all positive decisions begin with exercise
 

When you make the effort to engage in intense physical exercise, smoking a casual cigarette seems counter-productive. When you are recovering from resistance training (I'm trying to avoid overly-specific lingo here) making healthy diet choices seems like a piece of cake (pun maybe/maybe not intended). It seems to me that all positive health decisions can be facilitated by hitting the gym. After that, it's all automatic. IE "Did I take my vitamins? I better have, or I wasted my time working out" . . . Do you find the same to be true?

So, that's all positive health decisions begin with exercise?

@Pie: Correct. I didn't think all that would fit in the thread title, but it is the health forum, right?

Mental health? Oral and dental health? Oh never mind. To be honest, I just didn't read the forum name.
I've been working out for an hour to an hour and a half every day since January 9th. I'm trying to recoup from a diagnosis if borderline diabetes.
I miss potatoes.

@Pie: Potatoes shouldnt even be considered a vegetable, they have so little nutritional value. You can do tasty things with them, though. But it's not worth it, usually.

"Mental health?" Yes, absolutely. Without a doubt. Endophins, etc.

:::too lazy to elaborate:::

"Oral and dental health?" Now, that's a stretch. It is diet related, in a way.

I'm really big on the mental health aspect of exercise. Burning off stress is a big part of cycling for me. We have some exercise stuff buried over in sports...

I'm a big fan of sneaky exercise. Always parking at the back of the parking lot, for example (which also feeds my impatience; I usually end up getting in the store sooner than the morons cruising around looking for a "good spot").

"sneaky exercise" - I like that. I always take the stairs, at a sort of jogging pace.

Beware of knee damage. I never had any problem with my knees before I started walking the stairs for exercise.

That's a good point, about the knees. I've been doing yoga, and it's helped with general flexibility, working the muscles all the way down to the insertion point, and cracking plaque off of the connective tissue.

But, I'm also a drummer, which is my "secret weapon" of exercise and meditation.

I dislocated my right knee and tore my ACL 2 years ago playing volleyball...after a year of therapy I can almost jog again (but things like deep knee bends are forever beyond my reach now)... one thing is for sure - going UP the stairs is one hell of alot easier on your knees than going DOWN the stairs... dar512, if you are taking stairs in an office building walk up them and then take an elevator back down... it helps.

Flint - I have been thinking about yoga - how much stress on the joints involved? I know nothing about it.

@FallenFairy: I've always spent about half my time in the gym stretching and breathing - this is between whatever else I am doing, which is usually fast-paced resistance training which builds to a level of cardio intensity. I've always valued stretching as a warm-up and recovery tool, but it wasn't until I studied Yoga that I felt like I finally understood the right way to stretch. Yoga in itself will work your muscles, as I said, to the insertion point, so it will change the way you are shaped. It can also be intense to a cardio level, which is a different feeling when you are achieving that through what are essentially isometric positions. There is also a huge spiritual aspect to Yoga. All around it will make you feel like a much healthier person, your spine will remain flexible and you won't have alot of these signs of aging that we are conditioned to expect as normal.

@FallenFairy: (continued) Sorry to hear about your knee injury. I had a problem with my knee years ago. The MDs wanted to scope it, and probaby cut me, and who knows what else. I went to a chiropractor who manipulated my foot around a few times, the bones went back into place and took the pressure off of the connective tissue, and it never bothered me again.

@Flint: Thanks for the info... one more Q.
Are there different styles of yoga? (ie: so many differing styles and schools of karate)

And does Pilates fall into the same category as yoga??
Oh that was 2 Q's... damn :right:

@FallenFairy: Yes, there are different kinds, but I don't offhand know the specifics on that. I think they compete for credibility, saying "we are the true Yoga" or whatever. Pilates isn't Yoga. It was invented for physical rehab of bed-ridden patients injured at war. It seems pretty cool, I don't know much about it, other than it strengthens your "core" muscles.