New Years Fitness Resolution Health and Fitness Articles
New Years Fitness Resolution - Change The Way You Die
I gotta tell you, I was never big on new year revolutions, I mean resolutions. Mostly, because they revolve around listing things you should do but don't want to do that generally never end up getting done.
And every new year, the cycle starts over again-- the imperative word here, being "new". There's something about a fresh start that can only be described as... compelling.
So if you're compelled to making a new years fitness resolution this year, here's one that may not revolutionize your top 10 list but sticking to this one might just change the way you die.
And it all started with a stinging string of words.
16 words to propel your new years fitness resolution
Sixteen little words. That's what he said. Sitting in the auditorium that day, I could sense a tinge of apprehension. To use an old expression, you could cut the tension with a knife.
It was the first day of college. For most of us, it was our very first class-- the very first semester with our very first professor in brand new surroundings. All five hundred of us gazed in utter silence as he walked up to the podium, plugged in his microphone, and said...
"Look to your left. Look to your right. One of you three is going to fail."
Those sixteen words left an indelible impression. He was inferring a statistical fact. His class had a 33 percent failure rate. Perhaps appropriately so, the course was called Introduction To Statistics.
It was his way of introducing us to the meticulous universe of numerals and their relation to probable outcomes.
At first, we all shared an incredulous stare. Turning to the left, then turning to the right and concluding one of us was doomed to fail hardly seemed like a fair judgement to make from an apparently knowledgeable professor. After all, he knew not a single one of us nor had he any inkling of our innate potential. How could he, therefore, make such a prediction?
A fast glimpse and a quick impression of the fellows on either side of me suggested that they seemed like a couple of pretty bright guys-- which naturally left me with the unnerving feeling that perhaps I was the odd ball out.
As the semester drew to a close, our professor was proven right as he pointed out that almost 165 students had either failed or dropped out of the course. That's a 33 percent rate.
Statistics and your new years fitness resolution...
In simplistic terms, a statistic is a fact or parcel of information often expressed as a percentage. Statistical methods are used by statisticians to collect and analyze facts and figures. Researchers use these methods to design scientific studies. Economists use them to predict economic trends. Weather forecasters use them to predict the weather.
In short, statistics help us make better decisions about uncertain events-- which brings me to the point of this article...
Usually, when people cite statistics they're generally gloomy. For example:
--70 percent of all deaths in the U.S. are due to chronic diseases. --927,000 of you will die of cardiovascular disease this year. --1 in 3 of you has high blood pressure. --65 percent of you are overweight or obese. --35 percent of you can expect to become diabetic. --41 million of you aged 40 to 74 have prediabetes.
Prediabetes? Apparently, this is a term used when your blood sugar level is high but not high enough to be classified as diabetes.
New Years Fitness Resolution: Making a change
Did you know that when surveyed, more than 8 out of 10 of you can cite at least a dozen different ways to die? Traffic accidents, homicides, old age, and EVERYTHING ELSE TOGETHER only accounts for a relatively small percentage. When you consider that a full 70 percent of all deaths are a direct result of chronic diseases, you would think more people would start paying closer attention to their heart.
Your heart works hard.
Here's an interesting statistic. Even while you're sitting or lying at rest, the muscles of your heart work twice as hard as the muscles of your legs when sprinting. And your heart needs oxygenated blood to pump to every tissue of the body.
You instinctively know exercise is good for you.
Laboratory and population-based studies have clearly demonstrated that regular exercise prevents occurrences of cardiac events, reduces the incidence of strokes, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases. Other scientific studies have postulated that physical activity may also lessen anxiety and depression, enhance feelings of well-being and improve sleep.
By now, probably everyone on the planet knows that 30 minutes of moderately intense aerobic activity five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorously intense aerobic activity just three days a week is all you need to reduce the risk of disease and improve your health.
Because statistics are intended to help people make better decisions about uncertain events, here are some statistics that are far from gloomy which I hope will help influence you in making a new years fitness resolution to get active--
...and change the way you die!
--Reducing cholesterol levels by just 10 percent can result in a 30 percent reduction in the incidence of heart disease.
--Losing a modest 5 to 10 percent body weight for the obese results in significant drops in blood pressure, increases in insulin sensitivity, decreases in lipid concentrations and improvements in lipoproteins concentrations.
--Lowering systolic blood pressure by just 12 to 13 points can result in a 21 percent reduction in heart disease, a 37 percent reduction in stroke, a 25 percent reduction in cardiovascular disease deaths, and a 13 percent reduction in overall death rates.
Small changes can make big differences.
Happy New Years Fitness Resolution To You!
When I first heard those sixteen words all those years ago, I couldn't help but wonder what would really happen to the three of us. Luckily for me, as it turns out I was spared that fateful outcome. And incidentally, so too were those two guys next to me.
Statistics are funny that way. Even though none of the three of us failed the course, over a larger population base such as the totality of our class which numbered close to 500 students, a full one in three failed... ultimately making the statement true.
But as gloomy as some statistics may sound, they are still statistical facts.
Therefore, if you want to protect your health as best you can-- you know what to do. Regular physical activity can be your best defense against the risks of becoming part of those gloomy statistics.
So if you're going to actually stick to at least one new years fitness resolution this year, make it this one. Get active, stay active, eat healthy, and change the way you die.
