Those of you who work with me know my feelings on exercising too much and/or too hard. The recent tragic and sudden death of former iron man Dean Mercer by cardiac arrest at just age 47 hilights the dangers … and I hope we all take heed! We don’t know for sure what was the cause of death, but this isn’t the first time an extremely fit person has died suddenly.
‘ … one theory was that excessive exercise resulted in chronic and recurrent damage to “a whole lot of muscles in the body”.
“And [it] releases all these toxins into the system that really switches on the inflammatory system, and therefore does predispose you to this happening as you get older.”
Please, exercise SMART. This is how I tell all of my clients to train now. Less time doing the crazy stuff, more time doing the healing, restorative and gentle exercise. Yes we all need to keep on top of our strength and cardio training – but this doesn’t mean hours of gruelling training sessions every day or even multiple times per week. The way we teach you to train at MiMFiT takes about 10 minutes per week for cardio, and 10 minutes per week for strength. The rest is gentle exercise and things you do for fun and enjoyment; like walking the dog, yoga, swimming or simply breath and movement (like Tai Chi).
4 years ago I finally understood this … and cut back on extreme exercise. After almost 20 years of burpees, jump squats, running and pushing myself to the absolute extreme during multiple high intensity classes every day, I now do no more than 2 hours most days and I keep my intensity where it should be.
Classes I do include gentle exercise, yoga and Pilates and not one of my classes that I participate in contains anything that is likely to do damage.Yes I teach Zumba fitness 3 times a week, but again, i know my limits. I do miss the insanity of what I used to do, but I know the risks aren’t worth it. My heart health and joint health are far more important!
And importantly, my body is still in execellent shape! I’m 38 years old and my body is as good as when I was in my 20’s and doing all that crazy exercise – I would even say it’s better these days. I still have great muscle definition and my core is rock solid. I am strong. fit and healthy – and not injuring myself every week! Gone are the days when I was visiting the pyhsio with new injuries on a regular basis. And you know what? I don’t miss that part at all.
If you would like help to figure out what exercise to do and what foods you should be eating to help you achieve the best results possible, please contact me now. We have an 8 Week Healthy You Challenge where we go over the fundamentals – and guide you through the change. Everyone who takes part in the challenge and follows the program loses fat, gains muscle and becomes much healthier and happier. Click here to register your interest http://www.mimfit.net/8-week-healthy-you-challenge/ Cost is just $50 deposit and $25 per week.
If you’re over 40, you should watch how much you exercise – please read this article if you find the time.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-08-29/if-youre-over-40-you-should-watch-how-much-you-exercise/8852514
