For thousands of years, humanity has struggled to understand the place of men and women in the universe. All sorts of explanations have been brought forward, many proposing that humanity is part of a greater whole and helps contribute to the welfare of all. Equally many theories suggest that humanity is the center of the universe for which all else exists. Whether one conceives that humankind is a contributing partner in the web of life, or whether one takes the position that humans rule over all else, taking what we need from the resources freely provided, all can agree there is much to be learned from the natural world.

In particular, men and women can learn how to maintain a healthy physical existence. But it seems we have not learned the lessons available with any sort of effectiveness. Research shows that more than half of all adults in the United States have at least one chronic disease. Worldwide, chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer account for more than 60% of all deaths annually. Recently, the prevalence of chronic diseases has been largely attributed to lifestyle. Whether you consistently eat a nutritious diet and engage in regular vigorous exercise has a great deal to do with your present state of health and the likelihood of developing a life-threatening chronic disease in the future.^1,2

If we were really paying attention, even those of us who live in urban areas would recognize that all other forms of life with whom we share this planet engage in regular exercise on a daily basis. For example, it seems that birds only really rest when they're asleep for the night. Rabbits and squirrels are continually on the move searching for food. Bees are constantly in flight and ants are always on the march. Even plants get their exercise by daily phototropic behaviors, turning their stalks, extending their stems, and turning their leaves toward the sun to obtain their form of daily nutrition. And, of course, with the exception of domesticated pets and animals caged in zoos, you never see an overweight or obese robin, finch, hawk, bunny, or bumblebee.

Thus, it's important to recognize that even with our vaunted self-awareness and reasoning ability, we are nonetheless quite similar, physiologically at least, to all other creatures. It's not necessary for us to develop a radical cosmic consciousness, but it is necessary to be able to discern what's beneficial for us. Extending the well-known proverb, what's good for the goose is not only good for the gander, but good for us, too. By making our own the regular, sensible habits of other living beings, men and women around the world can obtain higher levels of health, wellness, and well being, now and into the future.³

¹Street SJ, et al: Windows of opportunity for physical activity in the prevention of obesity. Obes Rev 2015 Jul 29. doi: 10.1111/obr.12306. [Epub ahead of print]
²Blaize AN, et al: Impact of Maternal Exercise during Pregnancy on Offspring Chronic Disease Susceptibility. Exerc Sport Sci Rev 2015 Jul 21. [Epub ahead of print]
³Smith CJ, Ryckman KK: Epigenetic and developmental influences on the risk of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Diabetes Metab Syndro Obes 8:295-302, 2015

Renewability, sustainability, and energy conservation are all over the news. Every newspaper's front page and every television nightly news program features sustainability daily. These are important issues, not only for the health of our planet, but also for our physical health and well-being.

Our physical health depends on how we maximize our available energy resources - how we use our body's stores of energy, how we replace and renew that energy, and how we practice conservation of our physical energy.

The interaction of all the elements of human physiology is exactly analogous to the interaction of ecosystems in the global ecology. It's an interesting and powerful comparison.

Energy resources in our body consist of nutrients obtained from food, oxygen, and stored energy in the form of sugars (glycogen) and fats. We gain energy by eating good food and balancing our nutritional choices from all the major food groups.^1,2 We gain energy by having efficient and well-toned cardiovascular and respiratory systems. We gain energy by having strong muscles. And we gain energy by getting sufficient rest.

How we use these resources depends on instructions from the nerve system. Being able to use these resources efficiently depends on the underlying tone of our cells and tissues, which in turn depends on normal flow of information in the nerve system.

Hyperactive nerve systems and sluggish nerve systems - due to a variety of causes - create imbalances up and down the line.³ Systems perform abnormally. Your metabolism slows down or speeds up. You don't digest your food properly. You use too many or too little resources for a given task, and the job doesn't get done properly. Muscles get tight. Joints get stiff. You have pain. You get sick.

In these cases you're using more energy - due to inefficient systems - than you're taking in. You're not sustaining your resources, you're depleting them. Sooner or later, your entire system will begin to breakdown. You have chronic pain, you're tired all the time, you toss and turn when you should be sleeping, and you're irritable during the day.

