Let’s Get Physical

The true advantages of exercise go way beyond losing and maintaining weight:

Reduced risk of heart disease

The heart is a muscle and just like the other muscles, it needs regular exercise to keep it working efficiently. Its been shown that people who have a physically active lifestyle approximately reduce their risk of heart disease by half compared to those who do not.

Reduced risk of many other major health conditions

Exercising regularly helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol as well as actively reducing the risks of stroke, diabetes and many types of cancers. Digestion, posture and insomnia can also be improved by exercise.

Weight management

Exercise is well known for helping to burn calories and maintain a healthy weight and to help in reducing excessive, unhealthy weight!

Life longevity

Exercise improves your overall fitness, and reduces the chances of developing many major diseases. As a result regular physical activity can greatly improve your life expectancy. and also give you a better quality of life in your later years helping to keep active and social.

Improves your mood

Exercise stimulates feel good chemicals in the brain called serotonin making you feel happier and less stressed and can even help with treatment in depression and anxiety.

Natural pain relief

Physical activity triggers the release of endorphins, which are anti-stress hormones that blocking the brains pain signals. Exercise as a result, can help to alleviate complaints such as back pain and menstrual cramps.

Improved your confidence

Regular exercise improves muscle definition and reduces and your body fat. Even your skin is improved as more oxygen is delivered to your body tissue. All this can help to make you feel better about your appearance and improve your self confidence.

As with most things physical activities there is a risk of injury. Whether it’s your first time exercising or you haven’t exercised in a while, always consult a GP before undertaking any exercise programme. This is particularly important if you:

•    are over 35 and smoke,
•    have diabetes, or at risk of heart disease,
•    are over 40 and inactive,
•    have high blood pressure,
•    have chest pains or any severe discomfort when you exercise,
•    have high cholesterol,
•    have difficulty breathing during mild exertion, i.e. carrying out daily activities.

Preventing injuries

Regardless of your level of fitness, there is always a risk of injury. The following are some precautions to follow to reduce the risk of injury.

Warm up and warm down

Warm up before exercise to get the blood flowing, gently raise the heart rate and warm up the muscles making them more responsive and supple. Once warm you can then stretch them safely. It is important to gradually warm down your muscles and allow your heart rate to return to normal.

Don’t overdo it

Your body needs to gradually adapt to exercise, especially your muscles and joints. Start exercising steadily and allow it to build up gradually. An adult of normal weight is recommended to do a minimum of half an hour a day, five times a week. Obese should aim for 45 – 60 minutes a day.

Make sure your technique is correct

Seek advice from experienced professional on the correct ways to perform your chosen exercise.

Use the right equipment

Where the right clothing and use the correct equipment to avoid any discomfort. This is particularly important when the exercise involves impact on the joints etc.

Injuries

Never ignore an injury. Always have it treated as soon as it occurs. A minor injury and easily turn more serious if left untreated.

It’s known to most people that exercise is good for your health, but it’s not known how dangerous it is to be unfit.

The number of people classed as overweight (Body Mass Index (BMI) of between 25-29) or as obese (a BMI of 30 or above) is on the increase. BMI is a representation of whether you are the right weight or a healthy weight for your height. The ideal BMI is one between 18.5 and 24.9.

These are some of the facts as to why exercise is so important to our health.

•    Besides eating a balanced healthy diet, exercise on e regular basis plays a vital role in helping people to lose and weight and maintain a healthy weight. At present there are said to be 24 million overweight or obese people in the UK and if it continues at the same rate, there will be one in four obese by 2010.
•    In the UK alone, obesity and conditions as a result of the condition, has been said to be responsible for over 9,000 premature deaths every year.
•    Physical activity significantly reduces the risks of developing chronic illnesses such as type-2 diabetes, stroke and heart disease. Heart disease is said to be the leading cause of death in the UK and responsible for one in five of all deaths!
•    Approximately a third of all the deaths caused by heart disease occur among people under the age of 75.
•    Regular exercise can help to reduce the risks of diabetes and many types of cancer. Smoking is the number one cause of cancer; however obesity is a very close second.
•    Obese woman are more likely to have complications during and after pregnancy.

