Get healthy with exercise and self-motivation

[webfact]

Get healthy with exercise and self-motivation

By The Nation

 

video screenshot

 

Drs Thanathip and Archan Surasak talk about physical exercise and its positive effects on every age group.

 

Dr Thanathip, how important is exercise in today’s internet age?

 

Exercise is essential for good health. Humans began as hunter-gatherers and still need a lot of physical movement on a daily basis. More people today live in air-conditioned buildings and we’re glued to our computers, maybe spending 10 hours a day in front of the screen. Our bodies have become stiff due to the long hours of sitting.

 

 

Basically, we need a lot of interval workouts to loosen stiff muscles in the neck, shoulders and other areas to stay healthy. We also need to do cardiovascular activities to keep the heart healthy, strengthen our muscles and maintain a good physical balance. We should be able to literally maintain our balance while standing on a log, but most of us lack this potential.

 

However, I have noticed something. When I was in medical school at Chulalongkorn University about 30 years ago, I would jog regularly in nearby Lumpini Park, and there were few other runners. Today, jogging and running are very popular, and we even see so-called “overuse injuries” resulting from excessive exercise.

 

On the other hand, there are more and more obese people due to improvements in oncome, the over-consumption of sugary foods and other factors. These are two extreme groups – obesity and over-exercising. There are fewer people on the middle path, so it’s like a pendulum swinging to the extreme left and right.

 

What do you mean by “overuse injuries”?

 

It means we are over-using our bodies. The people who love to exercise represent our main topic for today, those who over-excise and work out for too many hours. The other group don’t work out at all, and their overuse injuries come from working long hours in a chair, resulting in aching shoulders and upper arms. Some muscles are overused, some not at all. Overused muscles bring the risk of overuse injuries. If the injuries come from sports or too much working out, the muscle fibres will be damaged and you get aches and swelling.

 

Aching shoulders and upper arms are quite common and some people turn to traditional massage for relief. Is it a good solution?

 

In fact, we should look at the root cause. The aches could result from an inactive lifestyle. If you’re sedentary, you need more physical movement on a daily basis. That’s the real solution to the underlying problem. Professional massage might bring temporary relief, but it’s best to take frequent breaks from the computer to do brief sessions of simple exercise.

 

Thai traditional massage is regarded as a national treasure, but you need experts to do it properly. And massage only relieves the pain. To cure it, you need to get back to the basics – being physically active more.

 

Heat therapy has become popular in dealing with overuse injuries caused by improper exercise. What is your opinion?

 

In short, heat therapy is common among Thai people. Many people would just turn to medication and other heat methods to ease muscle and other pains. Heat therapy is common here, with many simply using balms or embrocation liquids, hot-water bags or heating pad to ease pain, but this is only superficial heat. My advice is to avoid heat therapy in the first day or two of feeling overuse injury because the heat increases blood flow to the affected area and worsens the injury. It’s better to use cold therapy initially, such as an ice bag, as long as the chill is not extreme.

 

On day three or four, you can use heat therapy to help the body repair damaged tissues by increasing blood circulation in the area. Some people think the more heat the better, but you have to be careful about inflammation, again by making sure the temperature is not extreme. People with chronic diseases such as diabetes must avoid extreme temperatures in coping with overuse injuries. Judge according to how you feel – If the heat becomes unbearable, just remove the source, then reapply, and so on.

 

Dr Thanathip, jogging and running have become quite popular in Thailand, with many running events and mini-marathons organised. Could we begin seeing more over-exercise?

 

Running is an aerobic exercise good for your heart, but regular runners should have a wearable gadget to measure heartbeat and other indicators to ensure a healthy session.

 

The rule of thumb is that maximum heart rate should be 220 minus your age. If you are 50, the max rate is 170, and you should achieve about 80 per cent of this rate during aerobic exercise. Anything higher is considered a hard-core endurance exercise while a lower range is mainly for fat burn, not for the cardio purpose.

 

Aerobic exercise is essential and you should do it on a regular basis, say, 3-4 times a week. If you stop, the effects will decrease in two weeks.

 

So we should consider our age and monitor heart rate through wearable gadgets or calculate the perfect rate by yourself. You have to pay a little for your health. Moreover, you have to work out regularly and monitor the heart rate as an indication for proper exercise level.

