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Years ago I thought health was given. I believed it was something you simply had—not something you had to work for. And I was wrong. Physical fitness is key to health. It involves decisions: medical science investigates these decisions.

Arms

Arms are important in daily life. Strong arms are useful too: you can lift heavy things and show them off. Appearance is not the most important aspect of fitness. But it is one aspect.

Parallel bar dips build your upper body strength. They are also fun to do. You can do dips with just your body weight, or with a dip belt and some attached plates. Pull-ups too are a good exercise for a home gym.

Note: Dips have been called the "upper body squat." They are a proven exercise for building strength. Parallel bar dips are one of the recommended adjunct exercises in Starting Strength—a top weight lifting book.

Weights

Dumbbells are an excellent way to get started lifting weights at your home. They are also good for even advanced weight lifters. There is some material on dumbbells and their advantages and specific lifts on this site.

Olympic barbells are my favorite piece of exercise equipment and the one that I use most regularly. There are many articles covering barbells on this website as a result.

The barbell squat to be one of the most important exercises—probably the most important weight training one for many trainees. This is the one exercise other than cardiovascular work that I regularly engage in.

Note: The posterior chain is an important part of your body. This includes parts of your back, your butt and your legs. Squats develop well the posterior chain.

Research

These articles cover the scientific aspects of how exercise affects your body. Exercise does not directly increase your body composition—instead it triggers a complex cascade of hormonal changes.

Tip: Physical fitness is less of a goal than a lifestyle choice. This is because it is an ongoing process. Even those who are physically fit must maintain it: they can't just stop working out.

Motivation. With exercise, sticking to your routine for long periods of time is important. At some point, your motivation in doing this becomes critical to your success. If you are true to yourself and your goals, you are more likely to persevere.

Aspects: What is your motivation to exercise? I discuss my motivation, other common motivations, and the conceptual issues relating to exercise motivation—both intrinsic and extrinsic.

Misc. I talk about specific exercises you can do in the gym, referencing books to establish best practices. For many exercises, you need equipment. I reveal the pros and cons of popular equipment for sale.

Being strong

What is it like to be strong? Strength is an essential part of life—without it we cannot move nor breathe. But some are stronger than others. Some have bulky, rippling muscles and firm bodies. Others are flabby and seemingly shapeless. It is a tremendous privilege to be strong. This strength, these muscles come from discipline and genetics: hard work and to some extent luck.

It attracts attention, that strong-seeming form. But for the muscle man life is still the same. He has worries and concerns and bills and stress. On some level though his muscular shape helps him through.

It relieves stress.
It helps him conquer his fears.
It takes him places he would never go otherwise.
Lifting weights, becoming strong, is for some a key to success.

Fitness level

I have often wondered what my exact level of physical fitness is. I am a big guy. I work out almost every day and have for years and I eat a careful diet. I ask myself the question, "Do people often overestimate their fitness level?" I try to answer this and determine ways we can better determine how fit we are.

Note: It's hard to tell how fit you are. Some have larger waists for their height—they are shorter and heavier, but not overweight. To some extent it depends on the size of the skeleton. Do you have a large or small frame?

Frame sizes. One way you can see how large your frame is by measuring your wrists. Of course this has to relate somehow to your height. Generally a wrist size of more than 7 or 8 inches on a man is a large frame.

Tip: Taller people are heavier than shorter people. But muscle mass too makes a big difference. People who lift weights are not less fit than those who are thin because they smoke cigarettes.

Performance and appearance. Instead of measurements, such as waist size and weight, I would prefer to go by your exercise performance and also your appearance. Do you get winded on the treadmill just by walking? Unless you have a breathing condition, this does not indicate a high level of fitness.

Appearance and fitness. How much body fat do you have on your face? Do you have excess fat under your chin or does your belly flop over your belt? Most carry too much body fat. Not everyone does. With your appearance, your frame size and your muscle mass will also influence this. You could be a 200 pound weight lifter and be healthy and fit. This is obese according to BMI charts.

