Exercise: Physical activity & Physical fitness

 

Physical activity and Exercise

Physical activity includes any movement made by your muscles that uses energy, measured in calories. It can be part of your job, sports, exercise routines, household chores, or other daily activities. Exercise is a specific type of physical activity that is planned and repeated, aimed at improving or keeping up your fitness. Physical fitness refers to the health or skill-related qualities that help you stay in good shape. Exercise means working out the body to make it healthier and stronger.

Research in exercise training has identified several key principles for creating a successful workout program. These principles include:

  • Tailor our training to our goals: If we want to become more flexible, focus on flexibility exercises. If we want to build strength, do resistance or strength exercises.
  • Gradually increase intensity: To improve fitness, we need to continually challenge our body. However, do this gradually to match our body's tolerance.
  • Warm-up: Start your exercise session with a warm-up. It makes our workout more comfortable and helps maintain a safe heart rate.
  • Regular exercise: To stay fit, exercise regularly. Aim for at least three days a week or every other day.
  • Balanced workout: Include both strength training to maintain muscle mass and strength for daily activities, and stretching exercises to keep our joints flexible.
  • Personal preferences: Everyone has different preferences and tolerances for types of exercise, so choose activities we enjoy and can stick with.

Types of physical activity

Physical activity is any planned movement that uses our muscles and burns energy. It can include exercise like playing sports, working out at the gym, or running. It can also be part of our daily routine, such as work tasks, leisure activities, or any other movement we do throughout the day. There are different kinds of physical activity, which are often grouped based on the type of movement and how intense it is.

Physical activity can be divided into the following types:

  1. Aerobic
  2. Strengthening
  3. Flexibility
  4. Balance


1. Aerobic Exercises: Aerobic exercises, also known as cardio, involve activities that increase our heart rate and breathing. These exercises are great for improving blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and sleep quality. Over time, they can also lower the risk of chronic conditions like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Aerobic exercises can be divided into three categories:

(a) Low-intensity exercises - If we can talk and sing while exercising, it's low-intensity. These exercises are perfect for beginners, older adults, those with joint pain, or people recovering from injuries. Examples include:

  • Walking at a leisurely pace
  • Light swimming
  • House cleaning activities like vacuuming and mopping
  • Washing the car
  • Light gardening

(b) Moderate-intensity exercises - These get your heart pumping more. You should be able to talk but not sing during these activities. Most people, including children, can benefit from moderate-intensity exercises as they provide many health benefits. Examples include:

  • Swimming or water aerobics
  • Jogging
  • Walking briskly
  • Dancing
  • Doing yard work
  • Biking at a leisurely pace

(c) Vigorous-intensity exercises - If we're out of breath and can only say a few words at a time, you're doing vigorous-intensity exercises. Some people prefer these because they offer the same health benefits in less time. Examples include:

  • Running or fast biking
  • Swimming laps
  • Doing heavy yard work like digging or shoveling
  • Playing basketball or tennis
  • Jumping rope

2. Anaerobic exercises: Anaerobic exercise refers to activities that use energy quickly without relying on oxygen. These exercises are usually short and intense, providing a lot of energy in a brief period. Examples of anaerobic exercises are movements that need quick bursts of energy, such as sprinting, weightlifting, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT). These include -

  • weightlifting
  • jumping or jumping rope
  • sprinting
  • high-intensity interval training (HIIT)
  • biking

Anaerobic exercises increase bone density, promotes fat loss, boosts metabolism and energy, and reduces the risk of diseases.


3. Strengthening exercises: It's important to include muscle-strengthening exercises in our workout routine. These exercises help keep our muscles and bones strong, which is crucial for healthy aging. Women especially benefit from these activities since they often experience muscle and bone loss during and after menopause. Examples of muscle-strengthening exercises include:

  • lifting weights
  • working with resistance bands
  • doing push-ups or sit-ups
  • doing heavy yard work or gardening
  • doing some forms of yoga

4. Flexibility exercise: Including exercises that improve flexibility is important for our overall health. They can help prevent injuries, reduce aches, and increase our range of motion. Examples of flexibility exercises include:

  • stretching
  • yoga
  • Pilates
  • tai chi

5. Balance exercises: Good balance helps prevent falls and injuries in older adults and is important for daily activities like walking or climbing stairs. Some exercises that can improve balance are:

  • walking heel to toe
  • standing on one foot, then repeating with the other
  • yoga
  • tai chi
  • standing up from a seated position

How much exercise we should do?

The current Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans suggest that adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise every week. This breaks down to 30 minutes a day, five days a week. The guidelines suggest that adults should do about 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week, or 15 minutes of intense exercise, but it's important to start at a level that feels comfortable and gradually increase as we get stronger.

Health benefits of doing physical activity

  1. Staying active and fit lowers your chances of heart problems.
  2. Doing both aerobic (like jogging) and resistance (like weightlifting) exercises lowers our risk of type 2 diabetes.
  3. Moving regularly (like walking or dancing) helps keep our bones strong and prevents osteoporosis.
  4. Exercise helps keep our digestive system healthy and prevents constipation.
  5. Being active regularly can improve our mood and reduce feelings of sadness or worry.
  6. Working out helps our body fight off infections by boosting our immune system.
  7. Being active reduces the risk of becoming overweight or obese.
  8. Regular exercise can reduce our risk of getting rheumatoid arthritis.
  9. Daily physical activity can help prevent metabolic syndrome, a group of conditions that raise our risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
  10. Regular physical activity helps our body stay balanced and healthy.

10 simple Exercises to improve physical health

  1. Lunges
  2. Pushups
  3. Squats
  4. Planks
  5. Mountain climbing
  6. Pullups
  7. Side planks
  8. Jumping jacks
  9. Glute bridge
  10. Burpees

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