Exercise your way to health

• Getting started

• What form of exercise should I choose?

• When to exercise

• How is fitness defined?

• How is fitness measured?

• Exercise and weight control

There is a growing emphasis today on looking good and living longer. All the medical and scientific evidence available to us suggests that regular exercise is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of achieving these aims. A growing number of us spend our days in sedentary jobs and our evenings as 'couch potatoes' in front of the TV, so making the decision to include some form of regular exercise into our lifestyle may require supreme effort and determination.

Most leading world authorities on exercise suggest that 30 minutes a day of activity is enough to keep fit and active.

The important thing to remember is that exercise is for everyone - not just movie stars, Olympic champions and supermodels! You are never too young, too old, too unfit or too overweight to get started on an exercise programme. In fact, regular physical activity is the key to a leaner, fitter and more contented individual, regardless of age, gender or role in life.

As well as bringing about welcome changes in physical appearance, i.e. a trimmer and more well-toned body, regular exercise also improves our overall well-being and can help to prevent the onset of chronic illness, disability and premature death from heart-related diseases.

• Getting started
If you have never exercised before the most important safety rule is: Take Things Slowly! Aim to exercise at least four times every week for a maximum of 30 minutes each time. Never take more than two days off in a row from your exercise programme unless you are either sick or physically unable to exercise.

The old adage of 'no pain, no gain' which was expounded by Jane Fonda in her strenuous workouts during the 1980s has been proven to do more harm than good. Pain is the body's natural way of telling you that something is wrong, so don't ignore it.

The decision to make physical fitness part of your daily routine requires lifelong commitment. Patience is essential - you are not going to regain in a few days what has been lost in years of sedentary living - but the prize at the end of the day is worth the time and effort.

Ideally, and in order to gain maximum results from your exercise programme you need to include two types of exercise; aerobic and strength-training. Aerobic exercise is defined as any form of exercise which gets your heart beating fast and steady for 30 minutes or more at any given session. Included in this form of exercise is fast walking; jogging; dancing; stepping; skipping and cycling.

Strength-training refers to exercises which develop muscle, such as lifting weights and other forms of body-toning exercises. Building muscle at a gentle and safe pace will give the body a leaner and more toned appearance and will also improve posture.

Warming up before any form of exercise is a very important mechanism in preventing injuries. Some simple stretches to loosen up the muscles should be sufficient, and it is equally important to cool-down after an exercise session in order to allow the heart to return to its normal rate.

What form of exercise should I choose?
When it comes to exercise, many of us use every excuse in the book to avoid getting started - too old, too young, too unfit, too overweight, too busy, too tired etc., etc., The great thing about exercise is that there is something to suit everyone. The key is to find an exercise that is enjoyable and that can easily be incorporated into your existing lifestyle without too much difficulty.

In order to derive the innumerable physical and mental benefits that are to be gained from regular exercise, it needs to become a habit - like taking a shower or brushing our teeth. However, unless we are convinced of the health benefits of fitness and the health risks of being unfit, we are unlikely to ever reach that stage!

• When to exercise
If you are not participating in any regular form of physical activity at the moment, then any time is a good time to get out there and get your body moving. Fitness experts recommend that the hour just before the evening meal is a very effective time to exercise - hence the popularity of going to the gym on the way home from work.

A good physical workout - whether in the gym or walking out in the fresh air - provides a welcome release from the tensions and worries of the day and helps us to wind down for the evening ahead.

Another popular time for exercise is early in the morning. Advocates of the early start claim that it makes them more alert and energetic throughout the day. Before embarking on any exercise programme, it is worthwhile considering factors such as family and work commitments, availability of exercise facilities and yes, the weather - particularly in Ireland!

• How is fitness defined?
Physical fitness is to the human body what fine tuning is to the engine of a car. It enables us to perform to our optimum potential and is the basis of good mental and physical health.

While the health benefits of fitness are universal, it must be noted that fitness itself is an individual quality which varies from person to person and is influenced by such factors as age, gender, heredity and personal habits like eating and exercise regimes. You cannot change your age, gender or heredity, but you can change your personal habits - and that is where the decision to become more physically active comes in.

Anyone under the age of 35 who is physically healthy usually does not need to consult their local GP before embarking on an exercise programme. For those over that age, and particularly those who have been inactive for a number of years, a visit to your GP is recommended.

Other conditions which would warrant a visit to the GP before undertaking a new exercise programme include:

• high blood pressure (hypertension)
• heart problems
• family history of heart attacks or stroke
• frequent dizzy spells
• arthritis or bone problems
• problems with ligaments or tendons
• a feeling of breathlessness after mild exertion - this particularly applies to smokers

An important factor to note in assessing the risks posed by any exercise regime is that far greater risks are posed by persistent inactivity and obesity.

• How is fitness measured?
The four components by which fitness levels are measured are as follows:

• Cardio-respiratory endurance: This refers to the ability of the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues and to remove wastes over a sustained period of time. The methods used to define this component in athletes include vigorous swimming and running for long periods.

• Flexibility: the ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion. The 'sit and reach' test is often used to test this component. This includes sitting down with your legs straight out in front and trying to stretch your arms down along your legs as far as they will go.

• Muscular strength: This is the ability of a muscle to exert force for a brief period of time, and is particularly important for weight-lifting athletes. For example, upper-body strength can be measured by lifting various weights for brief periods.

• Muscular endurance: This refers to the ability of a single muscle, or a group of muscles to sustain repeated contractions, or to continue applying force against a fixed object. In a fitness test it would be measured by being asked to do repeated push-ups to test the endurance of arm and shoulder muscles.

If you join a gym for the first time, or embark on some other structured physical fitness programme, you may be asked to perform some of the above fitness tests in order to ascertain your current level of fitness. Don't worry if you don't pass each test with flying colours - that's why you joined the gym in the first place!

• Exercise and weight control
If you consume just 100 calories more per day than your body needs, you will gain approximately 10 pounds over the course of a year. You could take off that weight or, better still, you could keep it off, by doing half an hour of moderate exercise daily.

The key to weight control is to keep a good balance between energy intake (i.e. food) and energy output (physical activity). It stands to reason that if we live a sedentary lifestyle and eat whatever we like, the inevitable result of our actions is obesity.

Exercise plays a very important role in weight control by increasing energy output and calling on stored calories for extra fuel. The rate at which we burn fat is referred to as our metabolism. Exercise increases our metabolism. Recent studies have shown that metabolism remains raised for a period after exercising, thus allowing us to burn more calories. This is one of the key reasons why we should exercise regularly. It is far better to walk for 15 minutes each day than to walk for two hours one day and remain inactive for the rest of the week!

A sobering thought to consider is that you need to burn off 3,500 calories more than you take in to lose just one pound of fat. Therefore, if you are overweight, the most effective way to decrease your weight is to eater fewer calories and become more active. By doing this, the body will have to 'dip into' the stored calories (i.e. fat) in order to get extra fuel for exercise.

Back to top of page