January 15, 2020

In this newsletter . . .

High Tech Fitness

I don’t mean to say that fitness watches, or whatever you call them, have no practical use. They do. Anything that gets people off the couch is a plus. But being mostly “old school” about fitness, I didn’t want to fall into the trap of incessantly checking myself on some device. OMG! How many steps have I taken? Am I on track to meet the required number today? What’s my resting heart rate? What was my sleep pattern last night? Am I getting enough REM stages? And so forth . . . Smartphone addictions come to mind, providing an ominous warning.

Nevertheless, I’ve been wearing the watch for a couple of weeks and so far have limited myself to checking it only once daily, at bedtime. I look at three items: steps taken, resting heart rate, and my sleep pattern of the previous night. Quick and easy. The danger is that the watch is capable of doing so much more. Temptation awaits. This coming summer I’ll add measuring my pool workouts. But so far I’ve successfully and purposely ignored the list of other features it offers.

Maybe you have one of these watches too, and already know all this. Something you may not know, however, is the origin of the well-known prescription of taking 10,000-steps-a-day. The 10,000 steps rule has successfully worked its way into today’s established fitness beliefs. Very convenient. If 10,000 daily steps are required for health and fitness, you certainly must own a Fitbit watch, or one like it, to keep track of the count.

Here’s the thing. it appears the 10,000 steps standard is just an arbitrary number — with no actual science to back it up. Of course there’s nothing at all wrong with taking 10,000 steps daily. We’ve got to stay active. And some active people take many more than 10,000. Fine. But actual science seems to have zeroed-in on a better number for most people to shoot for and it appears to be about 7,500. You can look it up in this article here.

In another recent article, a medical doctor, Yoni Freedhoff, summarizes how to be healthy in just 48 words. Here’s what he says . . .

After practicing family medicine for 16 years, with a focus on nutrition and obesity, I’ve learned that the keys to good health are quite simple to describe. In fact, I believe the best health advice can be boiled down to 48 words.

What are these 48 words? In no particular order:

• Don’t smoke (2).
• Get vaccinated (4).
• Avoid trans fats (7).
• Replace saturated fats with unsaturated if you can (15).
• Cook from whole ingredients — and minimize restaurant meals (23).
• Minimize ultra-processed foods (26).
• Cultivate relationships (28)
• Nurture sleep (30).
• Drink alcohol at most moderately (35).
• Exercise as often as you can enjoy (42).
• Drink only the calories you love (48).

I like it. Thought you might too.

Logan

Senior Exercise Central

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Sincerely,

Logan Franklin
The Gray Iron Fitness Newsletter
www.senior-exercise-central.com