If you know your height and weight and want to check you BMI you can follow this link to a BMI Calculator.

From those of us who workout and even those of us who can’t be bothered,  we all want flat stomachs with abs showing but don’t want to do the abdominal exercises. A flat stomach with a hint of muscle rippling beneath it is the Holy Grail of fitness, but to reach it you have to do the right abs exercises.

The function of the abdominal muscle originates at the sternum and ribcage and inserts into the pelvis. It functions to allow you to twist and bend the upper body and support the upper body and maintain posture. Strong abs is necessary for all-over body strength and they look good!

There are a lot of exercises to choose from but I believe I might have the best 3 here for you!

First place
Bicycle manoeuvre - Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground and place your hands beside your head. Bring your knees up to about a 45-degree angle and slowly go through a bicycle pedal motion. Touch your left elbow to your right knee, then your right elbow to your left knee. Breathe evenly throughout the movement.

Second place
Captain’s chair - This is one of the few on the “most effective” list that actually involves gym equipment. Start with legs straight and slowly lift your knees toward your chest, then gently return them back to the starting position.

Third Place
Gym ball crunch - Sit on the ball with your feet flat on the floor. Lie back until your thighs and torso are parallel with the floor. Contract your abs and raise your upper body to no more than 45 degrees. To focus more on the oblique’s (side) muscles, move your feet closer together.

Walking

Because walking in a natural form of movement, we take it for granted and don’t recognise it as a form of exercise. It’s the easiest and cheapest form of light cardiovascular exercise, a weight bearing activity, meaning that it will help to improve the heart and lungs whilst helping to improve and maintain bone density. Walking is a low impact exercise for the lower body so t won’t cause stress on the joints.

Running and jogging

These are the most common and effective ways to exercise vigorously. The difference between the two is jogging is more slow paced and running is a more high impact which will help bone density but puts more stress on the joints particularly if you are overweight. Always consult your GP first. Gradually build up from walking, to a brisk walk until you are physically able to run. As you improve try to increase the time and distance.

Swimming

Swimming is another form of vigorous exercise which give all over body tone as well as cardiovascular exercise and is effective at fat burning. Your body is supported so it’s low impact and doesn’t put stress on the joints.

Cycling

Cycling is a good cardiovascular exercise which is a non-weight bearing exercise making it a good exercise in particular for people with bone or joint conditions.

Dance and aerobics

Dancing is a cardiovascular exercise of varying intensities which can help to improve balance, strength and coordination. Aerobics simply uses dance movements for a vigorous workout.

Weight training

Weight training is a vigorous exercise used to build body mass, strength, size and endurance. This is done using machines or free weights (barbells and dumbbells). Weight training is an anaerobic (without oxygen) form of exercise and is not as beneficial to the heart as aerobic or cardiovascular exercise, but it does help to increase overall fitness. Anaerobic exercises are most effective when combined with other types of exercise.

Yoga and Pilates

These types of light to moderate exercise improve balance, flexibility, circulation and posture. Yoga uses a combination of meditation, breathing and posture exercises and can be tailored to meet the needs of those with conditions such as asthma, arthritis and back pain. Pilates is similar, but focuses on the core abdominal and back muscles.

Exercise is when the body physically with the aim of achieving a beneficial level of health and fitness, both physically and mentally.

There are 3 main classifications of fitness intensity:

• is easy enough to be able to speak at the same time. Examples of this will include going for a walk, or doing some light housework, or gardening.
•    Moderate exercise done correctly should make you feel slightly out of breath and slightly worn out, but not unbearable. Examples are going for a brisk walk, or hill walking.
•    Vigorous exercise should make you breathe more quickly, and feel very difficult, but not enough to feel like you’re reaching your absolute limits. Jogging, cycling, swimming and weight training are all vigorous exercises.

