Exercise Information

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Most people regard exercise as a chore which helps them to lose weight, but this attitude misses out on a huge number of other benefits which exercise brings. Another myth is that exercise means going to the gym, and this just isn't true because the exercise from everyday tasks is so important. We need to incorporate activity back into our labour-saving lifestyle because it is robbing us of our health. Yet the body isn't the only thing to benefit from exercise, the mind also benefits, as exercise relieves stress, lifts depression, helps learning and delays ageing.

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Before You Start

Ask your doctor or a fitness expert for advice before starting to exercise if you have any medical problems, or haven't exercised for a long time. Exercise is good for everyone, but the amount and intensity of exercise you do should be appropriate to your level of fitness. Steady and progressive improvement in your fitness level is the thing to aim for. Exercise can damage your health if not done sensibly and appropriately. Always listen to your body and cut back on exercise for a while if your body is complaining. Remember that pain is nature's way of telling you to slow down.

How Much Exercise Do You Need?

If you're not exercising now then any exercise is an improvement. Even a few minutes a day is a start, and even this will begin to improve your health. It's never too late to start improving your health with exercise. The secret is to make different forms of exercise part of your daily life, so that they add up over the day, because an odd five minutes here and there soon adds up to a significant amount.If you make physical activity part of your daily routine, then it will happen automatically. If you have to think about it, then you will forget.

Half an hour's exercise five times a week is the minimum to aim for, which gives two and a half hours of activity. This level of exercise has a significant benefit for anyone who doesn't exercise at all, and it doesn't mean going to the gym because you can get this level of exercise from everyday activities like walking, gardening, housework and even shopping. However, other activities that are also really good include cycling, swimming and dancing. The important thing to do is to make some form of exercise part of your everyday life, and do this in a way that fits in with your lifestyle, and which you enjoy. You can measure your general activity level throughout the day with a pedometer, and the exercise level to aim for is over 10,000 steps a day.

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If you start exercising by walking regularly you can become fit quite quickly. To gain further health benefits you then need to increase the intensity of the exercise. A good way to gauge this is that you should exercise at a level where it is difficult to carry on a conversation with someone next to you. Alternatively you can use a heart rate monitor to check your exercise intensity.

Extra exercise above this has extra benefits, and should ideally consist of different types of exercise such as aerobic exercise, interval training and strength training. This is the level that everyone should aim for, and isn't just for athletes.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Exercise?

The two main benefits of exercise are often overlooked. They are the things that increase your healthy life span -

Increase the reserve capacity of your lungs , which is the best predictor of how long you will live.
Increase the reserve capacity of your heart , which is the best way to strengthen the heart.

These are the benefits of interval training which pushes you to your limit for short periods. The lungs and heart respond by growing stronger, so that they can cope with sudden extra demands made on them.

Other health rewards of general, regular exercise are -

Control your weight. Regular exercise is important in controlling your weight, and keeping it under control. If you are overweight, then it is even more important
Improves blood glucose control by normalising insulin levels, which is is especially important if you have metabolic syndrome or diabetes
Improved cholesterol levels
More energy. No, exercise doesn't make you tired, it gives you more bounce, but sitting around all day makes you sluggish
Better sleep. Your body and mind feel that you've actually done something, and prepare you for a restful night's sleep.
Protection against heart disease by lowering your blood pressure and improving circulation
Protection against stroke
Prevent cancer. Exercise lowers you risk of getting cancer
Keeps you mobile. Mobility problems reduce the quality of life for many older people and exercise can help to prevent this. Keeping active strengthens muscles, joints and bones. By our mid-50's few of us take regular exercise, which also helps balance, which is important in reducing falls, which put a lot of people in hospital.
Better mood. Cope better with stress, depression, and all the other things that life throws in your way. Exercise releases endorphins, which are mood boosting and give you a natural high.
Reverses the detrimental effects of stress by boosting the brain levels of soothing brain chemicals such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. It also lowers the level of cortisol, the stress hormone.
Lifts depression. Sustained, sweat-inducing activity can reduce the symptoms of depression as effectively as antidepressants.
Feel and look better. Active people have more spark than couch potatoes, and the personal achievement that you feel by increasing your fitness level helps to improve self esteem and body image.
Delays aging by slowing down the body's internal clock built in to every cell in the body. This is controlled by telomeres, which are the bits of DNA at the end of chromosomes which protect them from damage. Exercise slows down the erosion of telomeres, and so slows down the whole aging process of the body.
Delays mental decline because exercise improves the level of of growth factors in the brain which help to make new brain cells.