Energy is not being renewed. Your body's out of balance, physically and metaphorically.

Chiropractic treatment directly addresses these energy concerns. Chiropractic care is all about energy management and conservation of resources. Gentle chiropractic treatment focuses on restoring balance to nerve systems, muscular systems, and physical structure. Energy begins to flow to where it's needed most, chronic pain begins to resolve, and you begin to sleep more restfully. You have a greater focus and get done the things you want to get done during the day. Your relationships with family and friends are more enjoyable, and life itself becomes much more fun.

Your chiropractor - your energy conservation specialist - is an important natural resource for your well-being and your family's well-being.

¹Katona P, Katona-Apte J: The interaction between nutrition and infection. Clin Infect Dis 46(10):1582-1588, 2008
²UNESCO, Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific: Population, nutrition, and health. Bull Unesco Reg Off Educ Asia Pac 23:260-268, 1982
³D'Melllo R, Dickenson AH: Spinal cord mechanisms of pain. Br J Anaesth April 15, 2008

Back in the day, there were no personal trainers. If you needed to learn how to exercise, you got a subscription to one of a few well-known "muscle magazines" and read several issues from cover to cover. Then you joined a "Y" and began to discreetly observe what was going in the weight room, trying to match up what you had read in the magazine with what you were seeing in the gym. Eventually, you put together a series of exercises, sets, and reps that worked for you. Back then, any strength training program you developed would be strictly based on a seat-of-the-pants approach. You learned by trial and error.

Today there is a vast body of scientific literature focused on the various benefits of numerous forms and types of exercise.¹ However, scientific studies are not good at evaluating the how-to's of getting fit. Fortunately many informal resources are available, all intended to point you in the right direction. But not all of these resources are accurate or trustworthy, and the challenge is to identify a set of basic principles that will be applicable to your specific situation.

Firstly, before getting started you need to make sure that it's OK to actually get started. Let your doctor (your family chiropractor, family physician, or internist) know what you're planning to do and have her tell you what you need to watch out for, if anything. Next, you need to make a commitment. Consistency is the key to deriving lasting value from exercise. Additionally, irregular exercise sessions will often lead to injury. If you're serious about getting fit, then make a commitment to yourself to participate in a 12-week program. At the end of 12 weeks, you'll evaluate how you feel, what you've accomplished, and whether you want to keep going.

In terms of strength training (that is, weight lifting), three sessions per week is ideal. By doing "split routines" you can exercise all the major muscle groups each week. On one day you'll do exercises for the chest and back. Another day you'll do exercises for the legs. On the third day you'll focus on the shoulders, biceps, and triceps. This set of split routines will produce optimal results for many people.

Importantly, you'll be doing chest and triceps (and back and biceps) on different days, thus avoiding the potential for overwork and injury. But you may find that an alternate set of split routines works best for you. The key is to start slowly and build up strength gradually. Once you have some experience and an improved level of fitness, you may branch out and vary your basic routine, experimenting and seeing what works best for you. In terms of sets and repetitions (reps), three sets per exercise and eight to 12 repetitions per set represent the classical, tried and true method of getting fit and making gradual strength gains over time. For any strength training exercise, start with a weight at which you can do eight repetitions comfortably. This should be neither too easy, nor too difficult. Of course, it's far better to err on the side of caution. You never want to do too much too soon.

As you go along in your fitness program, you'll add core exercise routines² and aerobics exercise such as walking, swimming, biking, and running. If you work out slowly and gradually and maintain consistency, you'll have a great deal of fun and gain substantially improved levels of health and well-being.³

¹Storer TW, et al: Effect of supervised, periodized exercise training vs. self-directed training on lean body mass and other fitness variables in health club members. J Strength Cond Res 28(7):1995-2006, 2014
²Kahle N, Tevald MA: Core muscle strengthening's improvement of balance performance in community-dwelling older adults: a pilot study. J Aging Phys Act 22(1):65-73, 2014
³Huffman KM, et al: Metabolite signatures of exercise training in human skeletal muscle relate to mitochondrial remodelling and cardiometabolic fitness. Diabetologia 2014 Aug 5. [Epub ahead of print]

Not everyone will admit this, but there's something magical about exercise. Your brain produces endorphins in response to vigorous exercise and you feel energized, alert, and alive. You derive tremendous satisfaction from doing something you said you'd do. You feel good about yourself all day long. Beyond these benefits related to personal fulfillment, regular vigorous exercise builds strong muscles and bones and strengthens your cardiopulmonary system. Your heart and lungs become substantially more efficient. Your heart pumps more blood with every beat and your lungs take in more air with every breath. Your entire physiology, that is, every one of your cells, tissues, and organs, benefits from a consistent program of regular exercise.

