Big muscles

CEBU, Philippines – Exercise is for everyone, regardless of age, size or weight. Old people who regularly exercise have more energy, more restful sleep, good appetites and fewer bodily aches. Among younger people, exercise promotes better endurance to stress and a more positive disposition.

An exercise program can lower body fat and increase muscle strength and flexibility. With well toned muscles and no ugly bulges, you can have good posture and a youthful appearance. Additionally, for women, regular exercise can help ward off the onset of osteoporosis.

Among men, many go on an exercise program to develop big muscles. They believe that big muscles make for a strong person. Although this belief has already been proven to be not quite so, the desire for having big muscles has persisted somehow.

We know that one can be strong without having big muscles. In fact, to have big muscles might not even be a good idea after all!

Our popular concept of fitness is almost synonymous with beauty. Artists have very much to do with this. Old sculptures and sketches of the human body have been adopted to become the standards of the ideal physique.

Especially at the advent of Hollywood, statues of Greek gods and goddesses have become world symbols of fitness and beauty. Unarguably, Hollywood starlets look great. They have slim waists, voluminous breasts and perfect suntans. But these stars also have ulcers, bulimia nervosa and skin cancers, and are not necessarily in better health than the rest of us.

This is not saying that outward beauty is unhealthy or that exercise is not necessarry. Exercise is important for overall physical conditioning. It is important to the heart as well as to all other body organs.

But a person doesn't need to force himself into an exercise regimen that is too much of a strain for him. If the exercise program feels like punishment, he won't stick to it for long anyway. Or if he persists at it, it will soon turn counterproductive for him.

There are big differences in exercise requirement among different people. Those in recuperative therapy definitely need a different exercise program from those in athletic training. And still, the needs of people in between these two extremes are something else.

Moreover, people's bodies come in different natural shapes and postures. There's the upright, stocky type, the thin and frail, and the round, soft and flabby. To force everyone to acquire a Tarzan-like physique is not only impossible, but dangerous too.

There have been cases of severe injury among people who were misled that they could become anything, without consideration of their bodies' natural limitations. Yet, seldom are there any differences in the exercise programs offered at most fitness clubs.

Many fitness instructors are not medically trained. They just happen to have won in some body-building contest or have a naturally prominent body type. They then require every patron of their gym or health club to follow their winning routines, because it worked for them. No consideration is given to body-type differences or what's happening inside the person's body.

Very few fitness clubs conduct thorough physical check-up on new members before subjecting them to an exercise routine. If one looks outwardly well, he's okay. But the person may be developing heart ailment inside or is just physically incapable to do the prescribed sets.

Medical professionals approach exercise more for general physical well-being than simply to attain some outward form. Quick-fix or extreme exercise programs are considered too risky. The fundamental prescription by medical practitioners is physical recreation - something that's easy, enjoyable, just enough to tone the muscles and make the person more alert and ready, and more confident because he knows that if there's an emergency, he's better able to handle it. And the exercises are modified every now and then according to the individual's purpose and endurance.

We all want to look great. And, true, great looks often result from regular exercise. But outward beauty should only be a by-product of an exercise program. The main objective should be to develop a healthy body with the vigor and the capacity to resist diseases and recover from injuries.

Rigid, strenuous exercise may be the staple for athletes and contest body-builders. But for the millions of others who simply want to condition their bodies and keep up their health, it is simply not necessary. And a fully equipped gym is not the only place for a good exercise.

A Hulk-like body can even be a barrier to good performance. Big muscles are a burden to carry around. Increased muscle mass means extra weight, an obstacle to easy movement. It is like being obese, only that the increase is in terms of muscle cells instead of fat cells.

Besides, are oversized muscle buns really an attraction? It's a unique woman who likes to have a beast lying next to her in bed.

Modern body-building techniques are patterned, to some extent, after exercises originated on the farmlands of Sweden in the early 1800s. Workers then had to carry heavy loads of farm implements and crops all day long. The landlords, upon seeing their farm workers drooping and weak after long hours of work, thought of something to keep their hires sturdy and muscled. Physical exercises were devised.

Today, one does not need a massive body unless his work involves lifting heavy loads. For the great majority of us, health, not form, must be the main motivation for going on an exercise program.

Overall wellness is not measured in terms of body build or muscle mass. Yet just the same, beauty will naturally shine through a body that's healthy.