Monday, January 30, 2006

Exercise for A Healthier You

By: Michael Sampson

With the advent of modern technology, it seems that today very
few people are getting enough exercise. Some people who sit all
day in front of the computer and the others who confine
themselves to an office do not give their body enough work out.
Exercise is important to your body. It is a physical activity
that includes anything to get you moving, such as walking,
dancing, or working in the yard. It is vital to your overall
health and it enables you to be physically active as you perform
daily activities. If you are physically fit, you have the
strength, flexibility, and endurance needed for your daily
tasks. Being physically active helps you feel better physically
and mentally.

There are three types of exercise: aerobic exercise, strength
training, and flexibility exercise. Aerobic exercise increases
your heart rate, works your muscles, and raises your breathing
rate. For most people, it's best to aim for a total of about 30
minutes a day, at least 5 days a week. Strength training, when
done several times a week, helps build strong bones and muscles
and makes everyday chores like carrying groceries easier for
you. Flexibility exercises, also called stretching, help keep
your joints flexible and reduce your chances of injury during
other activities. These get the body in a state of readiness for
vigorous activity and enhance the performance of movement
required for exercise. Gentle stretching for 5 to 10 minutes
helps your body warm up and get ready for aerobic activities
such as walking or swimming. Flexibility exercises also result
in mild elevation of the heart rate and ventilation and perhaps
light perspiration but should not be fatiguing.

Exercise has lots of benefits. First, it can burn calories. The
more you get up and perform a set of exercise, the more calories
you will burn. You don't necessarily need to go to a gym to do
this, you can do exercise even while playing, or doing house
chores. You can even burn extra calories just by walking to and
fro, or going up and down the steps. Second, exercise can help
you succeed at losing weight. Many people get disappointed when
their diet and amount of exercise simply seems to stop working
to make them achieve their goals. They probably perform the
exercise the wrong way that is why they never see results.
Exercise should be done on a regular basis, and if a person is
really determined and motivated to lose weight, it is not
impossible to achieve.

Third, exercise increases metabolic rate this is why active
people can eat anything and not gain weight. Fourth, exercise
helps you to sleep better. Exercise within a few hours of going
to bed, but make sure it's only a brisk walk. Just save the
high-impact aerobics in the morning or early afternoon. Fifth,
exercise is good for body and soul. It improves mood and due to
the chemicals it releases in the brain called endorphins, it
gives you an overall feeling of well-being. And lastly, exercise
reduces the risk for several diseases including heart disease,
adult-onset diabetes, high blood pressure or hypertension,
breast cancer, osteoporosis and colon cancer. Exercise may also
help prevent, or be effective in treating, some mental
illnesses, such as depression.

Your body is made to be active daily, and once you started doing
exercise, you will be more willing to exercise on a consistent
basis. But the secret to being consistent is to make your
exercise as enjoyable as possible and an experience which you
will look forward to each and every day.

About the author:
For more info please check out Pilates resource
center.



Click Here!

Burn The Fat!

No comments: