It's not just exercise...

Back in my Master’s program in Florida, we were trained in all sorts of exercise and, don’t get me wrong, exercise is certainly important. But here’s the formula for physical improvement. Exercise + Rest + Nutrition = IMPROVEMENT. Yes. You do need weight-bearing exercise, (and that usually means doing things standing-up), but you also need to remember that what you put in your mouth has a huge effect on your results with your therapist.

This is how it works. When you exercise, you’re basically reminding the brain to take the protein in your stomach and put it in the muscles you just finished using. That’s it. Exercise makes your muscles tired. We all know that. But exercise also scares the brain into putting protein in the muscles, in anticipation of more exercise tomorrow.

So, exercise is important, but so is the amount of protein you put in your mouth, and the rest you need to give your body a chance to recover. When you get all three: the exercise, the nutrition, and the rest…you get better. Simple.