Johnson: Investing in exercise regimen will pay dividends

I can't emphasize the letter "E" in my weight loss ABCs enough.


It's a word that strikes fear in the hearts of many, but should be an everyday occurrence if we are interested in our health, well-being, longevity and, most important, our quality of life in later years.

I got to know a friend named Joe while writing a story a year ago about "senior" Hotter'N Hell Hundred participants. In his mid-60s, Joe is spry, free of prescriptions and health complication and rides his bike with "kids" a quarter of his age.

Wouldn't it be great for our current national health care situation if most 60-somethings were medication free? The key, Joe has often told me and anyone else who will listen, is that he stays physically active by riding that bike thousands of miles a year.

What about genetics playing a role in Joe's good health in his "silver" years? I'm sure that plays a part, but more and more scientific studies are now demonstrating that gene expression is controlled by activities you perform in your daily life, so even if you got dealt a bad genetic hand, you can still control how those genes affect your health through your choices.

Folks often shy away from exercise because it seems too difficult, they don't have time, they don't have the proper equipment or they just plain don't like to get sweaty.

I understand all of these viewpoints. Heck, I even held them all myself for the first 26 years of my life.

But after repeated encounters with high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol, and a fondness for food that made me not want to go on a starvation diet to lose weight, I began exploring the possibility that exercise might have a place in my life.

I started small, and you should, too, if you haven't been physically active in a while or in my case, ever.

I began with 10 minutes per day every day of the week. Slowly, gradually increase what you do every week until you can manage an hour a day, most days of the week.

Of course, an hour seems like a lot of time when you are talking about riding a spin bike, an outdoor bike, running or swimming. But from experience I can tell you that hour is the best investment you will ever make in terms of your longevity. You don't even have to do the hour all at once.

Break it up into manageable 20-minute spurts if you must. I can tell you, though, that the longer you keep up a daily exercise habit, the more jealously you will begin to guard that time.

Just as important as the time you spend exercising is the different exercises you perform. Cardiovascular activity, like walking, running, swimming and biking, are great and necessary for heart health and for losing weight. But don't forget the other two pieces of the puzzle, strength training and stretching, when planning your activities.

Strength training in terms of weight loss is key because the more muscle you build, the more calories you burn when doing all activities. Stretching prevents injury, and in the case of activities like yoga, can allow you to promote self-awareness, which is never a bad thing when choosing to travel down a healthier path.

Begin to embrace exercise. Give yourself the gift of good health and longevity by making a small "sweat equity" investment now.