The Magic Bullet: Exercise
Perhaps, outside of a life-threatening catastrophe, there is no advice about recovery and rehabilitation a doctor can give you that will outweigh the benefits of exercise. If there is a tonic—a fountain of youth (though not eternal)—it is exercise. I know that this is advice that everyone gets almost daily, from the Surgeon General’s Office to the latest infomercial trying to sell you a machine designed to give you abdominal “six-packs of steel.”

The reason I want to reinforce exercise, in particular, is that most patients do not understand how vital, re-invigorating, and restorative exercise can be. In its responses to “stress,” the human body is astounding in its capacity to adjust, accommodate, and improve. I am not referring to stress in the sense of anxiety but rather refer to “stress” in the engineering context of a work-load being placed on the body. The human body will strengthen itself in response to increased demand whether you are eighteen or eighty. Imagine, for a moment, how implausible it would seem if someone claimed to have developed an automobile where the engine became bigger, more powerful, and more fuel efficient the harder and faster you drove it! But that is precisely how our bodies respond.

Imagine that it was announced today that a major pharmaceutical company had discovered a compound that could substantially prolong life, reduce stress, and lose weight. Imagine it was also claimed to help individuals reverse osteoporosis, enhance sexuality, make folks look younger, and, to date, the FDA had discovered no serious side effects or long-term toxicity. It would the “wet dream” of every global pharmacological company. For many of us, the notion that it is not a pill we can just swallow is disappointing. But exercise is not something you ingest, it’s something in which you invest. You have to discipline yourself to daily exercise. It requires participation and commitment.

Exercise has another saving grace: anyone can do it. You can start small and build yourself up. So what if your body needs to adjust to simply walking briskly for two blocks while the next-door neighbor is entering the Ironman® Triathlon. Get over it! Start! Just get going! As the Nike shoe company slogan puts it: “Just Do It!” The miraculous part of exercising is that, within a relatively short interval of consistent, persistent exercise, your body will have grown accustomed to the initial two blocks. Now it’s ready for more. If you can’t walk because you are wheelchair-bound, then don’t give up. Roll the chair! Roll it up hill, like a driveway, until that becomes easy. Then go up and down twice and so on.

Even while you are in the hospital, get up, and get moving. Crawl to the bathroom if you must. If you’re bedridden, then start by contracting your calves by pressing the balls of your feet against the footboard. You get the idea. I will put it bluntly: unless you are in a coma, you can figure out how to exert yourself. Exercise is more important to your recovery than all the drugs in the Pharmacy. I know that this may sound too simple but it’s the truth. Again, God offers us a wonderful solution to our dilemmas. In the final analysis, it is senseless to reject exercise because a sound mind can only work in a sound body. While this mortal machinery of ours must eventually fail, we show our gratitude for the gift of life by maintaining our bodies to the limit of their capabilities.