainers and boutique gyms in every strip mall.
Exercise is big business in America today. People are willing to pay for memberships in gyms and follow exercise routines prescribed by trainers. The style of training offered by various gyms covers a wide range from low impact to intense. Yoga and Pilates contrast with CrossFit, but all share a claim to affect the entire body and yield mental and psychological benefits as well as physical strength and weight loss.
I have never been particularly attached to any brand of workout. I do not belong to a gym. I tried a gym membership and was given a workout routine by a trainer, but found that the process of having to have an extra set of clothes and to shower after a workout disrupted my day. The gym didn’t open early enough in the day for my personal schedule. That problem could easily be addressed with all of the 24/7 fitness centers now available. The other issue I had with the gym was the presence of so many televisions in the room with the cardio machines. I’m not a television watcher. Having multiple screens with different programs is very distracting for me. I don’t find it to be mentally relaxing or peace inducing to have so much visual stimulation flooding into the room.
What I have discovered for myself personally is that the place for exercise for me is outdoors. I enjoy rowing and walking and simply being outdoors. Since we have adopted our current routine of walking every day there has only been one day when we decided to take half of our walk indoors due to weather. For the most part, binding up and going out to walk, even when it is cold and windy is a good way to restore our spirits.
It does help to have a partner with whom to share the exercise. We encourage and push each other in positive ways.
I have also found that walking is an easy fit in my daily routine. There are a couple of days each week when I have standing meetings that take place about a mile and a half from my office. Instead of getting in the car and allowing 15 minutes to get to the meeting, I allow a half hour for coming and going and walk the distance. I arrive with more energy and focus than when I drive. I save the wear and tear on the car. I get to know some of the folks in the neighborhood who are out and about. I walk by a school where children are playing in the yard and am reminded of their importance in our community and I arrive with a real sense of what the weather is doing. Furthermore, since I am walking, I don’t need a shower before I can sit down and get to work.
There is no perfect solution for each individual. there are injuries and illnesses the prevent their victims from engaging in intense exercise. I have friends who really love their gym memberships and are very committed to the routines they find there. They report all of the positive mental and emotional effects of exercise that I realize from being outdoors and pursuing my style of exercise.
For the last four decades, I have been engaged in a profession that has a degree of flexibility when it comes to schedule, but it also has long and demanding days. There are phone calls that come in the middle of the night and interruptions that defy attempts at establishing routines. There are times when duty not only calls, but disrupts what I had planned. When I am on call and need to be available to respond to a suicide, for example, I cannot be a half hour away from my car. Some days I need to squeeze in an extra call that is across town and I have to give up some of the time that I had planned to exercise. I’ve developed a few “work arounds” for those events. I’ve learned to take the stairways instead of the elevators in our ten-story hospital. I can speed up my walking when heading to meetings in all kinds of locations. Sometimes, I can simply park farther away from my destination and gain a bit of exercise.
The bottom line is that I need the exercise to have the mental alertness and emotional stability that is required of the work I do. I need to pay attention to myself and my needs and care for myself enough that I have the energy and focus to pay attention to the needs of others.
After four decades, I am still learning. This winter has been a season of developing new routines and upping the mileage of my walks. Most days I’m investing an hour in just walking. I still haven’t found out how to make more hours in the day. I experience the same limits as others.
That adage from the beginning of my career rings true today. Exercise for endurance is essential to keeping up the pace of the work that I do.
Exercise is big business in America today. People are willing to pay for memberships in gyms and follow exercise routines prescribed by trainers. The style of training offered by various gyms covers a wide range from low impact to intense. Yoga and Pilates contrast with CrossFit, but all share a claim to affect the entire body and yield mental and psychological benefits as well as physical strength and weight loss.
I have never been particularly attached to any brand of workout. I do not belong to a gym. I tried a gym membership and was given a workout routine by a trainer, but found that the process of having to have an extra set of clothes and to shower after a workout disrupted my day. The gym didn’t open early enough in the day for my personal schedule. That problem could easily be addressed with all of the 24/7 fitness centers now available. The other issue I had with the gym was the presence of so many televisions in the room with the cardio machines. I’m not a television watcher. Having multiple screens with different programs is very distracting for me. I don’t find it to be mentally relaxing or peace inducing to have so much visual stimulation flooding into the room.
What I have discovered for myself personally is that the place for exercise for me is outdoors. I enjoy rowing and walking and simply being outdoors. Since we have adopted our current routine of walking every day there has only been one day when we decided to take half of our walk indoors due to weather. For the most part, binding up and going out to walk, even when it is cold and windy is a good way to restore our spirits.
It does help to have a partner with whom to share the exercise. We encourage and push each other in positive ways.
I have also found that walking is an easy fit in my daily routine. There are a couple of days each week when I have standing meetings that take place about a mile and a half from my office. Instead of getting in the car and allowing 15 minutes to get to the meeting, I allow a half hour for coming and going and walk the distance. I arrive with more energy and focus than when I drive. I save the wear and tear on the car. I get to know some of the folks in the neighborhood who are out and about. I walk by a school where children are playing in the yard and am reminded of their importance in our community and I arrive with a real sense of what the weather is doing. Furthermore, since I am walking, I don’t need a shower before I can sit down and get to work.
There is no perfect solution for each individual. there are injuries and illnesses the prevent their victims from engaging in intense exercise. I have friends who really love their gym memberships and are very committed to the routines they find there. They report all of the positive mental and emotional effects of exercise that I realize from being outdoors and pursuing my style of exercise.
For the last four decades, I have been engaged in a profession that has a degree of flexibility when it comes to schedule, but it also has long and demanding days. There are phone calls that come in the middle of the night and interruptions that defy attempts at establishing routines. There are times when duty not only calls, but disrupts what I had planned. When I am on call and need to be available to respond to a suicide, for example, I cannot be a half hour away from my car. Some days I need to squeeze in an extra call that is across town and I have to give up some of the time that I had planned to exercise. I’ve developed a few “work arounds” for those events. I’ve learned to take the stairways instead of the elevators in our ten-story hospital. I can speed up my walking when heading to meetings in all kinds of locations. Sometimes, I can simply park farther away from my destination and gain a bit of exercise.
The bottom line is that I need the exercise to have the mental alertness and emotional stability that is required of the work I do. I need to pay attention to myself and my needs and care for myself enough that I have the energy and focus to pay attention to the needs of others.
After four decades, I am still learning. This winter has been a season of developing new routines and upping the mileage of my walks. Most days I’m investing an hour in just walking. I still haven’t found out how to make more hours in the day. I experience the same limits as others.
That adage from the beginning of my career rings true today. Exercise for endurance is essential to keeping up the pace of the work that I do.