The overall aim is to be exercising vigorously but always start with light exercise until you naturally progress to more vigorous activities. Before starting any exercise routine always consult your Doctor to assess your fitness.

Getting exercise doesn’t necessarily mean you have to join a gym. There are different ways to improve fitness by exercise:

Exercise is essential to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Regular exercise does not only help to maintain overall fitness and manage weight loss but it can lower the risk of many conditions which may be life threatening.

For those of us who exercise regularly, it is expected that we are much more likely to live longer and enjoy a better quality of life. In support of this there have been studies that have shown that being physically unfit is just as harmful to health as smoking and binge drinking in terms of lowering life expectancy.

Regular exercise can also be beneficial to mental and emotional wellbeing. The chemicals and hormones that are released in the brain as a result of exercise can reduce the effects of stress and improve your mood.

With all the known health benefits, it is not hard to see why people would be encouraged to exercise. However, the general consensus is exercise is too expensive or simply takes up too much time, when in reality all that is required to maintain good health is as little as 30 minutes a day of moderate activity, such as a brisk walk, or simply being busy around the house or garden can be enough to improve health and fitness. There are various ways to exercise and there is something for everyone and any kind of lifestyle.

Its common knowledge that drinking water is required to stay healthy but does drinking the recommended eight glasses of water a day help you stay trim? It’s been recently reported that dieters could be wasting their time drinking loads of water when they should be drinking water rich foods mainly.

Whether you’re trying to get rid of a few pounds of excess weight or just maintaining a healthy diet, water is a vital ingredient. An adult’s total body weight is made up of about 50 – 70% water so to keep these levels up its important that we drink at least six to eight glasses daily.

It’s been recently found that those who choose to drink lots of water to stifle hunger or in place of a meal in an attempt to lose weight are no better off and are more likely to have a bigger waist compared to those who eat more water rich foods.

This is because water rich foods such as fruit, vegetables and pulses are often high in fibre which keeps your energy levels up for longer and reduces the desire to snack between meals.

Although a gym is where we go to get or health and fitness on track, can the gym do more harm than good?

How often do you go into the gym and your waiting for bench or machine and the person using it gets off and leaves a pool of sweat behind and has no intention of wiping it up? Does it sound familiar? It’s disgusting but it happens a lot.

The sweat is NOT the problem according to Herbert DuPont, professor of medical sciences at the University of Texas, who has studied gym hygiene. ‘It is primarily the moisture from sweat that causes problems by helping germs to grow.’

The bacteria have been found to be in practically every part of the gym, not only the activity areas. From the changing room and showers to the swimming pool and steam room!

So how do we protect ourselves in these situations?

•    Always wash your hands before and after exercise
•    Always wipe down machines before and after use to protect yourself and avoid spreading anything to the next person
•    Don’t touch your face, eyes or mouth after touching equipment – this is how most viruses etc are transmitted
•    Use your own sweat towels
•    Use flip-flops in the shower and sauna
•    Avoid direct contact with the seating in the sauna
•    Avoid the gym if you show early cold or flu symptoms

As you may have gathered by now, I’m quite keen on fitness! My other passions are music and food, so there’s nothing better for me than going through my gruelling sessions in the gym with my music of choice to keep me motivated and then sitting down to a big plate of food afterwards (healthy of course!).

So imagine how I felt in the middle of one of my most challenging gym sessions, music blasting, muscles flexing and then all of a sudden the sound of the gym surrounding and their poor choice of music comes flooding in. It was the worst thing that could have happened, at that moment, on that day, my iPod Battery had died on me, GUTTED!! Just my luck (but my fault for poor attention to detail) that I didn’t plan ahead.

Now every couple of days out of a newly formed habit, I check my battery level and recharge as needed. I might even buy a back up battery!

The moral of this story is whatever keeps you focused and motivated on your workout, is as important as the workout itself and the results should prove it!