Metabolic Syndrome includes 5 major conditions that if we focused our attention on as individual B.E.S.T. Practitioners or as clients, we could change the landscape of health in the United States today.

Hypertension, Diabetes, Hypercholesterolemia,  Hyperlipidemia and Obesity along with the myriad of health conditions associated with them are an epidemic in our society.  Check out earlier blogs and BlogtalkRadio for further info on these conditions.

Aerobic exercise (you can speak comfortably) is exercise that is done allowing the production of 38 ATP (packets of energy) per molecule of glucose in the mitochondria.  The glucose can come from sugar, fat or protein.  The key is not to give the body sugar and it won’t go to protein first for fuel. Instead it uses fat to keep the body going during exercise.

You can use a heart rate monitor and set it at 180-your age to give you the top of your Aerobic Zone. Then minus 10 to get the bottom of the zone.   i.e. 180 – your age (40) = 140 is the top of heart rate zone – 10 = 130 the bottom of the heart rate zone.

So between 140-130 heart beats per minute will put you smack dab in the optimum aerobic zone, where you will be burning fat as fuel.

How long? 30 min to begin with; In any activity shorter than 30 min your body will use sugar stored in your muscles and liver as quick energy for survival responses.  Yet, you need to get fit enough to go longer than 30 minutes to burn fat.  5-6 days a week at 30 to 60 minutes will result in body fat burning, increased metabolism and improvement to the cardiovascular, hormonal, lymphatic, body clock and muscular skeletal systems.

Any activity if you set your monitor and keep to the proper length/intensity will get you where you want to be; in a healthy, fit, lean body.

Here’s a short list of aerobic activities:

aerobic dance class

cycling-road or stationary

elliptical trainers

running

walking-outside or treadmill

swimming

water aerobics

yoga

palates class

to name a few.

Please remember: intense physical activity has the same response in the nervous/hormonal system (stimulates sympathetic excess) as all disease states develop in.

You can download the app at ithlete.com to discern if you are fit/healthy enough for greater intensity during work outs.

In Health & Service,

Dr. Roland F. Phillips BA, BS, D.C.