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hips without love handles, a firm derrière instead of a soft fat one,
and tight arm muscles instead of soft hanging flab. Simulated cross-
country skiing is good because it exercises the arms, hips, and thighs
all at once, but other exercises help tone, too.
Half sit-ups with knees bent will flatten the tummy; but they take
time to be effective, so perseverance pays. For women who cannot
do a complete sit-up (often the price for pregnancy), there are de-
vices you can purchase that will provide support. One device is a
harness you wear that has an elastic band that you attach to a door
to assist you in sitting up. Others are laced on a hard mat you lie on,
it s hinged with handles at shoulder level that you grip to assist the
muscles and make the sit-up easier. In both types of devices, the
stomach muscles get toned. Alternatively, get in a sit-up position
and simply lift your head as high as possible each time. Slowly it will
get easier as your stomach muscles strengthen. Whatever type you
do, work up to about thirty daily. You will eventually notice a flat-
tening of your stomach and a reduction in hip circumference.
Love handles are dealt with by holding 10-pound weights (books
work well) hip high in front with both hands, feet about twelve
inches apart. Rotate slowly as far as possible to each side; hold for
Exercise 123
about ten seconds. Work up to thirty repetitions on each side daily,
and eventually the love handles will disappear. Perseverance is
essential.
Thighs are thinned by lying on your side and raising the topmost
leg; keep both legs straight; reverse sides and repeat. Start slowly as
these can make you stiff and sore, but work up to about twenty rep-
etitions for each leg. Once more, perseverance is required, but re-
sults will slowly appear.
Use hand weights to firm arms. You don t have to purchase any-
thing sophisticated; any household object, such as a book or a pa-
perweight, will do. Lift the weight up slowly and bring it down
slowly. Remember, the weight need not be heavy, just do the exer-
cise regularly. You can do this while walking or, if you re good, while
jogging.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
Exercise is synergistic. Synergism, from a Greek word, means the sum
is greater than its parts. Simply put, if you add the benefits of exer-
cise to your dietary program, you get something even greater than
you would have imagined. Satisfaction comes with positive rein-
forcement. You will begin to find satisfaction as you gain flexibility,
burn fat, and develop muscle and discover you can perform tasks
you had once thought impossible such as running 10 miles or bi-
cycling 50 miles.
Physical fitness always improves mental alertness because improved
muscle tone improves circulation. Improved circulation brings more
oxygen and nourishment to your master organ, the brain.
Sleep will be sounder, but not because you are tired; on the con-
trary, you will have more energy. You will sleep better because every-
thing about your body is more efficient. Although the restorative
power of sound sleep remains a scientific mystery, no one can doubt
its miraculous mental and physical value.
124 25 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure
Your bowels will function more regularly, another synergistic ben-
efit of exercise with improved diet. Although dietary fiber improves
regularity and bowel function, regular exercise, which tones all mus-
cles, including those of the bowel, helps them to respond easily and
regularly.
Bones will become larger and denser. Osteoporosis is a decline in
bone density due in large part to inadequate dietary calcium and ex-
ercise during childhood and adolescence. Once women are past
menopause, and men get past the age of fifty, hormonal changes ac-
celerate bone loss, so the problem becomes even more critical. Two
factors require personal control: increasing dietary calcium and
exercise.
Exercise and Stress
Exercise efficiently relieves stress because it provides a convenient
means of eliminating the excess flood of hormones, fats, and blood
sugars that spill into the blood from the stress. In stress, the body
prepares itself to either stand and fight or to run from the danger.
Aerobic exercise after a stressful period will benefit you greatly.
That s why I always urge people in high-stress professions to exercise
at the end of the day. Since their days are often long, this requires
indoor equipment, except during long summer evenings.
Alternatively, many successful people schedule stressful meetings
in the morning and use the lunch hour for a twenty- or thirty-
minute jog or a long uninterrupted brisk walk. If you can t exercise
in the evening or at noon, a morning session still has many benefits.
It will condition your cardiovascular system, enabling you to deal
more effectively with the stresses of everyday business.
16
Understand and
Control Stress
Over the past one hundred years, life expectancy at birth has almost
doubled, from the low forties in 1900 to over seventy by 2000.
Comparing the most common causes of death in 1900 to 2000 pro-
vides insight into what twentieth-century health technology has
accomplished.
Communicable diseases were the three most common causes of
death in 1900; in 1996, diet and stress-related diseases accounted [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]