The Benefits of Exercise to Our Overall Health

Exercise is the most beneficial to anyone who wants to be healthy, active and, live a longer life. Exercise is defined as physical activity which means getting up and moving, just by walking, dancing or even playing in the yard with family will exercise the body and burn fat without even knowing it, people can earn benefits of working out their body without wasting money at a gym or buying a home gym. People who are physically fit have strength, flexibility, and energy to power through the day without taking long breaks in between time. Being physically fit will help a person physically and also mentally as well.

Getting your daily exercise will help people in a number of different ways other than physically and mentally, studies show that "adults age 21-90 who exercise the most outlived those who exercise the least by 4.5 years". Exercise improves mood, balances hormones, boosts memory, strengthens bones, decreases cholesterol and prevents constipation. Although American's should get regular exercise within their day most Americans don't even get the minimal to even stay healthy, in fact "about 25% of American's will claim that they get no physical activity at all during their leisure time". Regular physical activity will help to stay within the healthy range of weight and also can help reduce the risk of a variety of chronic diseases.

Before exercising always warm-up so to decrease the risk of pulling muscles, warming up the body will help the muscles and ligaments in the body to loosen up and become flexible and, it helps the blood start flowing to the muscles as the body gets ready for a workout. Exercise is supposed to be enjoyable, so instead of getting on some workout plan, do something that will be enjoyable, and you will want to keep doing. Like one day, ride a bike, swim the next, but also work in some weightlifting sessions at the gym to keep the muscles working well. Aerobic exercises are a great way to get good exercise while having fun at the same time.

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There are many different aerobic exercises, walking; bicycling, skating, swimming and jogging are just a few different types of aerobic exercises a person can do. These exercises should be done for about 20-60 minutes most days per week, aerobic activity should be performed at a level that raises the heart rate to about 60-85% of its maximum. Resistance training is great way to make muscles stronger and more limber. Resistance training consists different types of weightlifting; this type of exercise should be done every three days per week, after the desired strength has been achieved.

Each session of weightlifting should include a minimum of 8-10 exercises that train the major muscle groups. Each of these types of exercises should be repeated 8-12 times, and in between each repetition there should be a 1-minute break. Now children are different than most young and old adults, they should spend about 60 minutes per day exercising, just like adults. Exercise programs for children should be developed to include periods of moderate to vigorous activity, rather than a scheduled trip to a gym children or adolescents should get exercise by participating in fun activities with friends and family such as tag, throwing a ball or even building a fort, these exercises should last about 10-15 mines or more followed by periods of rest and recovery.

Nutritional, benefits to overall health

Nutrition is the understanding of which nutrients a person needs to survive and where to find them in the different types of food they would be eating while exercising, without a good and nutritional diet the muscles will not be developed as well as they should be, because they are not getting the required amount of nutrients needed to sustain healthy muscle growth. A good diet is a selection of foods and liquids that are the right combination of energy and nutrients for optimal performance while exercising.

A person will usually get their nutrients from the different types of fruits, vegetables and meat. A healthy diet provides the right number of calories to keep a person's weight within their desirable range, a proper balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fat choices are needed to achieve the desired weight as well, also vitamins and minerals the essential but don't take excessive amounts of these because they could have very dangerous effects on a person's health.

Eating before exercising or working out is especially important, eating a small meal before working out is important so that the body isn't fasting itself in the process of exercising or working out. Pre-exercise meals are important, the wrong meal can hinder performance more than the right one can enhance it, ideally the right meal should provide enough fluid to maintain hydration and should be high in carbohydrates (60-70% of calories) to maintain blood glucose and maximizing glycogen stores while minimizing hunger and gastric distress.

Carbohydrate intake should begin shortly after exercise, and regular amounts should be consumed every 15-20 minutes during exercise or working out. Carbohydrates are very important because they provide a combination glucose and fructose. Most people would really prefer to get their carbohydrates from different types of sports drinks. Water is essential for any type of physical activity that will last more than an hour. For activities that last less than an hour a person shouldn't have to drink water, but it's always wise to stay hydrated so muscles don't tense up during any physical activity.

Once done exercising, replenishment should be the first thing a person should be doing. Replenishment of bodily fluids, electrolytes and glycogen are most important in the recovery period after any type of physical activity. When exercise ends the body shifts from a catabolic state to an anabolic state which means the body is restoring muscle, liver glycogen, depositing lipids and synthesizes muscle proteins.

Replenishment of all fluids should be done right after any type of physical activity; the body recovers much quicker after the first hour of exercising than in most of your post workout. If glycogen was not depleted than food may not be required until you feel hungry. If glycogen were depleted, then a meal with carbohydrates would be required to fill that gap.

There are certain things that a person needs to stay healthy while exercising. First, it's water, water is the most important part to any type of exercise or physical activity. Water makes up about 60% of the human body. Water has no energy but is used in many different processes in the human body. Water is used to transport nutrients, oxygen, waste products and other very important substances. A strong and healthy person can live up to eight weeks without food but without water they would only live for about 3 to 4 days. Water in the body would mainly consist of different types of minerals, and also may contain sodium, potassium and, chloride as well.

Next are vitamins, they are small organic molecules needed to regulate the metabolic processes. Vitamins are found in almost all types of foods a person consumes. Vitamins can be soluble in water, but others are only soluble in fat. Vitamins do not provide any type of energy, but many are needed to regulate chemical reactions within the human body.

Lastly minerals, minerals are single elements that are like vitamins because they provide no energy to the body. Some are needed to produce chemical reactions within the body. Some of these minerals protect cells from oxidative reactions.

Disadvantages of not exercising

While knowing that physical activity helps the human body physically and mentally, there are multiple disadvantages that come with not exercising. Gaining weight is the most common cause of not exercising, weight gain can affect a person's speed, endurance and power. The amount of muscle and fat a person has can influence their strength, agility and appearance.

When a person chooses not to exercise, they become susceptible to multiple diseases including heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. All these diseases can kill a person, but all can be diverted with a healthy balance of exercise and nutritional eating.

Heart Disease also called atherosclerosis is a condition that deposits on the walls of multiple arteries and may cause them to narrow and lose elasticity. There are multiple risks that come with atherosclerosis, there is the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. Heart disease can also be increased by a lifestyle factor, such as cigarette smoking and lack of exercise. Diets that are high in saturated fat, cholesterol and trans-fat, but diets high in fiber and antioxidants can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis.

High blood pressure can damage many different blood vessels in the body and can also increase the chance for getting heart disease in the future. High blood pressure can also increase the chance of getting other diseases like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. Reducing salt intake can help reduce blood pressure. Lower intakes of calcium, magnesium and potassium have been shown to help keep blood pressure in the healthy range.

Diabetes usually gets people that are overweight; being overweight can increase the risk of getting diabetes highly. Diabetes is a disease in which the blood glucose levels are elevated, a diet that is high in sugar and starches such as bread, pasta and white rice can increase the chances of getting diabetes. A diet low in refined starches and added sugars such as cookies, cakes, and soft drinks and, candy may reduce the risk of diabetes, this diet will also maintain a healthy body weight and will also bring a healthy lifestyle.

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