Exercise Lessons We Can Learn From the Olympics

The Summer Olympics are underway in London, and many of us are watching them daily. As we sit at home cheering on the world's best athletes, we can learn from them, as well as enjoy the action.

I am not suggesting that anyone reading this article will become an Olympic athlete, but we should incorporate some of the principles that helped them become great into our own exercise plans and routines. Two lessons: The benefits of regular exercise and strength training.

Regular Exercise: The Olympic athletes practice their sports every day, for many hours in order to reach their goals. The lesson here is that we all need regular exercise in order to stay healthy. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends exercising 3 to 5 times per week. Keeping a regular exercise schedule is critical to our health. Try to schedule exercise in your weekly calendar instead of trying to fit it in to "spare time" which rarely occurs. Your health should be a top priority!

Resistance (weight) training is for everyone: Olympic athletes from swimmers to gymnasts, runners to bikers all do weight training in addition to their own sport. The lesson here is that weight training is beneficial at any age in addition to cardiovascular exercise and sports.

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Go team USA!