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William Henry Perspectives How To Stay Fit

bill-henry

How To Stay Fit When Business Pressures Mount

By William Henry PhD

Beyond Competitive Athletics

In today’s economic times those of us in the design/development and construction industry are facing daunting pressures. The tendency of course is to work longer hours to keep the doors open. With our New Years resolutions recently formulated, many have pledged to exercise more often. How can we honor this commitment?

Many of my friends ask me how I motivate myself to stay fit. To maintain sanity and perspective over our changing market I sometimes exercise up to 12-14 hours per week– 52 weeks per year. This usually involves swimming, bicycling, and jogging. I just happen to be able to do this because I have made it a habit, kind of like brushing my teeth every morning. I don’t lay awake at night thinking I have to brush my teeth in the morning. Nor do I think about it during the extended work day; anticipating the pain and trouble to mobilize for this after hours. The thought of this would make me even more tired as the day grows long.
 
Below I list some very common misconceptions about initiating and maintaining a desired fitness level. One non-misconception is what fitness can do–and what taking gobs of pills, your doctor, and your financial advisor can’t do—which is to give you a shot at leading a healthy, productive and mostly stress free life. Please note I said “shot at”- not a guarantee or warrant, in case my attorney friends are reading this.
 
Number One Misconception–‘without pain there is no gain’
Over a 40 year athletic career, I have watched some of my over competitive friends degrade into arthritic cripples that ultimately quit exercising at some point. What they have not realized is the following; going beyond one’s aerobic threshold ‘AT’ to induce pain on a frequent basis will lead to the potential release of free radicals. According to the experts the release could include, but not be limited to, premature aging, and/or worse, a potential increased susceptibility to catastrophic illness.
 
What is your ‘AT’? Get a heart monitor and strap it on. Take the number 180 and subtract your age. Then add five (5) if you are very fit, or subtract five (5), if you are not so fit. Go out and run around the block or get on a stationary bike and start peddling. Then look at the reading on the monitor to assess the number of heart beats recorded per minute. Some of you will be pleasantly surprised. 

One thing is for sure. Your ‘AT’ lowers with age. You may be a stud with an ‘AT’ of 165 at age 20, but by age 60 it will be closer to 125. I have been measuring my athletic degradation for 30 years and can give you precise details. I have diminished in swimming exactly 18%; in bicycling 16%; and in running 50%. Why is the degradation in running been so dramatic? The simple reason is that in running one must resist gravity. At my age gravity has definitely taken over. Why is the degree less in bicycling? Simple-while the engine is old and diminished, the equipment is better.  In swimming it is all technique. Stop listening to your old swim coach about hours in the pool!
 
Just Go Out Every Morning and Water the Grass for 10 Minutes and Then Go Back Inside and Get Ready for Work
 
 I have actually been able to help some very good people get started and maintain a better fitness level than they previously thought possible. I do not recommend that you become gym rats or Ironman triathletes. Frankly these over the top practices are probably not beneficial in the long term.
 
Some of my overly competitive friends anticipate the high they will get from the release of endomorphs. They actually look forward to torturing themselves through exercise. I don’t. Now you don’t have to resent people like this anymore because they may be hurting themselves over the long haul by over doing it
 
However, I agree that exercising regularly can be a pain. Just keep a little admonition in mind that I delivered to a very good colleague not that long ago. He had told me that he could never find the time or the motivation to exercise. I told him “just don’t think about it–do it!” Just put your exercise clothes next to your bed before you go to sleep and make sure you put them on first in the morning. DO NOT put your work clothes on first. Then go outside and water the grass for exactly 10 minutes, no more or less. Then go back inside and get ready for work.” I told him that he would be amazed by the results. He gave me that ‘what are you stupid look’.
 
The next time I saw him was eight months later at the finish line of a very competitive 10K (6.2 mile) race. He beat me badly. I asked him a question I already knew the answer to. He stated “you know- I went outside with my jogging outfit and sneakers on and watered the grass for 10 minutes. But I felt so stupid I said why not just jog around the block once?” Once around the block became one mile, then two, then ten and so on. A new fitness fanatic was born! Easy as brushing your teeth every morning. Don’t think about it –just do it.

bill-henryReliable Group, LLC Architects AA# 0003523 is a well-known architectural and construction management firm based in Tampa, Florida. RGA is headed by Dr. William Henry, both an architect and certified expert witness who issues opinions and testimony concerning design and construction related matters. Having designed over 250 landmark buildings in the state of Florida, he has represented and testified for both plaintiffs and defendants in cases involving code violations such as associated with design and construction defects as well as American Disabilities Act – ‘ADA’ violations. William Henry, PhD (Bill) may be reached at (813) 226.2220 or bhenry@rga-design.com.

Copyright © 2012 REAL Magazine

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