The Golden Fuel

What is something you do every day without thinking,

happens to be the most important bodily function of your day,

if done right feeds every cell in your body...and

is something you can't do without for more than one minute

without panick setting in?

If you guessed breathing you are right! Pumping your body with enough oxygen is something we rarley think about but is a concept vital to health and wellness. Oxygen is the first and most important fuel in your body. The ultimate and most vital ingredient in wellness. The feeder of the internal fire... yes, the golden fuel! The big kahuna... got the picture? No description can do it justice.

The oxygen you take in has a big job to do. We need enough oxygen to feed every cell and muscle. That's no small statement when we realize we have over 75 trillion cells in our bodies. The sad truth is most of us don't get enough oxygen, don't think about working to improve our intake and don't give enough credit to this life-giving source. Cells and muscles live on oxygen. Imagine what happens to cells and muscles that don't get enough oxygen. Add to that excess body fat, weak muscles and cardio system, and an acidic blood stream caused from eating too much junk. This is nothing more than a fertile breeding ground for disease to flourish, for mutating cells to fester and a weak immune system to develop.


So how does oxygen help that sorry looking picture? It helps tremendously... but the key is getting enough! How do you get enough? It's not through normal, shallow, everyday breathing. The kind we don't think about. The breath must be deep and labored enough to fill your lungs completely... in and out, in and out, for 30 minutes or more 3-5 times a week. The only way to nourish your cells and muscles with this penetrating breath of life is through movement! YES... that means exercise! Cardiovascular exercise to be exact.

Cardiovascular exercise is any exercise that elevates your heart rate and intensifies your breathing. It's any movement under the sun that you enjoy. Walking is a great place to start... or try swimming, biking, running, hiking. Whatever you love to do that gets your heart and lungs working to distribute that oh so vital energy source... oxygen.


If you are just beginnng or have been at it forever an important concept to keep in mind is YOUR OWN FITNESS LEVEL. For beginners it is easy to let the cardio exercise slip by because when your cardiovascular system is not fit the winded feeling can feel like torture... it's easy to understand why people back off so quickly when they attempt to begin cardio exercise. Feeling winded 30 seconds into it and realizing there are 30 minutes to go might make anyone think that even death would feel better than that... But, OH... can I encourage you to stay on it? You already know why... but now you need to know how... I believe the key is to MODIFY!!!!


We modify when we face up and accept our current fitness level... not getting depressed about it and giving up, but simply starting at a level of intensity that provides an appropriate training effect for our current fitness level. When exercising, consider when the threshold of pain or exhaustion is unbearable and modify so we can stay at it for 30 minutes or more. That might mean taking a jogging pace down to a walking pace or eliminating arm movements from a cardio class.

We LISTEN to our bodies! We aren't wimps when we start slow... we are smart and will more likely be in it for the long haul because we listen to our body and have a goal of carefully and consistently building up to the next fitness level. You do what you can in your current fitness level to make your heart and lungs stronger so they have more endurance to work harder the next time. That's the beauty of it all! The energy we expend today will give us more energy for the next time we plan to move! This consideration of fitness level is what will help you to be more consistent and succesful. In other words... don't compare yourself to someone else's fitness level... respect your own.

We also consider modifying UP when we do become more fit. Always evaluating our current fitness levels and pressing into higher fitness levels through challenging ourselves to ramp it up... no plateu effects! Always thinking... stronger, faster, better!... RIGHT?

Oxygen... it's the golden fuel. Infuse your cells... the building blocks of your body...with a strong dose of it through cardio endurance training as soon as you can, as often as you can, and for as long as you can.

Love and Hugs ~
Donna :O)