By Dr. Ben Lerner

Top 10 Reasons You're in the Wrong Gym

1. The sauna is the metal shed out back
2. Celebrity aerobics instructors: Roseanne Barr and Jim Belushi
3. No juice bar, just a hot dog and steroid stand
4. Nickel drafts and free pretzels after 5 p.m. on Wednesdays
5. Rid-A-Lice kits and anti-fungal foot powder free with membership
6. Towels that say, "Property of Jersey State Correctional Facility"
7. Cardio machines located in the smoking section
8. Fitness instructor's card says, "Personal Trainer and Escort Service"
9. Water fountain has a list of side effects posted on the front
10. Offers all you can eat pizza and ice cream buffet on Sunday nights
    

A number of studies I share with my patients and readers have shown that movement is more important than weight loss. In today's day and age, I know that sounds like complete heresy, but it's true. With Atkins, Dr. Phil, the South Beach diet and weight loss programs in general becoming a cornerstone of our society and one of our top grossing products, weight loss has become a national past time and foundational health belief.

Be Good to Your Heart -- Get Into Shape

Yet, extensive research is now showing that how much you weigh is not nearly as important as what kind of shape you are in. This is why heart disease and cancer wards have thin people too. It has been discovered that losing weight without getting in shape only means you will die lighter.

A recent study of 906 women published in the Journal of American Medicine (JAMA) showed that when it comes to heart health, it's more important to be fit than to be thin. The research done showed that those who were the most fit were least likely to have clogged arteries, had the fewest heart attacks, and far fewer risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The same correlations did not hold true based on measurements of body fat (BMI or body mass index).

An additional commentary published in the same edition of JAMA said, "While the evidence linking obesity to health problems is indisputable, the role of fitness is equally clear."

What's important for all of us to begin realizing is that research is consistently showing that a moderately fit, but obese person is about half as likely to die of heart disease than an unfit person of normal weight. Of course, to be overweight and unfit is also completely deadly.

The Excuses Stop Here

We all love food. This emphasizes the concern that we tend to eat too much of it. Particularly, too much of what tastes best -- the stuff loaded with salt, sugar, chemicals, and preservatives -- and too little of what we need. While we love food, most of us don't love to exercise. Therefore, we've neglected and diminished the importance of exercise and come up with every excuse in the very long excuse book as to why we can't perform it.

While everything we teach at Body by God can be done at home with some inexpensive hand weights or outside in what we have called in past articles, "God's Gym" many people need encouragement, accountability and guidance. If this is the case, it's important that you join a gym or personal training center that include these motivational components.

A good gym pays a lot of attention to education, oneonone assistance, safety and programs ensuring that you are showing up and getting results, not just paying your monthly payments. Places like Curves and many of your smaller personal training gyms have done what we've always suggested.

They've covered the Big Five:

1. Convenience
2. Fun
3. Simple
4. Quick workouts
5. Easy (not too hard to perform)

If your gym or your personal program is missing any one of these five components, then it's most likely doomed for failure.

Dr. Ben Lerner is the New York Times Best-Selling author of Body By God: The Owner's Manual for Maximized Living. He was a 1996 and 2000 Olympic Team Chiropractor, nutritionist, and strength and conditioning trainer. To learn more about his breakthrough strategies for making exercise safe, easy and effective or to find a qualified Chiropractor near you go to thebodybygod.com.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

I met Dr. Lerner early in 2004 and am convinced he is an authentic leader in the health field. He is incredibly fit and nearly made it into the Olympics as a wrestler. His passion is to improve other people's health, and through his work with thousands of patients he discovered a proven pathway to build health instead of merely treating disease, which is a major part of the vision of this Web site. His new book, Body By God: The Owner's Manual for Maximized Living, is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve his or her health through the following principles: Maximizing Your Life Nutrition Exercise Stress Management Time Management Because Dr. Lerner is an athlete he focuses much of the book on very specific exercises you can use to improve your physical health in a minimal amount of time. Dr. Lerner is a regular contributor to the newsletter, so keep an eye out for more of his insightful articles in future editions. Related Articles: How Can You Treat Cancer, Diabetes and Heart Disease? Run From It! Vitalism -- Turn Your Power On! Happy Birthday Chiropractic! The Athens 2004 Olympics: Who will really have the drug problem at the Olympics Is Your Spine Aligned? Making Exercise Safe, Fast, Effective For Any Age, Body or Schedule