Is Physical Fitness Critical to Your Healthy Lifestyle?
The lack of exercise is directly related to health issues such as obesity, which has grown to epidemic levels along with its associated health risks, and a decline in cognitive abilities, bone strength, increase in heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and other degenerative diseases.
Physical Activity is a Critical Part of a Healthy Lifestyle
Love it or hate it, physical activity is a critical part of a healthy lifestyle. Although most people know this, Americans have shown little increase in activity levels in the past decade, according to recent surveys.
Talk to owners of physical fitness centers and they will site a history of people who sign up, expressing great intentions, and then a week, two, or a month later, disappear, and never come back again. End of exercise program. Unfortunately, a life of good intensions just does not cut it.
The lack of exercise is directly related to health issues such as obesity, which has grown to epidemic levels along with its associated health risks, and a decline in cognitive abilities, bone strength, increase in heart disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and other degenerative diseases.
The protest but “I eat healthy and take supplements” doesn’t cut it either. There is no substitute for exercise, and especially so, past 50.
Losing both balance and flexibility leads to
- Broken hips and arms as a result of falls happen to so many due to a loss of balance.
- Loss of ability to bend or twist is a result of loss of flexibility all of which are directly related to the lack of exercise.
- Muscles weaken and atrophy due to lack of use, even your heart muscle.
- Tendons and ligaments shrink and lose their flexibility, due to lack of use.
- Even your brain loses functionality if it is not exercised.
To maintain and improve your brain function, you need to constantly challenge your brain with exercises that expand your number of neurons and the communication between them.
Reading books, doing puzzles, mathematics, pondering problems, all help to exercise your brain improving your memory and mental sharpness.
It can't place enough emphasis on exercise when it comes to diabetic’s ability to control their diabetes, and for everyone to help control their blood pressure and aid in maintaining a healthy vascular system.
There is hardly a function in your body that is not improved by a routine of regular exercise.
When it comes to exercise, more is better. If you only did five minutes of exercise a day, that is better than none and doing an hour of multiple exercises three times a week, will absolutely change your life. There are so called experts that will tell you that walking 20 minutes a day or three times a week is all the exercise you need.
Don’t believe it? If you walk briskly, which is the way you should be walking, you will get your blood moving, exercise you legs, and get minimal exercise of your arms. But your body is more than just legs and swinging arms, you need arm strength, back strength, balance and flexibility to enable you to move spryly, bend, twist, lift and carry.
Exercise 45 minutes to one hour at least three times a week is more like it. Everyone can do this to one degree or another. Walking is great but you also need to do stretching and exercises that include lifting weights, and there are special exercises that maintain or improve your balance and flexibility.
Talk to a trainer at a gym. Check out books that are available at you library or book store. Google exercise programs.
Just do it!
A regular exercise program can also get people off their meds. Eat healthy – take good supplements – exercise, that’s the formula for a high quality long healthy life.
To your good heath & longevity.
