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radha07
IF-Dazzler
Joined: 07 January 2007
Posts: 4849
radha07
IF-Dazzler
Joined: 07 January 2007
Posts: 4849
In order to find out how much exercise is enough, you need to be clear about what you want to achieve. Do you want to be fit or healthy? It's easy to confuse the terms as they're often used interchangeably to mean the same thing. But in fact they are different in both physiological and psychological terms.
Fitness has been defined in relation to a concept called physical work capacity, or how much work the body can do. A person's fitness can be determined in a laboratory by looking at how much energy they can produce on a cycle ergometer when cycling at a specific heart rate, or on an athletic track by looking at how far they can run in a set time. Fitness can also be understood in relation to a number of components including endurance, flexibility, strength and power. You need to be fit to play many sports, including football, hockey and tennis.
Health, on the other hand, is a broader concept that includes being free from and resilient to disease, mental and spiritual wellbeing, and the quality of our social relationships. Normally, being fit and being healthy go hand in hand, but this isn't always the case. For example, you can be very fit, through playing football for example, but suffer a major health problem such as alcoholism.
Understanding the difference between fitness and health is important because the level of exercise you need to be healthy is less than that needed to get and keep you fit.
Many people want or need to be fit because of the job they do (eg, police officers), the sport they play (eg, basketball) or the body shape they want to achieve (eg, through resistance training).
If you want to be fit, you normally need to follow a structured training programme. Such programmes often take place in specialised facilities such as leisure centres and may be supervised by an exercise leader. Examples of fitness training include circuits, running and weight training.
One of the key variables in achieving a high level of fitness is the intensity of the exercise programme. If you want to be very fit, you may need to exercise at a moderate or high intensity. In achieving fitness goals, most people also become healthier. However, if you don't want to be fit but just healthy, you don't have to exercise as hard.
It doesn't have to be hell to be healthy
If you want to reduce your risk of suffering from coronary heart disease, obesity or mental health problems, research indicates you should be physically active. To achieve these health benefits doesn't require the same intensity of training as becoming fit. You can simply build physical activity into your daily routine, either as a form of 'active commuting' (walking or cycling, perhaps) or in the comfort of a health club. The main message is that it doesn't have to be hell to be healthy.
Some people are put off becoming more active because they think they have to work out at a high intensity, compete with others or wear a designer tracksuit. None of these things are necessary.
Top active living tips:
JeetRanoFan
IF-Rockerz
Joined: 02 September 2006
Posts: 7857
JeetRanoFan
IF-Rockerz
Joined: 02 September 2006
Posts: 7857
JeetRanoFan
IF-Rockerz
Joined: 02 September 2006
Posts: 7857
JeetRanoFan
IF-Rockerz
Joined: 02 September 2006
Posts: 7857
Naina_Manam
IF-Dazzler
Joined: 06 September 2005
Posts: 2934
If flipping the calendar to a new year (or counting off another birthday) makes you anxious, stop fighting Father Time and start working with him. Add 20-plus great years to your life—and help celebrate Health's 20-year anniversary—by making simple lifestyle changes, like joining an aerobics class. Ready to start?
Get moving
Adds 2 to 4 years
Dutch
and Australian researchers found that women who do moderate- to
high-intensity cardiovascular exercise—like running for 30 minutes, 5
days a week—can live 2 to 4 years longer and live 1 to 3 more years
free of heart disease. Running seems to strengthen your heart, as well
as other muscles, and lower cholesterol. (A great way to start: Join
the Health Girls Gotta Move Running Club.) But if you don't
think running is the right exercise for you, just walking 30 minutes a
day will lower your heart attack risk by half, says Carol Rosenberg,
MD, director of Preventative Health Initiatives for Evanston
Northwestern Healthcare in Illinois and lead investigator of the
Women's Health Initiative (WHI). "Exercise is the closest thing to a
magic bullet," she says.
Eat power foods
Adds 4 years or more
A
daily handful of dark chocolate and almonds, plus fruits, vegetables,
garlic, fish, and even a glass of wine can increase a woman's life by
4.8 years (6.6 for men), according to research in the British Medical Journal.
The foods are rich in antioxidants, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty
acids, fiber, and other nutrients that can lower your heart disease
risk by 76 percent. The age gains also come from a 22 percent drop in
breast-cancer risk linked to consuming less fat and fewer calories as
you eat more fruit, veggies, and whole grains, the WHI found.
People in other cultures who live to 100 always eat this way, according to John Robbins, son of the Baskin Robbins founder and author of Healthy at 100. "These people," Robbins says, "wouldn't recognize a doughnut."
Quit smoking
Adds 2 to 8 years
The younger you are when you quit, the better. Period. A study in the American Journal of Public Health found that female smokers who quit by age 35 could extend their lifespan by 6.1 to 7.7 years.
Lose the flab
Adds 3 to 4 years
Shed
those extra holiday pounds, and you'll celebrate more holidays. Recent
National Cancer Institute research shows that being overweight can
increase the risk of death by 20 to 40 percent. Other research links
being obese to high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart
disease, and stroke. The reasons are unclear, but obesity can shave 3
to 4 years off your life, says Robert Butler, MD, president of the
nonprofit International Longevity Center-USA, an affiliate of the Mount
Sinai School of Medicine in New York. Check your body mass index; 18.5
to 24.9 is considered normal, 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and
30 or higher is considered obese.
Play head games
Adds 2 years or more
Many
experts believe that mental exercises can keep your brain cells active
and more efficient as you age. And they say lifelong learning combined
with other healthy-lifestyle habits can prolong your life by at least 2
years. Even one mental boost a week can equal a 7 percent gain in
mental sharpness. And the more you do, the greater the percentage, says
Gary Small, MD, author of The Longevity Bible. Read regularly,
toil over a Sudoku grid, or connect a 1,000-piece puzzle to lower your
risk for Alzheimer's by nearly a third, adds Small, chief of the
University of California, Los Angeles, Memory and Aging Research
Center.
purefriendship
Newbie
Joined: 17 March 2007
Posts: 36
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health & Fitness Help Desk | Angelic_J | 6 | 2837 | 04 August 2010 at 1:24pm By aksoni |
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| regular health mistakes.. | ..imperfect.. | 9 | 1102 | 04 December 2009 at 5:38pm By love_vs_hate |
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| Important Health Tips - R-E-A-D | honeydaisy | 14 | 1659 | 04 December 2009 at 10:25pm By love_vs_hate |
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| Free Fitness Advice from American Fitness | Dane33606 | 5 | 860 | 02 February 2009 at 4:25am By ebanyan |
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