Gym Week Day 4

I was feeling pretty sore today as a result of working out yesterday without stretching, so I decided to take it easy and just walk.  It was good to have a light day.  During this time I really started to reflect on the nature of exercise.


I used to think that exercise was all about the parts of the body that you see - legs, belly, butt, thighs, biceps, etc.  However, I now understand that while it is sometimes about those parts of the body, it is REALLY about the parts that you do not see - heart, lungs, thyroid, etc.  I was watching a documentary last night about Parkinson's disease, and they talked about a lot of different treatments and research studies.  One that really caught my attention involved monkeys and exercise.

The scientists in this study basically took 2 groups of monkeys.  One group ran on the tread mill on a regular basis, while the other group merely watched the exercising monkeys.  Later in the monkeys' lives they were injected with something that basically caused them to get Parkinson's disease.  The monkeys who exercised were FAR less effected by the injection than those who did not exercise.  There is really no precise explanation as to why this is, but there is certainly no denying, how much we exercise REALLY does effect our overall, long term health.

The narrator of this documentary made the point that before cars and guns and grocery stores and other modern conveniences, we humans worked A LOT harder, physically speaking, that is.  Our bodies were intend to function best when we get regular and rigorous exercise.  It's a tall order in our modern society, but I do believe that it is perhaps the single most important thing we can do for our bodies, along with getting enough sleep and eating simple, unprocessed food.  Like I said, a pretty tall order for our culture today, but a worthy cause, for sure!!!

PBS Documentary on Parkinson's

So think about THAT next time you get bored on the tread mill. I know I will.