Yet, remarkably, there's more. Medical researchers and public health policy makers have long known that regular vigorous exercise helps improve the health of people with diabetes, heart disease, many types of arthritis, and even cancer. But more recently, within the last couple of years, scientists have been finding that exercise causes lasting changes in the configuration and functioning of human genes.

As we all know, our genetic inheritance is encoded in complex, tightly wound strands of DNA. Our genetic code comprises only four nucleotides - adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine - biochemical structures whose precise sequence contains all the information required to produce a living human being. (Some fun facts: There are approximately 3 billion "base pairs" of DNA in a human cell. A single uncoiled strand of DNA is approximately 3 feet (1 meter) in length. In contrast, human cells average 25 millionths of a meter in diameter.). Up until 10 or so years ago, it was generally accepted that genes (specific sequences of base pairs) controlled all protein formation and all physiologic functioning. But within the last 10 years, numerous discoveries have demonstrated a variety of additional factors that contribute to individual genetic expression. One such mechanism involves "epigenetics", the process of "tagging" genes with small "side groups" or "markers". The attachment of a methyl side group (—CH₃), an action known as methylation, modifies a gene's expression, boosting its output or turning it off completely. Researchers have now consistently demonstrated that regular exercise influences and even reprograms the epigenetic pattern of methylation.^1,2

One study has demonstrated that exercise-associated methylation patterns impact genes associated with energy metabolism and insulin response in muscles.³ These findings, if reproduced by follow-up studies, would go far toward clarifying the role of exercise in relieving the symptoms of many chronic diseases.

The conclusion is that not only does exercise make you look good and feel good, it also exerts a profound effect on the most basic components of human physiology. Our long-ago high school gym teachers who exhorted us in seemingly endless rounds of sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and squat thrusts knew what they were doing. It's up to us to continue the program.

¹Denham J, et al: Exercise: putting action into our epigenome. Sports Med 44(2):189-209, 2014
²Ronn T, et al: A six months exercise intervention influences the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern in human adipose tissue. PLoS Genetics 2013 Jun;9(6):e1003572. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1003572
³Lindholm ME, et al: An integrative analysis reveals coordinated reprogramming of the epigenome and the transcriptome in human skeletal muscle after training. Epigenetics 2014 Dec 7:0. [Epub ahead of print]

Mao Asada, Silver Medalist in Ladies Figure Skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics, landed three triple axels in the competition, a feat no competitor had done before. There are no easy figure skating jumps, spins, or technical elements, but the triple axel is particularly difficult. This jump has many moving parts, all of which must be exquisitely coordinated in order to land safely on the ice with the specified number of turns in the air.

How does a person put together all the various pieces of this beautiful and daring feat? Certainly not by thinking about them. The timing of the triple axel, as with all figure skating "tricks", happen in a matter of seconds. The individual moving parts happen in split seconds. So thinking about what's coming next will cause the skater to fall and ignominiously sprawl on the ice.

Well-executed triple axels, triple flips, and triple salchows are things of beauty, grace, and athleticism. Double and single jumps are wondrous too, and require very high levels of skill and coordination.^1,2 A skater learns how to do these things well by practicing, training, and developing a keen ability to focus. The hours, days, months, and years of training teach a skater's body how to do these jobs well. For the most part, thinking is not part of the process. Thinking gets in the way because we cannot think at skating speed.

How can we bring a skater's level of excellence to our own training? Whether we're lifting weights, doing yoga, riding a bike, walking, running, or swimming, a high level of commitment is needed in order to get the results we want.³ A half-hearted effort won't get the job done. If we truly want to be healthy and well, regular exercise is required. Our commitment involves planning our time efficiently so we can exercise at least 30 minutes each day.

