Double Down on Exercise in the Summer

In the weeks before school would start, high school football coaches take advantage of the open schedule that does not include classes and practice their teams twice a day, morning and afternoon. Maybe you recall the football players at your school complaining of the brutal “two a day” schedule, but you knew even then that they were boasting about the honor and prestige of being part of the varsity football program as much as they were complaining about the difficulty of the schedule.

For most adults summer vacation is a relic of the past, but the rhythms of the school year still affect our lifestyles. The return of Daylight Savings Time seems to lengthen the day for everyone, particularly those who work a traditional, 8 to 5, workday. Now there is enough daylight for a committed adult athlete to get some exercise before and after work. Many will read this and conclude that exercising twice a day will not leave enough time for you to do the fun things of life, but others will recognize that avoiding obesity and the related health problems that often accompany it is an important goal that calls for lifestyle change.

My favorite pattern is to work hard, then play hard. When it comes to exercise that would mean doing the harder exercise in the morning and the easier kind in the afternoon or evening. For example, you could jog a few miles in the morning, and then reward yourself with an easier, more enjoyable form of exercise in the afternoon, like a bicycle ride or a walk on the beach or a class at the gym with a friend.

Are you ready for a real and lasting change? Contact a weight loss clinic to see if you are a candidate for bariatric surgery. On the Space Coast, Dr. Diego Velarde at the Advanced Surgical and Weight Loss Institute in Merritt Island has over ten years of clinical practice and specializes in bariatric surgery. Dr. Velarde performs minimally invasive robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical Robot which allows an increased range of motion and more precise movements.