The eXercise Factor: Ease Into the Best Shape of Your Life Regardless of Your Age, Weight or Current Fitness Level

By Jim Kirwan

Don’t fall victim to the inactivity epidemic!
 
The eXercise Factor will show you how to ease into the best shape of your life, regardless of your age, weight, or current fitness level. You can increase your life expectancy and significantly improve the quality of your life by the actions you take now. What’s the secret?
 
The secret is there is no secret! This is not about a quick fix; it is about easing your way into a long-term, sustained lifestyle. Four key drivers work together synergistically to turbo-charge your success:
 
* Knowledge—You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know you have one.
* Nutrition—Restrictive diets don’t work and are difficult to sustain. Instead, focus on more fresh whole foods and far less junk and processed foods.
* Exercise—It’s critical to a long, high-quality life. Get a move on and stave off major health problems.
* The X Factor—It’s arguably the most important of all, and the easy-to-remember acronym RECIPE provides its six key ingredients.
 
You don’t have to be fit and healthy to start. But you do have to start to be fit and healthy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781630473235

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Despite all the benefits of exercise and the juicy carrot of a longer, higher quality life, the vast majority of Americans do not exercise enough.

I came to America back in 2003 to set up a new retail business called TrySports in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and I was on a mission to encourage people to try the aerobic activities of walking, running, swimming, cycling and fitness in general. I love living here in America and have witnessed many positive developments. However, when it comes to our health problems, very little has changed and obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s are at epidemic proportions. Underlying these three major health concerns is what I call the Inactivity Epidemic and because of it, I stepped down from my position as CEO of TrySports and I am now on a mission to Get America Moving!

This is my fourth major career change and they always remind me of one of my favorite songs, I still haven’t found what I’m looking for from U2, my favorite band. At last, I think I have found what I am looking for!

From the moment we are born to the day we die, exercise is beneficial, yet clearly there are many obstacles which stop us in our tracks, especially as we get older. But it doesn’t matter if you are young or old, normal weight, overweight or obese, active or sedentary, exercise will help you.

Growing Up

Exercise is in our DNA and once babies learn to walk it is hard to stop them. Of course, we don’t describe what they are doing as exercise but it is, and they are having great fun doing it. Likewise, as babies grow into kids they continue to play; exercise is a fundamental part of everything they do, though unfortunately this is changing.

When I was a kid growing up in Ireland back in the sixties, we used to go out to play and all we did was play games which involved running, chasing, climbing, jumping and dancing. Our parents didn’t have to check to see if we were getting the minimum recommended daily amount of exercise (one hour) because unless we were sick, we far exceeded the minimum every day and largely because of that, only a very small minority of kids were overweight.

As we moved into our teens the games we played turned into impromptu soccer and tip-rugby matches and we never got bored with them. This physical activity is what I refer to as unplanned exercise and was in addition to all the planned exercise we did growing up, which in my case included Gaelic football and hurling, soccer, swimming, a little cricket and a lot of rugby.

Kids today seem to grow up much faster and their interests are different. While they continue to play planned sports, I fear that much of the unplanned activities that I did have been replaced with more sedentary pursuits which focus on their iPhones, iPads, Xboxes and other computer games. With all the technological progress during this time I believe we have unwittingly made a serious mistake that we need to rectify quickly.

Our Adult Years

Why do so many adults retire from exercise in their early- to mid-thirties?

As kids grow into adults, many play their favorite sports at college and beyond. However, slowly but surely, family and work responsibilities begin to take over. Around the same time they find it increasingly difficult to keep up with their much younger teammates and competitors and so one by one they retire with very few lasting into their late thirties. Now this is perfectly understandable, but should they retire from exercise altogether?

This is an important question which I feel very strongly about because my dad stopped exercising in his early thirties and this was a major factor in his premature death some fifteen years later at the far too early age of forty-seven.

My Dad

I had just celebrated my twentieth birthday a week earlier, with hardly a care in the world. My dad’s death was a huge shock at the time and I never saw it coming. I had just come home from a Friday night out with some pals, at about midnight. On my way to and from the bathroom, I saw him in his bedroom with his back to the door and I never said good night! When I got up on Saturday morning, my sister told me that he wasn’t feeling well and that mum had brought him to St. Vincent’s, the local hospital. He died early that morning of a massive heart attack in the ER.

I will always remember my mum’s face through the front window as she walked to the hall door; I knew before she said anything that Dad was not coming home. I knew he was on medication for angina, which in hindsight obviously didn’t work very well. He didn’t smoke or drink but was probably about ten or fifteen pounds overweight and I also think he was under some stress at work. The one thing I know for sure, however, is that, like nearly all his contemporaries, he didn’t exercise. He retired from playing rugby around thirty-two years of age and for the next fifteen years, except for the occasional walk and the very odd game of golf, dad didn’t exercise.

Unfortunately, we knew very little about the benefits of exercise and good nutrition back in the mid-seventies; while we know a lot more now, you would not think so based on the lifestyle of the average person. That moment I saw my dad for the last time is frozen in my memory as if it happened yesterday. He would be eighty-six today if he was alive; that’s thirty-nine lost years. I don’t want what happened to him and to me to happen to you or your kids.