 

In terms of calories, you should burn at least 1,500 per week, or 400 calories per session if you exercise four times a week. You can burn around 400 if you run for nearly an hour.

 

I work on a running machine and lose 300 calories in around 30 minutes.

 

That means your body is fit.

 

However, it quite hard works out for me. If I do running outdoor, I have to adapt to the current condition. But the main subject is proper exercise.

 

What is your advice for avoiding overuse injuries?

 

Basically, you calculate the suitable duration and intensity of the exercise based on age and other factors. Sometimes you may want to achieve higher performance, but make sure you’re not going too fast or overdoing it. That’s a future topic – what to do if injured.

 

Dr Thanathip, can you say more about the sedentary lifestyle?

 

There are two major groups among the so-called Gen Y and Gen Z populations. The first are physically inactive and generally overweight or even obese. They prefer an easy-going lifestyle, eating and spending hours on digital devices. If they do exercise, it might be not enough. The others are quite strict in their diet, eating lots of veggies and low-fat foods.

 

Can you give advice on increasing motivation?

 

The first group might lack incentive to work out regularly. The most important factor is probably social. If you’re surrounded by friends who don’t exercise and enjoy eating, you’re not going to be motivated to do otherwise. Maybe you need a new environment.

 

Dr Surasak, what if someone isn’t motivated to exercise?

 

Some people need the inspiration to live longer for their loved ones, so this could be a powerful incentive for regular workouts. Some adults wish to stay healthy so they can take care of their parents in old age, while others want to exercise so that they live long enough to see their kids reach adulthood. Self-motivation is key to sustained regular exercise and helps people stick to it when they lose the will.

 

Many people can’t sustain their exercise habit even after they’ve spent money on equipment at home. After a brief period, the machine goes unused.

 

When I finished medical school at age 25, I weighed 82 kilograms. Twenty years later I was 93kg – 10kg overweight – even though I ran 2.5 kilometres every other day. It’s a challenge to keep the weight down.

 

Eight years ago, an in-law introduced me to biking and I spent Bt20,000 on a new bike. In the first month I did 2,000km every morning and evening and lost 7kg, the first time since med school my weight dropped. That was a big inspiration for me and I returned to running again. Today I weigh 84kg and can easily maintain it.

 

In short, inspiration and self-motivation are key to sustainable physical workouts.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/lifestyle/30376840

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2019-09-30

Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info

 

[Cadbury]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Get healthy with exercise and self-motivation

Talking of exercise I wonder what happen to the big civil service fitness programme the PM introduced a few years back. That would have died a very quick death for sure. Check out the link for some laugh worthy photos of yours truly.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2016/11/22/prayuth-orders-workout-wednesdays-officials/

[ChipButty]

Try walking to 7/11 instead of jumping on a bike 

[colinneil]

18 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Try walking to 7/11 instead of jumping on a bike 

I tried that, just fell flat on my face.

[BritManToo]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Dr Thanathip, how important is exercise in today’s internet age?

Great at talking about exercise but appears to do very little himself.

Fairly large sagging tire around his middle.

[ChipButty]

Kids here in Phuket are definitely becoming obese I see one young boy most mornings in 7 he's either got a burger or a pizza slice in his hand he's already a little porkie 

[RichardColeman]

My wife and I  have recently moved into another house in Pattaya in the Choc Chais. The toilet is literally a 2 ft walk from the door to the bedroom. This apparently was too far, so the owner knocked a door directly into the loo from the bedroom.

[quadperfect]

I dont see thai as lazy or very obese. Now go to malaysia and that is all you see. Lazy and obese.

[bluesofa]

1 hour ago, Cadbury said:

Talking of exercise I wonder what happen to the big civil service fitness programme the PM introduced a few years back. That would have died a very quick death for sure. Check out the link for some laugh worthy photos of yours truly.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2016/11/22/prayuth-orders-workout-wednesdays-officials/

Grease is the word! John Travolta must be jealous.

[Tayaout]

28 minutes ago, quadperfect said:

I dont see thai as lazy or very obese. Now go to malaysia and that is all you see. Lazy and obese.

 

 

Luckily the standard American diet is gaining popularity in Thailand. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Tayaout

[bluesofa]

It was good to see the fifteen-minute video had English subtitles, well done for that.