Also, we need to be sure we're getting as much as we can out of our exercise time. We're exercising to train our heart, lungs, muscles, bones, and joints. If these various body parts and systems aren't communicating well, some or much of time spent exercising will be wasted. The best way to ensure optimal functioning of all our physiologic systems is to make sure our nerve system is operating at full capacity. Chiropractic health care is directed at fulfilling this need.

Regular chiropractic care restores and maintains full functioning of the nerve system. All body systems then function effectively and you're able to derive maximal benefit from your exercise. Your body becomes smarter and able to perform at high levels. You develop new physical skills and abilities. You may become more creative, you may sleep better, and you may have more fun in life.

¹Tanguy SG, et al: Are otolithic inputs interpreted better in figure skaters? Neuroreport 19(5):565-568, 2008
²Lockwood KL, et al: Landing for success: a biomechanical and perceptual analysis of on-ice jumps in figure skating. Sports Biomech 5(2)231-241, 2006
³Rinne M, et al: Is Generic Physical Activity Or Specific Exercise Associated With Motor Abilities? Med Sci Sports Exerc February 13, 2010 (Epub ahead of print)

If a great Shakespearean protagonist had, anachronistically, joined a gym, his internal existential inquiry might have been, "To lift or not to lift?". Many centuries later, the identical inquiry, or controversy, persists. Joining a gym (health club) usually implies the new club member is going to engage in strength training in one form or another. Such exercise provides an abundance of benefits and is a valuable lifestyle choice for most people. But the possibility of injury exists. The key to safe, beneficial exercise is to learn how to do strength training correctly, then develop a plan, and follow the plan.

Government health and wellness guidelines recommend doing 150 minutes of (at least) moderate exercise per week. This translates to at least 30 minutes of exercise five times per week. Strength training is an important component of any exercise program designed to fulfill these recommendations. In combination with cardiorespiratory exercise, strength training greatly improves muscular capabilities and endurance. Your body becomes fit, toned, and honed, and as a result, you become much better equipped to successfully manage the mechanical stresses and strains that everyone encounters during the course of a normal day.^1-3

If you are new to strength training or haven't done this form of exercise in a while, then the most important rule is to start slowly. Scientifically determine how much weight you should be lifting by experimentation. Choose a very light weight and see whether you can do eight repetitions with that weight comfortably. If it's difficult to do eight reps, then start over with the next lighter weight. If it's too easy to do eight reps, then start over with the next heavier weight. If eight repetitions feels just about right, then that's the weight with which to begin that particular exercise. Follow these steps for each of your exercises and you'll have established your beginning routine on a personal and safe foundation.

Strength training need never become boring, as you can change your routine with almost infinite variety. For example, for a 12-week period you could do chest and back exercises one day, then leg exercises a second day, and shoulder and arm exercises a third day. You would do your cardiorespiratory exercise on the remaining two days (for a total of five weekly days of exercise). During a different 12-week period, you could do cardiorespiratory exercise on three days and do arm and leg exercises on one day and chest, back, and shoulder exercises on a second day. Or you could choose to "work light" and exercise all your body parts on a single day. You could do your total-body strength training two or three days a week, filling in the other days with cardiorespiratory exercise. The only guideline in the context of these routine designs is whether the routine works for you. If it works, then it works.

As with all exercise programs, the more consistent you are, the greater long-term benefit you'll derive. Be sure to build-in recovery time by taking a week off here and there for rest and recharging. A modern Hamlet would find his or her exercise time enjoyable and rewarding, and would answer the perplexing question with a resounding, "Yes. I will lift."

¹Granacher U, et al: The importance of trunk muscle strength for balance, functional performance, and fall prevention in seniors: a systematic review. Sports Med 43(7):627-641, 2013

²Grier T, et al: The effects of cross-training on fitness and injury in women. US Army Med Dep J Apr-Jun:33-41, 2015

³Liu Y, et al: Effects of combined aerobic and resistance training on the glycolipid metabolism and inflammation levels in type 2 diabetes mellitus. J Phys Ther Sci 27(7):2365-2371, 2015
These are very good points. With expanded research funding it may be possible to fulfill the assumptions of parametric analysis with greater confidence.

