Part Two
Exercise
The only bad work out is the one that did not happen.
Unknown
Exercise should be regarded as a tribute to the heart.
- Unknown
Chapter -2
EXERCISE
Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body
- Joseph Addison
There is an old saying that exercise won’t necessarily help you live longer but it will help you to live younger longer. In some cases it will help you even to live longer. Research has shown that increased level of fitness can boost longevity and reduce mortality rates from all causes of deaths.
Any form of physical activity can improve health, including daily activities that would not necessarily be called exercise. Adding a regular exercise program to the mix would benefit your health even more. Put simply, leading an active life enables you to keep on being active, putting off (or avoiding altogether) the time when you have to depend on other people to perform your daily tasks.
How exercise keeps you healthy
If exercise could be packed into a pill, it would be the most commonly prescribed medicine in the world. Physical activity provides health benefits for every part of the body. Regular physical activity improves your health in the following ways:
- Reduces the risk of developing heart disease – and the risk of dying from it.
- Cuts your risk for stroke
- Lessons your risk of developing high-blood pressure
- Lowers your risk for type-2 diabetes and if you have diabetes if helps to control your blood sugar better
- Reduces the risk of Colon Cancer
- Helps you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight
- Reduces the feelings of depression and anxiety
- Reduces stress
- Improves your sleep
- Reduces the risk of falling and breaking bones in older people
- Delays the development of age-related dementia and Alzheimer disease
- Relieves arthritis pain
- Results in fewer doctor visits, fewer hospitalization and medications
Types of exercise
There are 3 main types of exercises – Aerobic – Activity, Muscle – Strengthening and Bone-Strengthening.
Aerobic – Activity (Exercise)
Aerobic exercise is only type of activity that uses the large muscles of the arms and legs in a continuous fashion. Aerobic fitness is also called cardiovascular fitness because it improves the ability of the heart, blood vessels, and lungs to supply oxygen and fuel to the body.
Aerobic activities make your cardiovascular system stronger, lowering your risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Regular aerobic exercise also increases your endurance – hence also called endurance activity. The following exercises provide Aerobic Activity:
- Walking
- Running
- Jogging
- Swimming
- Bicycling
- Stair Climbing
- Dancing
- Skipping rope
- Rowing
- Cross Country Skiing.
Muscle – Strengthening
Exercises that build muscles go by a variety of names, including strength training, resistance training, weight training or weight lifting. Strengthening exercises are safe and effective ways of building muscle mass for people of all ages, including those who are not in perfect health. In fact, people with health conditions – including heart disease, arthritis – often benefit the most from weight lifting.
Benefits of Muscle Strengthening Exercises Are:
- Increases muscle strength, flexibility and balance and lowers the chances of falling and breaking bones.
- Increases bone density and reduce the risk for fractures, especially in older people.
- It helps in weight control, because people with more muscle mass have a higher metabolic rate. An increased metabolic rate is helpful for both weight loss and long-term weight control.
- Strength training is also beneficial for prevention and control of type-2 diabetes.
- Strength training is vital for heart health because heart disease risk is lower when your body is leaner.
Getting Started With Weights
When you are starting out on muscle strengthening exercise, use a low-weight dumbbell or machine weight to determine what weight you can handle comfortably and safely. You can also use tubing and elastic bands for strength training. You can also work against your body to build muscle mass by doing pull-ups and push-ups. It is recommended that you warm-up for 5-10 minutes of aerobic exercise before starting strengthening exercises.
Beginner State:
- Select one exercise from each of the following body areas: hips and legs, chest, back, shoulders, low back and abdomen.
- Do 1-2 sets of 8-10 repetition with enough weight to be comfortable.
- Try to breaths out as you lift or press against resistance, and breathe in as you lower the weight.
Intermediate to Established Stage:
- Do total of 10 exercises. Select one from each of the following body areas: hips and legs, quadriceps, hamstrings, chest, back shoulders, biceps, triceps, low back, and abdominal.
- Do 2 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
- Breathe out as you lift and breathe in as you lower the weight.
Warm-up Rest Periods and Cool-Down
It is recommended that your warm-up for resistance training should include 5 to 10 minutes of aerobic activities. The length of rest period (1-2 minutes) between sets will depend upon the weight used. Heavier the weight, longer the in between rest period. The cool-down phase brings the body to resting levels.
Bone-Strengthening
Bone-strengthening activities produce a force on the bones that promote bone growth and strength. The force is commonly produced by impact with the ground. The good news: bone strengthening activities can also be aerobic and muscle-strengthening like running, jumping rope, tennis, basketball, football and hopscotch.
