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Seabrookers have more reasons than most to exercise:  after-all, the climate is generally conducive to outside activities, there are facilities designed for this (golf, tennis and exercise rooms) and mainly because we want to stick around longer to enjoy the island and our friends (many of whom are disgustingly healthy because of vigorous exercise.)  In our lovely Springtime, it seems like a good time to focus on exercise at Seabrook.
   
Who?
Having deduced that exercise is a worthwhile investment of our time, we get to the list of reasons why I shouldn’t.  This begins with the who of exercising.  There are lots of reasons offered by lots of people for not exercising, but the facts are nobody is automatically exempted.  People who have chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and arthritis to name just a few of the common problems of older Americans (Seabrookers) can and should be involved in some form of exercise, but certainly approved if not prescribed by one’s physician.  Exercise has been shown to be beneficial and life prolonging even in the face of these chronic diseases.  As for the healthy person, exercise is one of only a very few ways known to preserve this good health.  Thus, there are very few people who can legitimately excuse themselves from some form of regular exercise.

When?
Daily, and that means every day, the proper frequency for this self-help strategy for longevity.  It is important for two reasons that the exercise be this regular, first it is the most reliable way to “stay in shape” and secondly it is a good habit.  Habits being hard to break, mean that it becomes something as natural to you as eating sleeping and other daily requirements.  Exercise should not be an ordeal or something that one dreads, it must be fun, recreational, social, or have some other redeeming personal value for you to continue it.  This means that as you structure your individual exercise plan that you make sure to include friends when possible, that you actually can say to yourself at the end of your time that it was enjoyable, and that you vary it enough so that it doesn’t become stale, boring and uninteresting.  Variety in exercise does maintain the enthusiasm for it.

Why?
In writing this column for Seabrookers there is one purpose.  It is to keep as many of us as healthy as possible for as long as possible.  What does exercise have to do with this goal?  Exercise, it has been scientifically proven by too many studies to count, to prolong life with many illnesses and actually prevent certain diseases.  As we say in the medical profession, “there is good data” to prove that regular exercise prevents or helps control coronary heart disease, hypertension and stroke.  There is fascinating information that regular exercise improves the immune system which wards off bacterial and viral infections.  Cancers are also reduced in those who exercise regularly:  Among the cancers which have a lower rate in exercising people are breast, prostate, and colon  - all  three being major threats to us all.  Exercise is also beneficial in arthritis and in patients with osteoporosis, but clearly patients with these problems need professional advice on the types of exercise to do.  One obvious use for exercise is weight management.  Obesity carries with it a number of risks such as heart disease and diabetes and the combination of exercise and proper diet are the best known methods (despite the many pills and other approaches) to controlling weight.  Exercise also has been shown to reduce accidental falls and to assist in the cessation of a bad habit – tobacco use.  Both of these contribute to disability and death as we get older.   Finally exercise helps with sleep disorders, with improving long-term memory, preventing depression and anxiety and in stress management.  So with all these reasons to exercise it is very difficult to mount a rationale argument against it.  In our next column we will give details about what exercises to do and how to do them.  But in the meantime we expect to see more of you enjoying the lovely Spring on the island engaged in your individual  exercises of choice – it will keep you healthy!