 

I couldn't help but see the irony of a discussion about exercise and health which was presented by three guys who all sat in their chairs for the entire programme.

[NCC1701A]

we have the nicest gym in Thailand in Hua Hin. True Arena gym. 

 

 

[bluesofa]

8 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

we have the nicest gym in Thailand in Hua Hin. True Arena gym. 

 

 

I go to the gym regularly - Jim's Cafe.

 

[DLock]

Like anyone is going to listen to that "fat tub of goo" who hasn't seen the inside of a gym since 1987.

 

Surely they can find a more respected spokesperson for fitness than this.

[IAMHERE]

1 hour ago, Tayaout said:

 

 

Luckily the standard American diet is gaining popularity in Thailand. 

If you can't pin it on POTUS, pin it on America. Not the Thai's fault, blame obesity on the USA.   The same gif can be made of the smart phone causing obesity. Just weight until 5G is everywhere in Thailand. Electricity makes you fat, nobody wants to face up to that music.

[robblok]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Great at talking about exercise but appears to do very little himself.

Fairly large sagging tire around his middle.

I understand the idea behind it but those with great bodies are often not those with good programs. You often see it in the fitness industry people with good bodies selling crazy plans. Though I agree that someone with an obvious middle tire should not be promoting sports too much they should get their program and diet on order first.

[Tayaout]

19 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

If you can't pin it on POTUS, pin it on America. Not the Thai's fault, blame obesity on the USA.   The same gif can be made of the smart phone causing obesity. Just weight until 5G is everywhere in Thailand. Electricity makes you fat, nobody wants to face up to that music.

This chart doesn't tell the cause of obesity but I did point out it's probably the diet and like you said the lack of exercise. Nothing to do with POTUS. 

[Tayaout]

17 minutes ago, robblok said:

I understand the idea behind it but those with great bodies are often not those with good programs. You often see it in the fitness industry people with good bodies selling crazy plans. Though I agree that someone with an obvious middle tire should not be promoting sports too much they should get their program and diet on order first.

The article talk about a Dr. and some dude. There is 3 peoples. My guess is the fat one is the animator of the show. 

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Tayaout said:

The article talk about a Dr. and some dude. There is 3 peoples. My guess is the fat one is the animator of the show. 

Looks like the fat one should get more animated then and lose some weight.

[Spaniel]

I walk 10 km per day.    Five in the morning and 5 in the evening.     Average speed is 5 km per hour.    

[bluesofa]

1 minute ago, Spaniel said:

I walk 10 km per day.    Five in the morning and 5 in the evening.     Average speed is 5 km per hour.    

Every day? You must be a long way from home by now.

[cmsally]

11 minutes ago, Spaniel said:

I walk 10 km per day.    Five in the morning and 5 in the evening.     Average speed is 5 km per hour.    

Isn't that about average for a Spaniel?!

[BritManToo]

49 minutes ago, Tayaout said:

The article talk about a Dr. and some dude. There is 3 peoples. My guess is the fat one is the animator of the show. 

The fat one's the doctor.

The interviewer is the thin guy on the left.

Edited September 30, 2019 by BritManToo

[Tayaout]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

The fat one's the doctor.

The interviewer is the thin guy on the left.

Amazing ????????. 

[MaxLee]

Well, Bad air quality season again, so forget about outdoor exercise for now....

[mok199]

When walking to a trash bin 10 feet away is an effort , and bicycle lanes are just an excuse for scooter traffic ...good luck

Edited September 30, 2019 by mok199

[lamyai3]

5 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Grease is the word! John Travolta must be jealous.

I got chills... they're multiplying!

[lamyai3]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Eight years ago, an in-law introduced me to biking and I spent Bt20,000 on a new bike. In the first month I did 2,000km every morning and evening

Did anyone bother to proofread this article? 

[kingdong]

11 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

My wife and I  have recently moved into another house in Pattaya in the Choc Chais. The toilet is literally a 2 ft walk from the door to the bedroom. This apparently was too far, so the owner knocked a door directly into the loo from the bedroom.

En suite

[bluesofa]

5 hours ago, lamyai3 said:

14 hours ago, webfact said:

Eight years ago, an in-law introduced me to biking and I spent Bt20,000 on a new bike. In the first month I did 2,000km every morning and evening

Did anyone bother to proofread this article? 

I just thought they were really keen.