The Benefits of Cross-Training
Cross-training is a technique that enables you to fight boredom while gaining extra benefits from your fitness program. Cross-training is performing two or more different types of exercise – either with one workout or alternately in consecutive sessions. If you walk or jog, for example, you could lift weights twice a week or take a yoga class. You can engage in more than one type of aerobic exercise – bicycling, walking or swimming or playing sport, for example to vary your workouts even more. Bringing variety to your exercise sessions can help keep you motivated.
No single type of physical activity can provide all the health benefits gained from exercise. For example, aerobic exercise enhances heart health because of sustained used of large – muscle group. But aerobic activity does not necessarily help developing muscle mass, especially in upper body. On the other hand weight – training builds muscle mass, but does not necessarily improve joint flexibility. Only a combination of the different types of exercise can give you the optimal, all – round fitness your body needs.
Cross-training helps make your entire body stronger and lowers your risk of injury. It also wards off the monotony of everyday exercise.
When to stop exercising
- If you develop dizziness or faintness
- Chest pain or pressure
- Irregular, rapid heart beat
- Develop injury
Physical Activity Guidelines (President’s Council for Physical Fitness, USA)
Children and Adolescents (6-17 years old)
Children and adolescents should get 60 minutes or more of physical activity daily. That includes:
- Aerobic Activity: Most of the 60 or more minutes a day should be either moderate – or Vigorous – intensity physical activity (such as running, biking, dancing) at least 3 days a week.
- Muscle – Strengthening: As a part of 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, include muscle – strengthening – physical activity (such as using playground equipment, climbing trees, or lifting weight) on at least 3 days a week.
- Bone-Strengthening: As a part of the 60 or more minutes of daily physical activity, include bone-strengthening physical activity (such as running or jumping rope) on at least 3 days a week.
It is important that young people try a variety of physical activity and do something they enjoy. The activity should be appropriate for their age.
Adults (18-64 years old)
Aerobic Activities:
For substantial health benefit, adults should do one of the following:
- 150 minutes (2 ½ hours) each week of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (such as brisk walking, or tennis).
- 75 minutes each week of vigorous – intensity aerobic physical activity (such as jugging or swimming laps, Soccer, basket balls.)
- An equivalent combination of moderate – and vigorous – intensity aerobic physical activity.
Do aerobic physical activities in episodes of at least 10 minutes if possible, spread it out through the week.
For even greater health benefits, do one of the following:
- Increase moderate – intensity aerobic physical activity to 300 minutes (5 hours) each week.
- Increase vigorous – intensity aerobic physical activity for 150 minutes (2 ½ hours) each week.
Doing more physical activity will lead to even greater health benefits. Not sure whether you are at a moderate or vigorous activity level? Try the talk test. If you can talk while you are active, then you are participating at a moderate level. If you can say only few words without stopping to catch your breath, then you are engaging in vigorous activity.
Muscle-Strengthening Activities:
- Do muscle – strengthening activities (such as lifting weight, using resistance bands, push-ups, sit ups, using machines) that are moderate to high intensity and involve all major muscle groups (-legs, hips, back, chest stomach, shoulders, and arms) on 2 or more days a week.
Bone-Strengthening Activities
Bone-strengthening activities can be both aerobic and muscle-strengthening like running, jumping rope, basketball, tennis, soccer.
Older Adults (Age 65 and Older)
Regular physical activity is essential for healthy aging. Adults over 65 gain substantial health benefits from regular physical activity. These benefits continue to occur throughout their lives.
- For older adults who are fit and have no limiting chronic conditions, the guidelines are the same as those for all adults (18-64 ages).
Guidelines Just for Older Adults
- Be as active as possible.
- Do some activities to improve your balance – Good balance is important to help prevent falls. Some balance activities are:
- Climb stairs.
- Do tai-chi
- Walk on uneven side walk.
- Walk on heels and toes.
- Walk forward and backward.
- Lean your body forward, backward.
- Lean your body forward, backward or to the side.
Improve Your Flexibility
- Make the bed
- Bend over to tie your shoes
- Pull a sweater over your head
- Reach for a food item on a kitchen self.
Exercise and physical activity can have a positive effect on your everyday life. Even if you think you are too old or too out of shape to exercise, start now. It is never too late to start. Being inactive can be risky.
How long, how often, and how hard?
Once you take the exercise challenge, consider three factors that make up the backbone of any god exercise program: frequency, duration, and intensity. The bottom line is: If you are doing nothing, do something. If you are already exercising, do more – exercise for a longer period and at greater intensity.
If you have been inactive or if you are overweight, start out slowly. The best approach is to start with light or moderate activity – such as walking, biking or swimming. Gradually increase the duration of the activity first. Once you are exercising more than 30 minutes a day, gradually increase the intensity of the activity. Mixing in some light weights add value once your heart and lungs are fit. The key is to get moving and be more physically active than you already are.