Why Train?
Larry Katz, a Duke University neurobiologist says, to increase your range of mental flexibility, you should stimulate rarely activated pathways in your brain by doing such things as brushing your teeth with the wrong hand, showering with your eyes closed, sleeping on the wrong side of the bed, or taking a new route to work.
Research has shown that waist size is a better indicator of body-fat than the popular body-mass index (that uses weight and height). Fat on the lower portions of the body, such as the buttocks, hips. and thighs, is less dangerous than fat in the abdomen. Fat on the lower body collects just under the skin. Abdominal fat collects internally around the organs. According to The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the risk for health problems increases at a waist measurement of 35 inches for women and 40 inches for men. However, a recent study by the New York Obesity Research Center at Columbia University found that the risk of heart disease and diabetes starts increasing at a waist measurement of 33 inches for women and 35 inches for men. These numbers hold true regardless of height or age. You cannot get rid of abdominal fat through spot exercises, you must decrease your overall weight. The good news is that when you exercise and lose weight, the metabolically active abdominal fat comes off faster than fat on lower parts of the body. When measuring your waist, you must measure accurately. Along the side of your body, locate your lowest rib and the top of your hipbone. Place a tape measure around your abdomen at a point halfway between these two points. Stand up straight, do not suck in your stomach, take a deep breath, exhale, and take the measurement at the end of the exhalation.
Two studies published in 2003 in The Journal of the American Medical Association show the benefits of exercise on women. One study of 74,171 post-menopausal women over five years found that those who did 75 to 180 minutes of exercise per week had a 18% less chance of developing breast cancer than inactive women. A second study of 201 obese, sedentary women who were on the same specified diet found that moderate exercise for an hour a day was more effective in losing weight than shorter more intense exercise sessions and was more effective in preventing heart disease.