Healthy living, health, fitness; these are some of the words which are very common today and most of the people are struggling for it in one way or another. Where our forefathers lived a rather easy life, people today on the other hand have lives surrounded by the complexities of stress. There are numerous reasons behind this situation, but most important is our lack of a healthy nutrition and physical activity.
Where our forefathers had a rather simple healthy food intake, we practically survive on fast food today. Where our forefathers were not even aware of preservatives, there is rarely anything that we eat that does not contain preservatives and artificial sugars.
Also our forefathers had a high level of physical activity whereas we today live to stare at screens. Undoubtedly modernization and luxuries have made our lives easier but have also limited our activity level. We don’t even walk to nearby shops, instead use our motor vehicles. It is the lack of exercise in our everyday life that we have become so stagnant today.
Exercise can be defined as any physical activity in which we move our body for a certain time period while burning extra calories and it is further divided into two categories: Aerobic and Anaerobic
Aerobic literally means “with oxygen”, and refers to the use of oxygen in the body’s metabolic or energy-generating process. Performing a physical activity at a moderate level for a longer period of time,whileconsuming the greater possible amount of oxygen, is called Aerobic exercise. Exercise of such type is usually adapted in order to build sufficient stamina and endurance.
Anaerobic means “without oxygen” i.e. anaerobic refers to a type of physical activity, which is performed for a short period of time at a certain high intensity. It is used to promote strength, speed and power. The people who would like to witness some form of mass accumulation are more prone to performing this kind of exercise. Muscles trained using anaerobic exercise develop differently, leading to greater performance in a much shorter duration of time, giving a person the stamina to perform well in high intensity activities.
Exercise has numerous positive effects on human body, that can bring about remarkable change to your life. For starters regular exercising helps strengthen their hearts. In a way that while performing an aerobic activity; an individual is using more oxygen for energy. Henceforth, implying that an aerobic activity increases the average heart rate up to a moderate level for a longer period of time as compared to anaerobic. However, such kind of exercise is also referred to as cardiovascular activity. That is, your heart rate is increased and you are pumping more oxygenated blood throughout your body; it is like you are focusing on the “left ventricle” of your heart, which is responsible for pumping blood to your entire body. So, basically by doing such exercise you are training your heart, you are helping it to become stronger hence reducing your chances of a heart failure.
Besides this, several studies have suggested that exercise helps and promotes bone health. Weakening of bones is a fact of life that everyone, especially women, have to face as they grow older. However, steps can be taken from the very beginning in order to prevent fatal diseases such as “Osteoporosis”, a bone condition where bones become weak and brittle. Loss of bone mass with age is a problem of growing up, but loss to the point of frequent fractures can give way to some serious health issues, including permanent dependency. However, regular exercise not only prevents the progression of osteoporosis, but helps decrease bone loss over a longer period of time also. Just like preventing osteoporosis, exercise also helps strengthen joints. Joint pain restricts movement of your body, to an extent that with time, you lose all flexibility. Exercise can help you regain that flexibility, allowing you to be able to move more freely. Lack of exercise gives way to muscle injury and other soft tissue injuries. Whereas regularly exercising helps in decreasing muscle soreness. Such as performing some basic exercises which will help you gain back that optimal level of activity. For instance, stretching every now and then helps relax your joints. But before doing so one should remember to properly perform the appropriate warm up and cool down before and after stretching joints so that they don’t go into shock due to unexpected quick movements.
Moreover, exercise also helps in improving brain function, it increases the number of brain cells and helps build stronger connections with neurons (transmitters of electric brain signals), in return helping to increase the flow of current inside our brain complexities. This helps in enhancing brain function and improving responsiveness. Exercise also protects cells and nerves in brain from injury and erosion, henceforth preventing numerous brain diseases. Regular exercise is also a way to prevent numerous form of depression. Physical activity stimulates pleasure centers in our brain, resulting in a sense of well being. Exercise can also be an effective treatment for anxiety. Some research studies have also indicated that regular exercise may be as effective a treatment, and even a healthier one as compared to medication.
During exercise, you not only are training your muscular system, but as mentioned also your nervous and cardiovascular system. The stronger your cardiovascular system the lesser chances of you getting tired. This means regular exercise performs an immense role in constructing your stamina, which helps you in performing your job with more ease, without getting tired. Furthermore it also helps you burn those extra calories, which result in weight loss and it can also help you in building some healthy muscles.Remember, the more muscles you have the more calories you are burning even when resting.
Experts have concluded that regular exercise can help improve the immune system i.e. it will respond better. This results in even lesser chances of catching a cold or flu etc.In case, even if you do catch a nasty flu, due to regular exercising your immune system will already be set on autopilot, henceforth resulting in a quicker recovery. Regular exercise can help you live a healthier, much relaxed life which is devoid of illnesses and fatal diseases. It also helps you to be more socially involved, and helps curb episodes of depression. Moreover, exercise has a very good effect on brain functioning. In addition, it is a good choice to improve your endurance in order to perform your job more efficiently while you’re at work. Therefore, it is safe to say that exercise is practically the best solution for all your physical and many of your mental problems.
Do you exercise regularly? Any suggestions on ways we can improve our health and live a healthier and smarter life? Leave your comments below.
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