What Really Works: The Insider’s Guide to Complementary Health. Susan Clark

10 minutes to get used to the idea of walking for its own sake. Build up over time to walking on gentle inclines, which will make the session more aerobic. Try to walk every day or at least three times a week. If the weather’s bad, put on a raincoat or go walk in the mall. Walking each day will also help you to get the 20 minutes of natural daylight we all need to help the body make vitamin D, which is important for strong bones (see Sunlight, page 44). After six months of regular walking, you will feel stronger and be in much better shape.

      Trail Running

      Jogging may still be one of the most popular sports (in the UK it ranks No. 3 after rambling and fishing), but it is too hard on the knees for most people. Trail Running, where you run on soft ground over fields, through woods and pasturelands is a much better option. It is vastly more stimulating than running on the spot in a hot and sweaty gym, wondering how the model-type girl on the machine next to yours keeps her thong in just the right place, and for many runners it takes on a meditative quality and acts as a superb anti-stress activity. Better still, trail running burns 20% more calories than running on concrete.

      So if you really want to completely change your body shape, then running is the best sport for you. I have, for example, seen 40-year-old women with the classic English pear-shape (heavy thighs and hips) streamline their entire figure within a few months, thanks to a regular 30-minute trail-running regimen.

      To get started, you need comfortable running shoes that will support your ankles and a schedule which you promise yourself you are going to stick to. If you plan to be out running at different speeds and for a long time, you also need clothing (and plenty of layers) that will accommodate your body’s changing temperatures.

      If you have done little or no aerobic exercise for quite some time, do not make the mistake of limbering up and expecting to be able to jog around the block in one go. In fact, on your first venture out you are not going to run at all. Not one inch. What you are going to do is get used to the idea of being outside in your sports kit and familiarise yourself with the route you plan to take for your first-ever trail run.

      On day two, you will run but only for one minute. You will cover the same route as the previous day, but will alternate running and walking. It is crucial to build your stamina and strength in this way, so be patient. One of the biggest rewards of running is how quickly your cardiovascular strength improves. Soon you will be comfortably running your entire route. Be warned, though: It takes much longer to build biomechanical strength.

      The best thing about trail running for those of us who are exercise-shy is that it is anything but boring. You cannot get obsessed with your time, speed or performance because you will be too busy making sure you do not trip over a twig and too distracted by the fabulous views and the occasional glimpse of wildlife. If you feel you have become disconnected from nature, there is no better way to get back in shape and back in touch with the important things in life.

      Swimming

      This must be the world’s most popular sport, so imagine my shock when, after 30 years of swimming, I got into a pool with an instructor who showed me how most of us have got it all wrong. Far from paddling up and down the pool, toning our muscles, releasing tension from our joints and exercising our pumping hearts, too many of us are unwittingly doing more harm than good.

      After three lengths, one of each stroke (breaststroke, backstroke and front crawl), Julie Smith, a British swimming teacher and former Olympic backstroker, gave me the bad news: My breaststroke was a dated 1960s version, I was swimming the backstroke the way it was taught in the 1950s (I was not even born then), and my freestyle front crawl was prehistoric.

      The good news, if your swimming, like mine, has become somewhat dated is that adults are quick to learn how to alter their strokes. With the front crawl, for example, the biggest change for anyone who learned to swim as a child in the 1960s is that overkicking is now frowned upon. The gentle kicks that are encouraged instead are both easier and energy-saving.

      Learning the front crawl, I was taught to stretch forward with each arm as far as I could, brushing past the ear. Now you are taught to rotate the arm from the shoulder only, keeping the elbow bent and entering the water thumb-first.

      The most significant change with the backstroke is that the shoulders now lift out of the water as they rotate to raise the arm, and the whole body rolls towards the opposite side with each armlift. This feels peculiar, but is not as ungainly as it might at first seem. Again, overkicking is out and the legs are used only for balance.

      Of all the strokes, however, it is the breaststroke that has changed the most. Instead of keeping the arms close to the surface and reaching forward in a long, wide stretch, the hands scoop downwards and the shoulders and chest come out of the water. With this stroke, 60% of the power comes from the arms and 40% from the new whip leg kick, designed to get the most out of a powerful thrust of the legs. It is much narrower than the old-fashioned wide scissor kick that so many of us learned, and so feels completely different.

      It may be annoying to discover your strokes are all wrong, but learning how to do them properly is rewarding because the newer versions are faster and more efficient. Only 2% of swimmers actually get any aerobic benefit from their swim – most do not even swim the 20 minutes that is required to get healthy because they become breathless – so it is worth learning the new strokes if they mean you can swim for longer.

      The best new approach to swimming I have discovered is one that combines these powerful strokes with the Alexander Technique (see page 265), which teaches you how to improve your body awareness in the water.

      Ironically, although it removes the emphasis on speed and getting to the end of each lane, this new technique increases efficiency in the water to such an extent that not only do your style and fitness improve, but so does your swimming time.

      As well as highlighting the bad habits that slow you down in the water, applying the principles of the Alexander Technique also shows you the mistakes that can lead to serious longer-term health problems. The single biggest fault with all strokes is that of pulling the head back in the water and tensing up the muscles in the neck and shoulder. This triggers a chain reaction down through the whole body and can cause dizziness, headaches, strained chest muscles and even sciatica, where a nerve becomes trapped.

      The impact of this gradual but persistent damage is actually worsened by the arms pulling against these tensed-up muscles. Pulling the head back causes the legs to sink, so not only is your swimming less efficient, you are also causing a kind of self-inflicted whiplash.

      With the breaststroke, especially my 1960s version, the wide kicking of the legs can be detrimental to both the lower back and the cartilage around the knees, which, if the swimmer persists, can wear away, causing a condition known as ‘breaststroke knee’.

      The other problem that holds most swimmers back is breathing. Many swimmers hyperventilate, albeit unwittingly, by taking in too much air in a large gulp and then breathing out too little. The right way to breathe is to keep the face in the water, turn the head sideways and open the mouth to allow air in. Under the water, breathe out all the time. If you find this difficult, try humming aloud.

      When we do get it right, water is, of course, the perfect weight-bearing medium for either getting back in shape or staying toned. The buoyancy, which reduces your body weight by 90%, protects you from injury, making this a great exercise option for anyone who has spent the last decade sitting on the couch or slumped over a keyboard. It is very soothing for stiff, arthritic joints and is the ideal form of exercise for pregnant women and anyone who is obese and who would otherwise be prone to injury.

      Water aerobics are very popular and effective. More fun than exercising with your two feet on dry land, you will learn how to push against the weight of the water to walk on the spot and tone your legs and thighs, and how staying afloat and then exercising your arms and legs can burn off unwanted fat.

      Swimming also charges the body’s internal plumbing – the lymphatic drainage system – which has no pumps to drive it around but which relies on movement to flush out waste debris and toxins. It does not like aggressive forms of exercise but responds best to gentle, rhythmic movement. Stagnant lymph is at the root of many health problems, especially skin