>>> > I am sure many of these "weekend
>>> > warriors" come home on weekdays and just watch TV.


Liza:


>> I'm sure you're right. But again, as much as this practice is
>> criticized, I wonder whether it might actually serve some kind of
>> important purpose ("winding down" or just plain old fashioned
>> _resting_ from constant mental or physical demands).


In most cases, people have a job that is not physically demanding
(like working in front of a computer) in the sense that it doesn't
involve using a lot of muscle. Of course, one may be physically
exhausted after such a day's work, but this is mainly eye strain, and
perhaps tensions in the back from the sitting posture. One may also
have nerves on the edge if the job is particularly
stressful. Obviously, watching TV won't help regarding eye
strain... and exercise may help release tensions and nervousness,
especially yoga and tai chi chuan, but even running does: when I jog,
I try to respect the two criteria:
-breathe through the nose (this ensures I am not out of breath)
-be able to talk without effort (same purpose).
Running faster and being out of breath might add tension, instead of
releasing it. Maybe people don't want to exercise because they feel
that working out exhausts them nervously and physically, but in my
opinion, if exercise is done correctly, it should _recharge_ your
batteries, not exhaust them.

Liza:

>> (By the way - we don't have a working TV in the house, and my grown
>> children were raised without any television at all).


Exceptional :-)

JL:

>>> > I found (from my personal experience, which may differ from other's)
>>> > that exercising only on the weekends is the best way to feel
exhausted
>>> > and/or have muscle aches on Mondays, while if you exercise every day,
>>> > your body and muscles quickly adapt.



>> Maybe -- but again, most people just don't have the luxury of the
>> time to do this. It's just hard, really hard, to fit it in. I'll
>> add, too, that according to some more evolutionary types of
>> approaches to exercise, we may not be particularly well adapted to
>> exercising on a daily basis.


I should have said:
-exercising on a daily basis (except for one or two days of rest each
week) is the "ideal". However, doing it 3 or 4 times a week is
perfectly fine. Doing it only once a week is not enough and/or put the
body under undue stress (again, that's *my* feeling).
-I am not saying that one should exercise vigorously every day: on
the contrary I do that every other day or less. There are also gentle
forms of exercise.
-Exercising is not necessarily very time demanding. Most people can
find 30 minutes every other day to jog, or whatever.

Liza:

>> Of course, our ancestors were NEVER
>> exposed to the kinds of continuous stress like what we have today -
>> where you wake up and start "grinding," never stopping until you
>> drop into bed exhausted late at night.


That's why exercise can help (a little is enough, you don't need to go
out and hunt all day): it relieves nervous tension and helps you
forget everyday life's worries.


--Jean-Louis Tu <[log in to unmask]>