Ultra Endurance Exercise vs. Endurance Exercise

Since the dawn of humankind, exercise has been a part of our existence, either consciously or unconsciously. Primal beings would run, climb trees, and sling weapons in order to survive and provide food, clothing, and other lifeline necessities for themselves and their families. As they continue to hunt on a daily basis, they unconsciously would build and maintain their cardiovascular system as they travel further to survive. Approximately 400 BC, the Hippocrates mention about exercise in great detail. If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the most effective way to sustain good health. Today, we are living in a time of great ideas and new thoughts as people seriously start to study the importance and relevance of physical exercise. Dr. Kenneth Cooper from the Cooper Wellness Institute coined the word “aerobic” which means living with air. Dr. Cooper added an “s” at the end of verb, and a phenomenon has been born. There are 41 types of aerobic exercises as we know it today ranging from walking to stair climbing, swimming to cycling [1]. Society today continues to live longer. In 2009 the average human lifespan of both sexes from birth in the United States is 78.5 years, an increase from 78.1 years in 2008 [2]. This is due to society as a whole making better nutritional choices, cutting out the toxins introduced into their bodies, and establishing and maintaining an exercise program. In result, society today is living longer and healthier. The quote by Scintilla Fly saying, “more is better and too much is never enough” may work in terms of business and education, but how much is too much in regards from an endurance exercise discipline to u...

... middle of paper ...

....

Works Cited

1. Cooper Wellness Institute

2. US Surgeon General, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

3. Heather Fink, Lisa A. Burgoon, Alan E. Mikesky , Practical Applications in Sports Nutrition, Ch 12

4. FIT & WELL 8TH Edition By: Thomas D. Fahey, Paul M. Insel, Walton T. Roth

5. Knez WL, Coombes JS, and Jenkins DG. Ultra-endurance exercise and oxidative damage: implications for cardiovascular health. Sports Med. 36:429-441, 2006

6. Gleeson M, Nieman DC, and Pedersen BK. Exercise, nutrition and immune function. J Sport Sci. 22:115-125, 2004

7. Symptomatic hyponatremia during prolonged exercise in heat. Armstrong LE. Curtis WC. Hubbard RW. Francesconi RP.Moore R. Askew EW.Source: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 25(5):543-9, 1993 May

8. Rehrer NJ. Fluid and electrolyte balance in ultra-endurance sport. Sports Med. 31:701-715, 2001