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Health Promotion

By Shervan Khanna

Millions of people have been led astray by incorrect information, beliefs, opinions, and practices recommended by health care professionals, fitness instructors, and coaches who do not understand exercise and its requirements. Such misinformation has caused many to miss the real benefits that exercise can deliver and, even worse, to end up injured in the pursuit of health. Others become frustrated by lack of results or conflicting information and choose to do nothing at all.

Attempts at health promotion have focused efforts on increasing activity. Various agencies and individuals perceive a solution in promoting a kinder, gentler exercise, which takes the emphasis off a structured and planned program and emphasizes generic activities that occur during one’s normal daily life. In an effort to gain exercise compliance, these organizations have lowered the standards of exercise to such a level that virtually every activity that involves movement of the body qualifies as exercise. This is a big mistake with potentially disastrous consequences.

In order to produce the adaptations that improve health and function, the body requires a direct and significant stimulus, namely demanding muscular work. Exercise is a challenge to the body, which, if performed within safe parameters, results in positive changes. Unfortunately, non-demanding activities cannot provide the required stimulation and desirable benefits of proper, structured exercise. Even if an individual partakes in a very active lifestyle, they still must exercise. Exercise is not optional.

Ironically, proper exercise requires much less time commitment than any of the bogus exercise replacements. As for the demanding nature of exercise and the unpleasant symptoms (muscle burn, elevated heart rate, increased respiration, sweating, etc.) that occur during its performance, these things are simply unavoidable. Hard work is necessary to stimulate changes to your body and some discomfort is part of the package. These uncomfortable feelings are normal and natural and they cause no harm. If effort is reduced in order to avoid discomfort, results from exercise will remain elusive.

What Exercise CAN and CANNOT Do

In general, exercise CAN effect changes in the following six areas of physical condition:

Muscular Improvements (strength, endurance, tone, shape)
Increased Bone Density and Strength
Improved Cardiovascular Efficiency
Enhanced Flexibility
Contribution to Body Leanness
Increased Resistance to Injury

Though proper exercise offers a multitude of benefits, exercise is sometimes promoted as doing things that it simply CANNOT do. A few of the more prevalent false beliefs are briefly discussed below.

Exercise CANNOT:

By Itself – Cause Body Fat Loss
Fat loss occurs only when total daily calorie intake is less than total daily calorie expenditure (ie. as a result of a calorie deficit). This occurs much more efficiently as a result of restricted intake.

Burn a Significant Amount of Calories
Calorie expenditure during exercise is very small relative to the amount of calories easily consumed through food.

Burn a Significant Amount of Fat
Of the calories expended during exercise, most are derived from carbohydrate. Depending on the exercise intensity, fat contributes no more than about 40 percent of the energy. If total expenditure is small, how can a small fraction of this small amount be significant?

Atone for Overeating / Nutritional Infractions
For the reasons discussed above, exercise cannot make up for excessive calories consumed from poor food choices.

By Itself – Significantly Alter Body Appearance
Improving physical appearance requires reducing body fat and strengthening and shaping muscles. Exercise primarily causes the muscular changes. Body fat reduction requires dietary modification and control. Body fat lies on top of muscle and can hide improvements in muscle tone and shape that occur from exercise. Therefore, without dietary control, exercise is limited in its ability to change appearance.

Prevent Heart Disease
Cardiovascular disease has many contributing factors and cannot be prevented simply by performing aerobic exercise. Many people who exercise regularly still get heart disease and suffer heart attacks. Heart disease continues to be the number one health problem in North America.

The general public is harmed when it is misled and confused by incorrect information and incomplete advice, regardless of how well-meaning it may be. Having been led to believe that exercise is about fun and pleasure, people often avoid real exercise or are disinclined to work hard and exert themselves when performing it. The utilization of unproductive, inefficient activities combined with an unwillingness to work hard prevents an individual from achieving the physical improvements he or she seeks.

About the Author:

Shervan Khanna with One to One Wellness Centre, which is a Personal Training Studio & Rehab Clinic located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Their website is www.121wellness.ca