Minimum Dose

I want to revisit the Wolfe article referenced in the Good Medicine post. I think the following line, when discussing motivation, is of particular significance:

"...it is important to identify the minimal exercise regimen to achieve desired results, including maximizing the interactive effects between nutritional intake and exercise on protein synthesis."[emphasis mine]

The notion of physical medicine is important here as well. When doctors prescribe medication, they do not try to determine the maximum amount your body can stand. They do not think that if a little bit is good for you than more must be better. They attempt, based on research, clinical reasoning, and trial-and-error, to determine the minimum dosage to produce the desired therapeutic effect. So how does this apply to exercise?

The first thing I do is try to help people identify the effect they desire from exercise. Most people have some vague sense that exercise is good for them and is something they should do for a variety of different reasons. In reality, exercise is a stressor that produces benefits indirectly. In other words, exercise breaks your body down in order to produce a positive adaptive change. This means that if it is not performed within safe parameters the natural result will be pain or injury - either now or later. Yes...exercise can have side effects and all that healthy activity can be hazardous to your health. Ever wonder why sports medicine is a thriving industry?