The Exercise Cure

Hello, my name is Cathy and I’m addicted to exercise.  That may as well have been the introduction for those of us who attended the launch of Dr. Jordan Metzl’s latest book, The Exercise Cure.  As I scanned the room and spoke with those in line for the book signing, Dr. Metzl is most likely preaching to the choir with this crowd.  I also ran into my good friend Will, who was my first inspiration to contemplate doing a triathlon.  “Boy, you really got hooked!” he exclaimed as I rattled off this years’ races.

I’m not only hooked on exercise, but these days I devour reading anything about its benefits so I frequently consume the Phys Ed column in the NY Times (I guess there was a reason why Phys Ed teacher was on my 6^th grade list of “what I want to do when I grow up”).  The Exercise Cure gives great evidence on the need for people to exercise.  I had to have this book!

Getting my signed copy at the book launch

 The book cites many of the clinical studies I’ve been reading about the last few years such as:

• Exercise lengthens life – just 2.5 hours of moderate exercise per week can increase your life expectancy by 3.5 years (2012 study in the journal PLOS Medicine)
• Low fitness is the single strongest predictor of death – highly fit 80 year olds are less likely to die than unfit 60 year olds. (Dr. Steven Blair, University of South Carolina Arnold School for Public Health)
• Being fit is key to work performance – and fit people out-earn their peers

The Exercise Cure provides various exercises that address specific health issues.  A few days after the book launch, my normally energetic colleague was clearly in pain from a back issue.  “I have just the book for you!” I proclaimed.  I went on to tell her how 5 years ago my husband was experiencing even worse symptoms.  The doctor told him there was a 70% chance he would need surgery.  Our physical therapist brother-in-law confirmed the chances – but pointed him to some exercises that gave him hope for curing his ailment with exercise.  He diligently followed the exercises and overcame the issue.  Anecdotally, I’ve heard stories of people who underwent the surgery and found themselves in worse or no better shape than before the surgery.  As the book points out, in the US, we spend 17% of our GDP on healthcare to the tune of $8,300 and yet we only rank 28^th in the world for life expectancy.

If the evidence is there, why don’t people exercise more and what can we do about it?  In my professional life, we study a lot about human behaviors related to health.  It often comes down to habits – both good and bad.  Everyone knows cigarettes are bad for you, many desire to quit, but knowledge and desire are not enough for many to kick the habit.

If you are reading this blog, chances are I’m also preaching to the choir.  And chances are, if you are in “my choir”, you are middle aged like me.  So here’s my idea – we fitness prone, middle aged folks need to rally the rest of the population.

We are the sandwich generation who can influence both the younger and older generations (ever notice how families fit levels are clearly mirrored?  Make it fun – e.g. see my “natural StairMaster” Paris workout which will save you money and time seeing the Eiffel Tower).

We are the bosses who can encourage healthy habits and sponsor active team outings (our company sponsors a regular healthy lunch, participation in events like 10K and 5K walks/runs, gym memberships, and a WebMD health and wellness program).

We are the healthcare professionals who can influence our patients (read The Exercise Cure for the one simple test he recommends all physicians do).

We are government officials and teachers who are impacting this country’s fitness levels (I can point to the government sponsored Presidential Physical Fitness tests as a source of my early enthusiasm – while I wasn’t necessarily good at all of the gym team sports, I still have a fond memory of my gym teacher challenging one of the jocks to beat my record breaking chin hang, which he could not do!).

Remember these patches?  I wore mine proudly!

Make it your New Years’ Resolution not just to get yourself healthy, but those around you!

P.S. Thanks Will for that early inspiration!  While I’ve always been an active person, triathlon training provides a whole new level of commitment and here I am, 3 years later and still committed with even better habits!  And…isn’t it interesting to see the web of influence of those I’ve influenced who are now influencing others.

 
Dr. Metzl is my sports medicine physician.  His first book, The Athlete’s Book of Home Remedies, that I wrote about made me a successful patient – but perhaps not a successful “customer” since I’ve since been able to stay out of his office!