The Workout Hour

By MICHELLE TERWILLEGER, Californian staff writer
e-mail: mterwilleger@bakersfield.com

Tuesday September 17, 2002, 10:37:00 PM

So, we're supposed to exercise an hour a day, every day; that's the latest from the experts.

An hour a day. 60 minutes. Not 20. Sixty.

Well, it's good to have goals.

Some Bakersfield folks who were asked recently about their exercise habits admitted they don't exercise as much as they should, but don't know if they will ever get up to an hour each day.

"People are crazy! Exercise an hour a day!" said Janiece Logan, enjoying a lime drink with her grandson at Sonic Drive-In. "I don't think an hour a day for anyone is healthy."

Independent advisers to the federal government have a different opinion. When the National Academies' Institute of Medicine updated its eating guidelines earlier this month, it also added new exercise targets: an hour a day of moderately intense physical activity.

That's double the daily exercise goal set by the surgeon general in 1996 and more than a lot of health and fitness experts and TV infomercials are telling us.

What happened to 20 minutes a day, three or four days a week?

Dr. Victor Ettinger, director of endocrinology and diabetes management programs at Kern Medical Center, is skeptical about the new recommendations.

"I don't think anybody should change their exercise habits based on that one study until it's confirmed," Ettinger said. According to the studies he has read, exercising 20 to 30 minutes a day is satisfactory.

Ettinger advocates exercising for at least 20 minutes without interruption to allow time for the body's heart and metabolic rates to increase.

Howard Koostra, a local mortgage lender, didn't think the recommendation was so outrageous.

"I think it's everybody's ideal goal," said Koostra, who occasionally works out at the Bakersfield Country Club. "Everybody around me .... they're religious about going to 24 Hour Fitness and have a personal trainer. I think that's the way to go if you're serious about it. They all have a lot less body fat than I do."

Darci Dawn, a morning show personality at KLLY-FM, said an hour of moderate exercise makes sense, but she doesn't exercise quite that much, due to lack of time, energy and the poor air quality.

"When you go out and exercise in the heat ... are you just smogging your lungs?" Dawn said before hitting the bike path on in-line skates.

Ron Jones, a personal trainer who teaches physical education class part-time at Cal State Bakersfield, said an hour a day makes sense for those not ready for high-intensity workouts.

"People are so de-trained and unfit, they are exercising very light and very, very slow," he said. "When you talk about changing your metabolism and burning calories, you can't do that sauntering around the block at a snail's pace."

In Jones' opinion, the guidelines haven't changed that much.

"The old range was 30 to 60 minutes minimum, based on intensity level," he said. "It's not that you can't get it done with 30."

For example, an intense, all-body, 30-minute workout could raise heart and metabolism levels sufficiently, but only people who are healthy and in shape can do that, he said.

Those not used to exercising should start with a manageable exercise regimen, he said. He hopes that people who have been thinking about starting a workout routine won't be discouraged by the new guidelines.

"It would be something too extreme for them," Jones said.

Leigh Pozas, owner and manager of Total Woman Health and Fitness Center, encourages people to exercise while doing things they enjoy.

"Do fun things," she said. "Get out there and throw the ball with your kid. Practice soccer moves with your kid."

Pozas usually recommends that people in good health who are out of the habit of exercising start with 30-minute workouts. Then she says they should add 10 minutes to their workouts each week.

Still, she said, rather than advocating the minimum the new recommendation of exercising an hour every day is beneficial because it more accurately reflects what people should be doing.

Ann Blake, a waitress at Zingo's, might be just the example-setter for anyone looking to shed some pounds in a manageable amount of time and physical stress.

Blake didn't have time for an hour each day, but found that walking three miles in the morning -- which took about 45 minutes, a fairly brisk pace -- was what she needed to shed more than 30 pounds over the last 31/2 months.

"To lose it, you have to walk three to four days a week," she said.

For some, especially those who jobs require than they sit for long stretches of time, it doesn't come that easy.

Robert Ruddell said he used to exercise regularly, but working as a trucker for several years has made it difficult for him to fit it into his schedule. He said he is now more than 100 pounds over his ideal weight.

"Exercise would be very beneficial," Ruddell said. "I got on the treadmill for five minutes and that was about all I can do."

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