Diana Schwarzbein, M.D., gave me a lot to think about with her discussion about exercise in her “Menopause Power Webinar Series.”
About a year ago I heard a similar discussion but discredited it because the thinking was so foreign from the “norm.” Now hearing it again, in such elaborate detail, the theory is making much more sense.
As discussed in yesterday’s article, http://rosiebrownrn.com/menopause-power-and-stress/, I listed the five steps in Dr. Schwarzbein’s program. Step Four is “Appropriate Amounts and Types of Exercise.”
See what you think about the notes I took from the webinar:
Exercise does not give you energy and does not make you healthy. You have to have energy and be healthy to get the benefits of exercise.
The goal is to build the body, not break it down.
Cardiovascular exercise creates more stress in the body and breaks your body down. You never need to stimulate with exercise.
When you “over-exercise,” as in cardiovascular exercises, you are breaking yourself down and over-aging. You increase your adrenalin, cortisol, and blood pressure, all of which break you down.
Before age 35, exercise is ok, but not necessary. After age 35, you are just breaking yourself down, over-aging – especially if you are not getting enough sleep or good nutrition.
“Calming” exercise, such as yoga, chi gong, and tai chi, bring stress hormones down. You can do these types of calming exercises every day, if you want to.
“Adaptive” exercise such as pilates and weight training are good. When exercising with a set of weights, your heart rate goes up a couple of minutes and then comes down a couple of minutes. It is not a continuous stress.
Interval training is OK also. You have a burst of energy, such as in a wind sprint – you start and then you stop. There is high intensity for a short period. Interval training can be done 3 – 4 x a week.
The entire webinar focused on the importance of building the body up, not breaking it down. This information on exercise flies in the face of what we have always been taught about the importance of cardiovascular exercise, thought to be critical for good health.
Hmm, so, what do you think?
