Exercise Advice.

Exercise is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.  Regular exercise helps to maintain fitness and health.  Not only does exercise increase energy levels, it also helps to improve general health, circulation and posture.

A survey by mental health charity, MIND, also found that people who attend the gym regularly benefit from a more positive lifestyle all round, including a healthier diet and improved relationships. 

Doctors at Nottingham Trent University have recently found evidence of a chemical produced by the body during called phenylethylamine, which may explain why exercise can help people suffering from depression.

Although many people enjoy regular strenuous or high impact exercise such as aerobic workouts or long distance running, mild and moderate exercise is also beneficial.  A brisk walk or some energetic gardening once a day will still be beneficial and you may find that this is all you need to improve your circulation and achieve a satisfactory fitness level.

Exercise is exertion of the body’s muscles.  The aim of exercise is to achieve a beneficial level of fitness and health, physically and mentally.

There are many different ways to exercise.  Those who want to lose weight as well as increase fitness will probably take part in organised aerobic exercise, such as circuit training, step-aerobics or dance classes.  Aerobic exercise is called cardiovascular exercise.  This means that it raises the heart rate, causing blood to circulate more quickly around the body and deliver more oxygen to the muscles.

Some forms of  exercise are used to increase body mass, muscle strength, size and endurance.  This type of exercise involves slow controlled movements and is used in activities such as weight-lifting.  It is not as beneficial to the heart as aerobic exercise but it does help to increase overall fitness. Endurance exercises are most effective when combined with other types of exercise.

Warming up can greatly reduce the risk of injury through exercise, by helping joints and muscles to stay supple.  It is a good idea to do some gentle jogging or brisk walking for ten minutes, followed by gentle stretches of the arms, legs and upper body. 

Stretching is also an exercise routine in its own right.  Yoga is an ancient Indian system, which aims to unify the mind, body and spirit.  Modern, westernized yoga is practiced using a combination of physical, breathing and posture exercises.

Swimming is a low impact exercise with aerobic benefits.  Swimming can improve circulation and help with weight loss in conjunction with a healthy diet.  The advantage of swimming is that is presents a lower risk of injury as body movements are controlled by the water.

Only 20% of people in the UK get enough exercise to maintain a healthy lifestyle and satisfactory fitness level.  The main reason given for not taking part in enough exercise is lack of time.  However, exercise can be fitted into the busiest of lives.  For example, half an hour of active gardening such as weeding, raking or mowing the lawn is enough to raise the heart rate sufficiently to improve circulation.