Activity. Your fitness level cannot be measured just by your body type or shape or composition. Some are leaner even without exercise. You are more likely to be physically fit if you exercise regularly and vigorously. Physical fitness resolves to regular exercising. If you regularly exercise and do not eat an unhealthy diet, you are likely fit.

Note: Measurements and pounds cannot really tell you if you are physically fit. Your appearance can tell you more about your fitness level. Your measurements, appearance and ongoing activity levels gives a pretty good idea. This helps you avoid overestimating your physical fitness.

Minutes per day

How long should you exercise each day and each week for optimal health benefits? I look at what various organizations say about this matter. And I provide my own opinion on training routines.

Note: The CDC recommends about 21 to 42 minutes of aerobic exercise daily.

CDC recommendations. Let's look at what the CDC—Center for Disease Control—says about exercise recommendations. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of aerobic exercise every week and strength training two days a week. For greater health benefits, the CDC recommends 300 minutes of aerobic exercise every week and strength training two days a week.

Tip: The CDC notes that if you go beyond 300 minutes, you will gain even greater health benefits. I think the CDC should caution that too much exercise can be a bad thing. In summary the CDC is recommending 21 minutes to 42 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every day of the week.

Institute of Medicine recommendations. In 2002 the Institute of Medicine undertook a scientific study into exercise and nutrition. The scientists sought to determine the level of exercise that is necessary to maintain health and also the nutritional aspects required. The IOM found that 60 minutes of moderate physical activity is necessary each day to maintain cardiovascular health. This comes out to 420 minutes of activity each week.

Note: The recommendations of the CDC are somewhat less than the recommendation of the IOM. However, it is clear that both organizations recognize the need for 20-60 minutes of daily exercise. In a practical sense, you should probably aim for one hour of daily exercise, but anything between 20 minutes and 120 minutes is acceptable.

Every day

Exercise is tiring. It can lead to overtraining. I have worked as a personal trainer. Sometimes my clients ask me, "Is is OK to work out every day?" The answer to this question is complicated: it is divided into several parts.

Short-term—it is fine to exercise every day in the short-term. It is likely acceptable if you want to exercise for a few days or even weeks. But over the long term an overtraining syndrome will likely develop. This is also called simply exhaustion.

Long-term—exercise like running every day over the long-term is problematic. Injuries will occur more and more often. Fatigue will set in. You may stop losing weight if that is your goal. This may be because the stress hormone cortisol builds up. Cortisol causes fat gain and muscle loss—it is catabolic.

Tip: It may be possible to exercise every day if you change the intensity of your workout. For example, you could try walking alternating with running. Even better would be to add additional styles such as weight lifting.

Sensible approach. Any long-term workout plan needs to take daily problems into account. A workout routine must be paused for a few days or weeks if you get sick. Overtraining is similar to becoming sick. It is a condition you must respond to. If exhaustion occurs, skip at least one day of your workout routine.

Note: I lift weights and also do cardiovascular exercises. I have found that if I do intense exercise such as barbell squats or vigorous cardio, I often need to skip the next day. This means that the need to skip a workout actually means a good thing is happening. Vigorous exercise demands rest.

Life

I go through life. I often think to myself, "Staying healthy is so important." And I have questions about the best ways to stay healthy. Some things are obvious—some are not. I created this website to answer my questions and also to help others. You might have these same questions.

Note: This is a medical research project. I extensively use PubMed—a database containing public medical research. I use the scientific data to write articles about health and fitness.

And: I also tell my story and the stories of others. Any time a person tells his or her personal story, that writing becomes worthwhile—even meaningful.

My name is Markus Strom. I write the material on this site out of my interest in health matters. I also work out a lot. Some of the medical material is reviewed by S. W., who is in the medical field. I strive for perfect accuracy and top quality. I rarely achieve it.

Thanks: Part of the revenue from this site has gone to support Action for Healthy Kids, a Chicago charity.

Summary

Physical fitness is an essential component to your health and wellbeing. Barring a severe medical condition, you should always be engaging in some level of regular physical activity. I recommend you write down in a journal or spreadsheet all your exercise activities you do throughout your life.

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