You At Your Best

special to you at your Best Back in the heyday of aerobic dance, people often chose between high-impact and low-impact exercise classes. Now, as many of us like to work out at home, you might need to make that decision for yourself. "Exercise is a key part to your whole health," says Dr. Greg Henson, owner and physician at MANA Family Medicine in Southwest Bentonville. "Exercise not only helps burn calories, lose weight, and strengthen muscles, but it also improves cardiovascular and mental health," he explains. Dr. Henson encourages patients to get started with low- impact exercise to improve their health. What's the difference? High-impact exercise involves running and jumping, activities that cause greater impact on joints and on your feet. Low-impact involves stepping, walking, and other movements that don't get your feet pounding against the ground. High impact exercises include • Running • Cross-Fit • Calisthenics • Jumping rope • Racquetball or tennis • Hiking Low impact exercises include • Swimming • Walking • Cycling • Yoga • Spinning • Pilates Dancing can go either way — ballet is generally high impact, while that reggaetón dance party can be low-impact. Zumba and other fitness dance classes often provide both high impact and low impact options. Listen for the instructor to mention "modifications." What's good about high impact moves? While high-impact moves are more likely to lead to injury, they also have some real health advantages. • High-impact exercise strengthens bones and increases bone density more than low-impact moves. Bones are living tissue, like muscles, and challenging them leads to increases in bone mass. • High-impact moves can also be high intensity, getting your heart rate up and burning calories more than more leisurely exercise. However, low-impact exercise can also be high intensity — see more on that below. • These kinds of exercise can also strengthen joints by building up the muscles around the joints. Start out slow if you haven't done much high-impact movement before, or mix up high-impact and low-impact exercises. Gradually increase the length and intensity of your workouts to avoid injury. But high-impact exercise doesn't always lead to injury. Unless you have arthritis or other conditions that tell you to slow down, you can confidently take up running and other high-impact activities. Research shows that running is not associated with greater rates of arthritis later in life. Low-impact can be high intensity Low impact exercise typically means that you don't lift both feet off the floor at once. In the case of swimming or elliptical training, you might not lift your feet off the floor at all. But that doesn't mean that low-impact exercise can't give you a high-intensity workout. Swimming and spinning can be done at a leisurely pace, but they can also be fast and challenging. Yoga and Pilates can be challenging workouts, and weight training can also get your heart rate up without jarring your joints. "Low impact exercises such as swimming can be a wonderful option for patients of all ages," says Dr. Henson. "Swimming can be tailored to high, low, or mixed intensity workouts," he explains. "Also, it is a good option for individuals who have joint or back ailments who can't tolerate high impact activities like running." Use your heart rate as a guide to the intensity of your workout. HIIT workouts, or high intensity interval training, alternate bursts of high intensity exercise (at 80% heart rate) with lower intensity cool-down movements. These workouts can be designed with low impact movements. Or you might enjoy intense but low-impact workouts like rock climbing and mountain biking. If you're not sure what kind of exercise is best for you, talk with your doctor. A mixture of both high-impact and low- impact might be just right. High-impact and low-impact exercise Gregory Henson, mD mana Family medicine sw Bentonville step count were 61% less likely to have obesity, compared to women who walked the least. People who took at least 7,000 steps a day had a 50% to 70% lower risk of dying compared with people who took fewer than 7,000 steps a day, according to a study published in September in the journal JAMA Open Network. Researchers found that a higher daily step count (over 10,000 steps) lowered the risk of premature death from any cause among Black and white middle-aged women and men. "Walking is a great way to improve your health and your mental outlook, and it doesn't take a lot of expensive sporting equipment to do it. Put on a good pair of shoes and grab a water bottle and you're ready to go," said Donna K. Arnett, M.S.P.H., Ph.D., B.S.N., a past president of the American Heart Association (2012-2013) and the dean and a professor in the department of epidemiology of the University of Kentucky College of Public Health in Lexington. "It doesn't matter how fast or how far you walk, the important thing is to get moving. Counting steps doesn't have to be part of a structured exercise program. Increasing your everyday activity, like parking slightly further from your destination, doing some extra housework or yardwork and even walking your dog can all add up to more steps and better health." The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week. You can knock that out in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. And every minute of moderate to vigorous activity counts toward your goal. Arnett points out that walking indoors at home, in a gym or even a mall can be easy ways to get beneficial physical activity. However, research indicates that being outdoors in areas rich with trees, shrubs and grass (i.e., a higher level of greenness) may help reduce the risk of dying from heart disease. "Unfortunately, many people do not have access to safe walking trails or adequate green space. The American Heart Association continues to advocate for policy changes that make it easier for people to have access to safe places to walk, exercise and play, as well as sustainable transportation options that integrate walking, bicycling and wheelchair use," Arnett said. "The easier it is for people to engage in physical activity in all aspects of their daily life, the more likely we are to achieve healthier, longer lives for everyone." sunDay, June 26, 2022 | July - Fit X: eXercise & Fitness youatyourBest.nwaonline.com | you at your Best | 5

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