Cross-training refers to a combination of different methods of exercise. Specifically, cross-training refers to the combination of strength training and cardiovascular training in your overall exercise program. Whether you're a 14-year-old just starting out on your first fitness program, or whether you're a 74-year-old who hasn't exercised in more than 40 years, cross-training will provide optimal results for the time and effort you spend on exercise.

In cross-training, it's not that you're doing aerobic and strength-training activities simultaneously. Rather, you're incorporating both methods in your weekly exercise regime. One week you might do three sessions of strength training and two sessions of cardiovascular activity. The next week you could do three sessions of aerobic exercise and two sessions of strength training. The result is that, overall, approximately half of your exercise time is devoted to each of these two methods.

The remarkable outcome of combining two distinctly different training modes is that both sets of results are enhanced.^1,2 Doing cardiovascular exercise on alternate days makes you stronger. In other words, your muscular strength and size are greater than they would be if strength training were your only form of exercise. Correspondingly, doing strength training on alternate days provides you with heightened cardiovascular gains. Specifically, your stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped on each contraction of your heart muscle) and vital capacity (the amount of air you can take in on each breath) are greater than the results you would have obtained by only doing aerobic exercise.

The benefits of cross-training are automatic. There's nothing you need to do intentionally to achieve these gains, other than engaging in your cross-training program five days a week. When you train your heart and lungs by doing cardiovascular (really, cardiorespiratory) exercise, your skeletal muscles automatically participate in your walking, running, biking, or swimming activity. When you do strength training, exercising your chest, back, shoulders, arms, and legs (on different split-training days, of course), your heart and lungs automatically participate, pumping the extra blood and breathing in the extra oxygen required for any vigorous physical activity.

The synergy created by the cross-training format potentiates the results obtained from each method.³ The improved performance of your heart and lungs, derived from aerobic training, enables greater strength training gains. A stronger musculoskeletal system, derived from training with weights, causes your heart and lungs to become more efficient to meet new demands. A positive feedback loop is established from which you obtain improved health and enhanced wellness and well-being.

The best time to begin your new cross-training program is today. Start slowly, increase duration and intensity gradually, and evaluate your gains at 6- and 12-week intervals. Your chiropractor is experienced in exercise rehabilitation and will help you design a cross-training program that works for you.

¹Fournier SB, et al: Improved Arterial-Ventricular Coupling in Metabolic Syndrome after Exercise Training. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2014 May 27. [Epub ahead of print]
²Kolka C: Treating Diabetes with Exercise - Focus on the Microvasculature. J Diabetes Metab 4:308, 2013
³Dos Santos ES, et al: Acute and Chronic Cardiovascular Response to 16 Weeks of Combined Eccentric or Traditional Resistance and Aerobic Training in Elderly Hypertensive Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Strength Cond Res 2014 May 19. [Epub ahead of print]

Thanks to effective public health campaigns regarding healthy lifestyle choices, many people have incorporated regular, vigorous exercise, a nutritious diet, and getting sufficient rest in their daily routines. For many people, an additional important component of a healthy lifestyle is regular stretching.

Regular stretching provides numerous benefits, including enhanced flexibility and adaptability of your musculoskeletal system, that is, your bones, muscles, and joints.¹ As a result, regular stretching helps improve overall mobility and range of motion. Regular stretching helps reduce injury by improving circulation, bringing increased supplies of oxygen and critical nutrients to the large muscles of your thighs and legs and the small muscles of your back. As a bonus, regular stretching helps to reduce stress. It's clear that stretching activities provide a very big return for a modest investment of time and effort.^2,3

In order to derive the greatest benefits from your stretching program, knowledge of stretching "best practices" is essential. First, it's critical to conceive of stretching as a journey rather than a destination. In stretching, we have to give up all our notions of how much we think we should be able to achieve. On any given day, our muscles will be tighter or less tight. On any given day, it will be "harder" or easier to obtain the stretchability of the day before. The best practice is to pay attention to your body, focus on what you're doing, and work with what you have on a particular day. This "centering" approach is in direct contrast to trying to force your muscles to conform to the stretching length you think they should achieve. Using force while stretching will always result in injury. Instead, the activity of stretching calls for a calm, steady, and methodical approach.

