Surah Al-Kahf – Verses 107-108 Jannat ul firdus

HEALTH IS WEALTH

HOW TO LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE?

          PART-3

             Exercise

Exercise is a must, workouts, aerobics, walking or jogging regulates heart rate giving you more energy to work hard through the day. Exercise early in the morning won’t make you feel lazy in the day. It improves blood circulation and releases muscle tension giving you a stronger body and mind.

 Exercise is an effective way to boost your health and keep your energy flowing at optimum levels. Most people give preference to lame excuses than to regular exercise. Don’t wait till you have the necessary equipment or till you join a gym. Exercise routines as simple as push ups or crunches (which can be performed at home) can go a great way in building health. A study has shown that individuals who never did any exercise lost about seven years of life compared to the ones who did.

·       Regular exercise can prevent and reverse age-related decreases in muscle mass and strength, improve balance, flexibility, and endurance, and decrease the risk of falls in the elderly. Regular exercise can help prevent coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Regular, weight-bearing exercise can also help prevent osteoporosis by building bone strength.

·       Regular fitness can help chronic arthritis sufferers improve their capacity to perform daily activities such as driving, climbing stairs, and opening jars.

·       Regular exercise can help increase self-esteem and self-confidence, decrease stress and anxiety, enhance mood, and improve general mental health.

·       Regular exercise can help control body weight and in some people cause loss of fat.

·       Thirty minutes of modest exercise (walking is OK) at least 3 to 5 days a week is recommended, but the greatest health benefits come from exercising most days of the week.

·       Exercise can be broken up into smaller 10-minute sessions.

·       Start slowly and progress gradually to avoid injury or excessive soreness or fatigue. Over time, build up to 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day.

·       People are never too old to start exercising. Even frail, elderly individuals (70-90 years of age) can improve their strength and balance with exercise.

·       Almost any type of exercise (resistance, water aerobics, walking, swimming, weights, yoga, and many others) is helpful for everybody.

·       Try to exercise up to three times a week. The American Heart Association advises for 150 minutes of exercise each week or an hour at least three times a week. Pick a convenient time schedule out time. You could exercise for 30 minutes the morning to get energized for your day.

Pick exercises that you enjoy. 

When you enjoy a sport, you naturally want to do it. Exercise isn’t about suffering and pushing yourself; it’s about being healthy and having fun at the same time. Adding variation in your exercises will keep them interesting. Some fun physical activities include:

·         Dancing

·         Yoga

·         Aerobics

·         Running

·         Hiking

What exercises do you like and how can you include them in your routine?

Work out different parts of your body.

Don’t just do cardio (like jogging). Give your body a proper workout. The easiest way is to engage in sports since they work out different muscle groups. Popular activities where you can get a good body workout are trekking, hiking, swimming, basketball, tennis, squash, badminton, yoga, and frisbee.

Children need exercise; play outside of the home is a good beginning.

Sports for children may provide excellent opportunities for exercise, but care must be taken not to overdo certain exercises (for example, throwing too many pitches in baseball may harm a joint like the elbow or shoulder).

Be active

Don’t Sit Continuously For Long Hours. Whether it is at your home, office or any other place, continuously sitting in one place is not a trivial issue to be ignored. Sitting for long hours without any movement slows metabolism and weakens muscles. Muscles slowly deteriorate as we age, which slows down our metabolism and stops protecting our bones. By staying active and exercising increase your good cholesterol, which will help to protect your heart and prevent cardiac disease. So make sure you get up and move around for every couple of hours. Stretch your muscles from time to time.

Some simple suggestions: Get up and walk around the block. Instead of taking the elevator in your office, walk the three flights up to work. Park at the other end of the garage at the grocery store. 

Perfect Your Posture

Bad posture has all kinds of negative health impacts, including chronic muscle pain, reduced circulation, headaches, and even bad moods. Sitting up straight and assuming the body language of victory actually has a proven-positive impact on your health, both physical and mental.

Stand up straight. You'll look 5 pounds lighter if you stand tall and tighten your abdominal muscles. Whenever you walk, think "tall and tight" to get the most out of the movement.

Give yourself a break:

 “I spend countless hours doing cardio and never seem to lose that last ten pounds!” is a common complaint I hear from clients. Give yourself permission to shorten your workout. Believe it or not, overtraining could be the problem. Your body can plateau if not given adequate rest to restore itself, ultimately leading to a decline in performance. Fatigue, moodiness, lack of enthusiasm, depression, and increased cortisol (the “stress” hormone) are some hallmarks of overtraining syndrome. Creating a periodization program — breaking up your routine into various training modes — can help prevent overtraining by building rest phases into your regimen. For example, you might weight train on Monday and Wednesday, cycle on Tuesday and Thursday, run on Friday and rest on Saturday and Sunday. You can also help balance your program by simply incorporating more variety. (RICK OLDERMAN, M.S., P.T.)