On Sunday, November 9, Spa Koru’s Running Club ran for the first time in OBX Gateway Bank Half Marathon.  The Running Club was formed to train for this event.  Since it’s creation over five months ago, it’s evolved into so much more.  It is an active way to be social and join with others to improve yourself.  The Spa Koru Running Club is comprised of young and old, experienced and not.  We came together for the same goal and accomplished that on November 9, 2008.  We now have been bitten by the bug and will be running in several other events.

Running is a great form of  cardio exercise.  Exercise is the best way to reduce stress and lose weight, as explained in this article from The Mayo Clinic:

“I’m going to take off my dietitian hat for a moment and put on my wellness hat. Let’s talk about diet’s right hand — exercise.

The CDC recently released the “2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.” The guidelines recommend incorporating both physical activity and strength training. The guidelines are a result of the overwhelming evidence of the benefit of exercise in chronic disease prevention. The guidelines are as follows:

Adults and those 65 or older who are generally fit, and have no limiting health conditions:

• 150 minutes/week moderate intensity aerobic activity such as walking, moderate cycling, dancing, and yard work
• Or 75 minutes/week vigorous aerobic activity such as fast paced walking, jogging, jumping jacks, and heavy or rapid shoveling
• Or a mix of moderate and vigorous activity
• 2 more days/week — muscle strengthening (push ups, resistance exercises, or yoga) of all major muscle groups

Adults with disabilities:

• Talk to your doctor and a trained exercise professional about what’s best for you

Pregnant and post partum women, in a good state of health:

• 150 minutes/week moderate intensity aerobic activity such as walking or water exercises
• Women who already do vigorous intensity aerobic activity may continue to do so and discuss adjusting their activity over the duration of their pregnancy or post partum period with their health care provider

Children:

• 60 minutes/day such as general active play, organized sports, or dancing
• Within this 60 minutes include: 3 days/week of vigorous activity that includes running or a faster paced activity, 3 days/week muscle strengthening such as pulling self up on a jungle gym or pushups, and 3 days/week bone strengthening such as jumping or running

You are encouraged to spread the activity over a week’s timeframe and if needed, fit 10-minute segments into your day.

More is better; if you double the above recommendations you achieve a greater health benefit.

For those of you who are among the 28 percent of Americans who have no leisure time activity, this is asking a lot. Some argue that even if you are not sedentary, these recommendations might be unrealistic for most people. Regardless of where you fall in the spectrum of activity, be smart about how you increase your physical activity; talk to your doctor before beginning more vigorous activity.

I think we all can agree that any physical activity that increases your heart rate is a positive lifestyle factor.

For those of you who fall into that 28 percent, there are other reasons to get moving. Also this month, a small study was published that highlights the ills of unbalanced energy intake (what you eat) and being sedentary. As you would expect, it confirms that too many calories while being sedentary increases body fat. But the study also suggests that while you gain fat, you loss muscle mass and your body has an increased stress response — double whammy. In fact, those who gained the most fat also lost the most muscle mass. The message: If you’re unable to participate in physical activity, watch your calorie intake closely.

We all know that exercise is something we should do. Do you find these guidelines motivating? Expecting too much? For those of you that have found success in making exercise a part of your lifestyle, share your tips.”