What is it that you're doing when you stretch? Primarily, you're using a process of visualization. You're visualizing the particular muscle getting "longer". When you do a stretch for your hamstring muscle group (there are three muscles that comprise this group), you have an image in your mind of the muscles of the back of your thigh and you're "seeing" these muscles lengthening. You're not actually "doing" anything other than performing the activity of the stretch itself. In other words, you're not actively making the hamstrings longer. But you are "seeing" them lengthen in your mind, and the result is an effective stretch, that is, increased length and flexibility of the hamstring group.

Pictures of the quadriceps muscle group (the muscles on the front of your thigh), the hamstring muscle group, the calf muscles (the surface gastrocnemius and the deeper soleus), and your spinal muscle groups will provide great assistance with your visualization process. Such images are widely available on the Internet. Your "Zen-like" process of visualization will make your 10 or 15 minutes of stretching time more effective and may also be applied to various other tasks throughout your day, providing additional ongoing benefits to your health and well being.

¹Peck E, et al: The effects of stretching on performance. Cur Sports Med Rep 13(3):179-185, 2014
²Morrin N, Redding E: Acute effects of warm-up stretch protocols on balance, vertical jump height, and range of motion in dancers. J Dance Med Sci 17(1):34-40, 2013
³Avloniti A, et al: The Acute Effects of Static Stretching on Speed and Agility Performance Depend on Stretch Duration and Conditioning Level. J Strength Cond Res 2014 Jun 17 [Epub ahead of print]

Game-changing plays in any sport and at any level are tremendously exciting. Whether we're watching Pop Warner football, middle school recreational soccer, high school basketball, or Major League Baseball, an extraordinary athletic play makes us stand up and cheer. If our team takes the lead as a result, so much the better.

Attempting to make a game-changing play is known as swinging for the fences. But forcing the action in this way is not always a good idea. People who want to be healthy and well can gain value from considering the contrast between swinging for the fences vs. staying within themselves.

For example, if you've played any team sport for any length of time, you know a little bit about what this feels like. Bottom of the ninth, your team is two runs down. You're at the plate with two runners on base. What's going through your mind? Hit a home run, that's what. One swing, game over. Forget situational hitting, you're swinging for the fences.

Or you're the quarterback of your football team. Your team is behind but the score is close. You know you need to make a momentum-shifting play. You've got years of mental images in your head of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady using the vertical part of the field, going downfield, way downfield. You call the play, take the snap, drop back three steps, and heave the ball toward your wide receiver racing to the corner of the end zone. The Hail Mary pass you've just thrown is the football equivalent of swinging for the fences. But your deep pass could just as easily be intercepted instead of resulting in the difference-making touchdown.

The analogy holds true in all sports. The game-winning penalty kick in soccer. The thundering, momentum-shifting slam dunk in basketball. The dominating volleyball kill shot which drains the spirit from the opposing team. Each key moment is a sport-specific swing for the fences. Again, the opposite result could just as easily occur.

We can see that striving to make a big play is often a mistake and can easily lead to a loss. Forcing the action never works. Smart athletes stay within themselves, letting the game come to them. The best athletes are able, more often than not, to rise to the occasion when an opportunity presents itself. Then, in the context of the flow of the game, you'll see the baseball flying over the fence or the beautifully arcing touchdown pass floating into the hands of the receiver.

This is especially true regarding exercise. When it comes to exercise, slow and steady wins the race.1,2,3 Trying to do too much usually results in an injury, which sets you back and wastes precious time in the recovery process. In strength-training, for example, lifting big weight is not the goal. Progressive, incremental gains are what build lifetime fitness. Aerobic exercise is similar. Going for a five-mile walk is a bad idea if you haven't walked at all in six months or more. Going for an eight-mile run when you're used to running three miles is another bad idea. Gradual increases in time and distance are what works.

Swinging for the fences is great when it happens. In exercise and fitness, achieving a personal best is cause for celebration. But in exercise and fitness, personal bests result from much effort and preparation. When you have a long-term, solid base of fitness, you can swing for the fences with confidence.