One of the biggest problems facing our communities at this age is lack of exercise. Since the beginning of time, survival has been a daily struggle. Simply staying alive was physically demanding. Traditionally in the East African community, the demands of daily life gave everybody all the exercise that they really needed to get. People used to lift and carried burdens, and walked constantly. They used to walk to gather food, they walked to work, they walked to markets, and they walked to do virtually everything. Yet, humans in industrialized societies over the last 150 years have become spoiled. Our bodies are designed to be used. Failure to use them results in your muscles deteriorating, at a steady and progressive rate. Failure to exercise has left our community with many problems.
Why Exercise?
Prevention of Heart Diseases:
Conductors on English double decker buses gave one of the first clues that exercise prevents heart disease. In 1953 researchers found that conductors were much less likely to get heart disease than drivers. The researchers wondered if climbing up and down stairs all day somehow prevented heart disease. Since then, evidence has accumulated showing the benefits of regular exercise. Examples are walking, slow jogging, cycling, swimming and skating. Walking is especially suitable because it does not require special equipment and can be done almost anywhere.
Helps Lowering High Blood Pressure:
People who exercise regularly are less likely to have high blood pressure. And those with high blood pressure may be able reduce it by regular aerobic exercise. One study has shown low- intensity exercise such as walking to be more effective than moderate-intensity exercise such as jogging in lowering systolic blood pressure. Both intensities of exercise were equally effective in lowering diastolic blood pressure. Exercise may make reductions in the dose of medications possible, and sometimes make medication unnecessary.
Helps fight Cholesterol:
Exercise can also affect blood levels of cholesterol. Aerobic exercise raises HDL, the good cholesterol. Strength training which involves lifting weights to increase muscle strength may decrease LDL, the bad cholesterol. Duration of exercise may be more important than intensity; it has been suggested that walking or jogging 20 kilometres per week is the minimum needed to raise HDL.
Exercise Helps with Diabetes
Even diabetes can be helped by exercise. Working muscles remove glucose from the blood, lowering blood glucose levels. Diabetics who take insulin often need less insulin when they exercise. Those treated with pills may need fewer pills if they exercise regularly.
Helps with Depression
An earlier study at Duke University Medical Centre showed patients diagnosed with major depression who were put on an exercise program without medication showed more improvement than those only given medication. Now, a six-month follow-up study shows exercise could be the key to long-term relief from depression. Psychologist James Blumenthal says those who continued to exercise showed no signs of any return of symptoms. "There certainly is the suggestion that people who continue to exercise do better. That if you may be feeling symptoms of depression, getting out and doing something may very well be a very appropriate step that might actually help ward off depression."
Weight Loss:
Many of the beneficial effects of exercise on risk factors come from its effects on weight loss. Brisk walking for 1 hour a day for 5 days a week burns about 2000 calories a week, equivalent to about 3/4 of a kilogram a month. Exercise combined with diet is more effective in reducing weight than diet alone. People who lose weight from diet alone tend to lose muscle as well as fat Those who lose weight from exercise and diet tend to gain muscle and lose fat. To be most effective in weight loss, exercise should last at least 45 minutes.
These are just but a few reasons why we should exercise regularly.
How Can I Get Started?
If you have a history of heart and lung problems, contact your GP first. Getting started is the hardest part of any exercise. Once you've established a pattern, you will find it very easy to stick to it. It's important know your limitations before you get started. . You don't start training for a marathon a month after you started running. More importantly, you learn to "read" your body. Is the heavy breathing due to pushing your body or could it be the beginning of a heart attack? You might want to know that. Exercise is important. Do it correctly and you can do it for the rest of your life.
Exercise Programs
To get maximum results in your fitness program, you need to include 2 types of exercise; aerobic and strength training. Aerobic can be anything that gets your heart beating fast and steady for 30 minutes or more at a time. This can include running, fast walking, dancing, steppers; exercises that get the heart beat up and keep it up for an extended period of time. Strength training can include weight lifting, push-ups, chin-ups; exercises that develop muscle. Muscle burns fat, so building muscle will help you lose weight.
Warming
up before exercising is very important in preventing injuries. Before running
you should first begin by walking, then jogging slowly. Begin increasing the
speed as you feel your body loosening up. Before lifting weights, do some light
jogging in place, then for each exercise you are doing, begin with a very small
amount of weight. This forces blood into the muscle area and will help prevent
strains to the muscle. Begin your aerobics slowly. Don't start out too quickly
and you'll get better results and your body will repay you with minimal injury
downtime.
Make exercising a priority in 2003.
The benefits of exercising fall mostly into two categories:
your body and your mind. An Improved State of Mind
Studies show that either short bursts of aerobic activity or longer workouts can
raise levels of important chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins,
adrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. These are the all-important chemicals that
make you feel well. Remember that runner's high?