Fitness and Well-being - an overview :

Welcome to my pages on fitness and well-being. My main objective in these pages is to introduce beginners to fitness and take away some myths or barriers that may have stopped you from taking up fitness for any length of time in the past. This aim is centred on finding enjoyment through physical exercise, because if we “enjoy” something, then we tend to keep doing it; right?

Keeping fit is fun!

I’ll also introduce you to a combination of sports that arguably are the best in terms of preventing injury, but maximise what is known as your ‘good feel’ factor. I will also let you experiment with putting together your very own fitness programme with tips on how to overcome those “do I look stupid” feelings, or fears among those of you that are female that you will not look lady like. I also hope to rid you of some strange myths that people who take regular exercise are, “geeks, addicts or freaks…”

I insist you read my legal page before continuing, where you will see that before embarking on any exercise programme I strongly advise you to have a full medical check-up (together with getting advice) so that you can proceed safely. I also advise you to continue to have regular medical check-ups. Ok, let’s get fit!

What is fitness?

"The ability to perform daily tasks vigorously and alertly, with energy left over for enjoying leisure- time activities and meeting emergency demands. It is the ability to endure, to bear up, to withstand stress, to carry on in circumstances where an unfit person could not continue, and is a major basis for good health and well-being." (The Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)

Although there are many similar definitions, this one summarises fitness as I’ll be dealing with it in these pages. So being fit, then, is all about having vitality; that is not feeling exhausted to do all the things you need and wish to do in a day. To become sufficiently energetic, you need to embark on regular physical exercise like walking, swimming or biking.

How much and how hard do I need to exercise?

According to health experts, exercise for a beginner only needs be 20 to 30 minutes done three times a week. It is also important to realise that you do not have to exercise very hard to gain health benefits: just enough to build up a sweat and to hear yourself breathing - it should not be hurting but will need a degree of concentration.

Most exercise professionals will refer to physical exercise as careful REGULAR physical exercise, which simply means being consistent with your exercise session week to week. This is important because as we get into a positive habit of exercising regularly, the body will get used to or “adapt” to this new level of exercise and respond positively with a gain in your fitness level.

So fitness is acquired through regular physical exercise. It needs to be consistent enough to bring about bodily changes that will in turn increase your fitness levels.

What are the main benefits of regular exercise?

The benefits of exercise are immense. Not only will you sleep better, you will feel better mentally. Feeling better mentally is referred to as your ‘well being’ or your ‘feel good factor’. Many medical experts believe that ‘feeling good’ is due to special hormones called “endorphins” that are released from the brain after exercise.

Out on a relaxing bike ride

Having completed your exercise session you feel good because you have switched off from daily worries, focused on the exercise in hand, achieved your target and afterwards simply feel rejuvenated. This taking your mind off matters and ‘oxygenating’ your brain and cardiovascular system should make you feel fresher and more alert when you return to work.

If you are mentally feeling good, then your mood will be good and you will also probably suffer less headaches during the day. Many headaches probably arise through a lack of exercise and/or not drinking enough water during the day. Drink well, eat sensibly and exercise - your general health all round will benefit greatly.

Will I become addicted then?

You may have heard of people becoming addicted to exercising. I would like to point out that addiction to exercise is more to do with underlying psychological personal problems than some endorphin overload myth. So don’t worry, your endorphins should not by themselves make you an ‘exercise addict’!

Isn’t physical exercise supposed to help prevent heart attacks?

Regular exercise for a normal healthy individual will strengthen your heart muscle. It is well known that there is a strong correlation between exercise and strengthening of the heart, preventing or decreasing the risk that you will suffer one day from a heart attack. Exercise makes the heart more efficient at supplying your brain and body with oxygen and nutrients through pumping blood furiously through your arteries by exercising. It is the pumping of the blood rushing through the arteries that ‘cleans’ the fat from building up, rather like a stream of rapidly flowing water over rocks, the sediment never has a chance to deposit itself, build up and dry out the stream bed. Your heart is rather similar. It needs exercise to survive. Don’t let the ‘sediment’ settle - get out there and start to exercise!

Continued article on next page...

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