Sury Samuel
Group Exercise Instructor, Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Coach at Shape Up
I find that whenever I do just a bit of exercise, like running up a flight of stairs, or just walking to a nearby grocery, I quickly start panting and gasping for breath. Is exercise not for me?
On the contrary; your body is telling you, “I’m desperate for movement.” It is out of shape, and you need to “shape up!” (No pun intended.) If I am not necessarily overweight, is there any benefit in me doing exercise?
Thank you, Monsey View readers, for the overwhelming response to our exercise issue. We turn to Sury Samuel, a Group Exercise Instructor, Personal Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Coach at Shape Up with over a decade experience, to address some of the important questions that came in.
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Exercise is not only for weight loss. Exercise builds our energy levels. Usually, when people join my classes, they at first insist they can’t do more than eight jumping jacks, but week by week they see major changes in their fitness levels, and soon they’re keeping up with the class. These hesitant members are the ones who tell me after a while, “Wow, I was able to carry up my grocery boxes,” or “I raced my daughter, and I won.” Exercise is not just body work; it’s brain work, too. My motto, “Strong Body, Strong mind” is reiterated often in my class; there’s a lot of coordination involved in exercise, which strengthens the brain. Girls sometimes use testing seasons as an excuse to miss classes, when in reality it’s the best thing they can do for increased energy and brainpower. Your digestive system, lymphatic system, circulatory sytem, mus-