While we cannot control the future and there are no guarantees, I believe there is much we can do. There is no reason to stop exercising; sure, you might have to change your activities and slow down a bit, but stop altogether? If you stop in your mid-thirties, it is hardly a surprise that you don’t exercise as you get older. But here’s the thing—the less exercise you do, the earlier you will start aging. Surely it would be better to postpone the aging process for as long as you can. The good news is you can do that with exercise and it is never too late to start!

Overweight

If you need to lose weight, the sooner you start exercising and the more you do, the quicker you will lose the weight. Yes, it will be tough but you can do it and you will get there if you put your heart and soul into it.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the television show The Biggest Loser. Think about the competitors at the start of the competition; they are motivated but apprehensive and they are right to be because it turns out to be a real struggle. But they persevere and a few short months later they are transformed. Now in real life it will typically take longer but the principles remain the same! The combination of exercise and a healthy diet of good food will turbo charge your efforts to lose weight. While losing weight is important, there are even greater prizes to be won, including an increase in your life expectancy and an improved quality of life.

Inactive

If you are currently inactive or just dabble with exercise, it is never too late to start all over again. Of course, you need to proceed with caution and go slowly, moving forward gradually, step by step, day by day, week by week. This will be tough and it will require commitment and resilience but you can make it to the Promised Land. Many have made it before you and many will after you; if you believe in yourself, you will, too!

Exercise is a critical part of the solution to our health problems in America and all across the world. The evidence is overwhelming that physical activity helps you increase your life expectancy and with it, perhaps more importantly, the quality of your life. I feel so strongly about this that I have created my own health and fitness motto so that I can continuously reinforce the point. So here it is:

You don’t have to be Fit and Healthy to Start but you do have to Start to be Fit and Healthy!

The word start is self-explanatory but I use it as an easy-to-remember acronym, which I discuss in detail in Chapter 20: How to Start Exercise in 5 Easy Steps. You can also find a few television interviews on this topic on the Get America Moving website in the blog and media areas (www.GetAmericaMoving.com).

So whether you are doing too little or no exercise at all, there is no better time than the present to get started.

My Objective For This Book

About seven years ago, I was invited to speak at the Healthy Charleston Challenge, which is sometimes described as our local version of The Biggest Loser television show. It’s run by the MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) Wellness Department and it is essentially a chronic disease prevention program that deals with overweight and obesity and helps change the way participants live their lives.

I present twice each year and while my presentation continues to evolve, my objective for the participants has essentially remained the same:

To reinforce the Challenge objectives and inspire the participants to continue their new journey no matter what, and to focus on the key drivers of their new lifestyle, including nutrition and especially exercise.

You may or may not see yourself as a Healthy Charleston Challenge or Biggest Loser candidate because, unlike the participants, maybe you haven’t started your new lifestyle yet or maybe you are not overweight. But if you are reading this book you are probably concerned about one or more aspects of your health, such as your weight and fitness, and you have decided you want to do something about it.

Maybe your concern is for a family member or friend or maybe you just want to learn more and continue to improve your health. Whatever the reason, my objective for you is largely the same. Like the Challenge participants, I hope to persuade and inspire you to start or continue your new lifestyle and to focus on my Four Key Drivers of Success, outlined in Chapter 5.

In Part 1, I will show you how to bypass normal aging and increase your life expectancy and especially the quality of your life. In Part 2, our focus is exercise, the secret sauce to a great life and I will explain why it must be a high priority in your life. In Part 3, I will show you how to turbo charge your exercise and your life with the X Factor and finally, in Part 4, we will discuss the importance of knowledge, especially relating to your health and nutrition in your new lifestyle.

Medical Clearance

You should always visit your doctor before you start a new exercise program, including any of the ideas presented in this book. It is always better to have your doctor’s support and guidance, as he or she is familiar with your unique set of circumstances. Armed with their support and encouragement, you are all set to start your new journey!

PART I

YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BYPASS NORMAL AGING

INTRODUCTION TO PART 1

In Part 1 of The eXercise Factor, my primary goal is to show you that you can choose to bypass normal aging. However, knowing that you can and wanting to are not quite the same so I also have to persuade you that by choosing to bypass normal aging, you will make a great decision, not just for you but for your family and friends.

In Chapter 1, I explain why exercise is so important to your health and to a high quality life. We know that exercise is good for us and has many health benefits, yet I believe the vast majority of Americans do not exercise enough. I address three major health problems: obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s and I introduce you to the silent killer which I call the Inactivity Epidemic.

In Chapter 2, I seek to validate my hypothesis that the vast majority of Americans do not exercise enough. To help me do this, I refer to three important sources of information: the official American view, which is reinforced by the rest of the world view and some great news from a major research study.

In Chapter 3, I explain how we have arrived at this point. There are many reasons why this has happened and we will review some of the major causes of the Inactivity Epidemic. However, I believe that ultimately you will have to take control of your own destiny. You have a choice; you can make either good decisions or bad ones. No one else can do this for you.

In Chapter 4, I ask you a very simple but serious question—what are you going to do? To help you make the right decision, I explain life expectancy from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective. We also consider if life expectancy is just a throw of the dice and finally I show you that you can choose to bypass normal aging but you have to make the decision and then do it.

In Chapter 5, the final chapter of Part 1, I introduce you to the four key drivers of success, which are discussed in the rest of the book.

CHAPTER 1

WHY IS EXERCISE SO IMPORTANT?

We all know that vegetables are good for us, but just because they are doesn’t mean we will eat them. In a similar way we all know that exercise is good for us and has many health benefits, but for the vast majority of Americans, it suffers the very same fate as the vegetables.

Some of us have learned that we can enhance the spinach or kale and this turns it from boring and distasteful into a much more satisfying and enjoyable experience. Likewise with exercise, some of us have learned that exercise is not just enjoyable and great fun—it can even be addictive. To simplify this, let’s say there are just two groups of people: the small minority who love exercise and probably do more than enough, and the vast majority who don’t exercise enough. The challenge we face, and it is a very substantial one, is to find ways to get increasing numbers to convert from the majority to the minority, so that in time the minority can become the majority.

Why are exercise lovers such a small minority? How have we arrived at this point? Why do so many Americans love sports and yet see exercise as a waste of their time? Or if they do exercise, why is it often seen as a chore they want to get out of the way as quickly as possible?

My Journey to the USA

Initially when I came to the USA in 2003, I was on a mission to set up a new business in the triathlon field. When I was younger I played many different sports, though rugby was always my first choice. As I moved into my late twenties, I knew I could not continue playing rugby forever so I decided to transition to running to stay in good shape. As time passed, it became my new first choice of exercise, though rugby is still the sport I love the most. As my passion for running intensified, I completed a few marathons during the eighties, but unfortunately for me they took their toll on my body, especially on my lower back. This was a weak spot after a few injuries I had gotten while playing rugby.

In the nineties, triathlons became my passion. What I love about the sport of triathlon is the variety of activity—swimming, cycling and running. While it is definitely a challenge, it is a realistic one. Best of all, unlike many other adult sports, such as tennis or golf, no specialized talent is required (although, of course, you do have to be able to swim, bike and run). Hard work and the will to succeed are necessary, but thankfully for me these were not an issue.

After researching triathlon business opportunities, I decided to set up a retail store in Mount Pleasant, SC. Mount Pleasant is a beautiful town with a population of 72,000 just north of Downtown Charleston, across the Cooper River. I was definitely on a mission to convert people to the sport of triathlon but I recognized quite early on that by itself it was not a viable business.

I set up TrySports in November of 2003 and we opened for business in February 2004 with the emphasis on encouraging the folks of Mount Pleasant and Charleston to Try the aerobic activities of walking, running, cycling, swimming and fitness, as well as triathlon.

Healthy Charleston Challenge

At TrySports, we played a proactive role in the fitness and health of our communities from the very beginning. We got involved in many local events and one of those was the Healthy Charleston Challenge. This event is organized twice yearly by the Wellness Center at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), and is often described as Charleston’s version of the popular Biggest Loser television show.

My involvement as a speaker there had a profound influence on my future, as you will discover throughout this book. At the Wellness Center, they create programs that help change the way people live their lives and the Challenge is a chronic disease prevention program that deals with overweight and obesity. My involvement with the Challenge really opened my eyes from three different perspectives.

First—that we have some major health problems in America.

Second—that we can actually do something about them and

Third—that we are not doing enough to resolve some of these major health problems.

Health of the Nation

My concern for the Health of the Nation has grown exponentially during the eleven years I have been living in the USA to the point that today I believe we have some critically serious health problems. What makes the situation even worse is that the problem continues to deteriorate because we are not taking it seriously enough.

I believe there is much we can do to solve the problem. I decided to call this section the Health of the Nation because I started writing it around the time of the annual State of the Union address by the president. As in all previous years, since I came to the USA, the address covered all the usual territory from the debt ceiling to terrorism to healthcare. But, in referring to healthcare, it failed to mention some of the greatest threats of all. For me these are not party political issues. However, since I have come to the USA, I don’t think the address has ever mentioned these issues.

So I am going to address three major health problems (well four, actually) which are rightly referred to as EPIDEMICS! These epidemics refer to the United States but in truth, we have a world-wide pandemic.

Epidemic No. 1: Obesity

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC¹), data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009–2010 shows that some 36%, or more than one-third of adults aged twenty and over, are obese. Obesity prevalence did not differ much between men and women, but adults aged sixty and over were more likely to be obese than younger adults.

Some 17% of young people under twenty are also obese but of even greater significance is that this is triple the rate of just one generation ago. When I look back to when I went to school in the sixties and early seventies, you could count the number of overweight kids, never mind obese, on one hand. At most, one guy in my class of about a hundred males would have been considered overweight but even he was very active and played rugby; in fact, he was one of the best players in my school. It is interesting how times have changed but as I was growing up, an overweight person had some kind of health problem that was outside of his control; no one would consciously choose to be overweight, let alone obese.

Like all statistical information, the figures to which I refer above are out of date by the time they get to the