Physical activity is necessary for well-being. Frequent exercise can minimize the threat of multiple illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. It can also improve mental health, mood and overall well-being.
Exercising regularly has many benefits, including improved physical fitness, increased energy levels, better sleep and improved concentration. Exercise can reduce tension and keep you encouraged. Remember to incorporate it into a healthy lifestyle. Eating right and regular exercise will aid you in reaching goals quicker.
If you haven’t done any exercise yet and wondering how to start then don’t worry. Because the sudden start of exercise won’t do any bad to your health but some issues like arthritis and heart diseases can cause problems. So it’s best to get suggestions from your doctor if you have any severe illness.
Immediate benefits of physical activity
sometimes physical activities help your brain to work fast. After a fresh morning jogging your head feels calm and your brain gets more and more ideas. It also helps to release all the anxiety and depression and makes your day more healthy and happy.
Manage your weight with physical activity
Yes, sometimes weights are good for health but most of the time it worsens our body and also our health. Being overweight causes desires like cardiac failure, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, etc. So it’s more important for us to put it off than keep it up.
Gaining weight is easy. All you need to do just add some calories to your food burning those calories is hard but again nothing is hard if you are determined.
Diet and regular exercise can help you have your desired weight.
To maintain a healthy weight:
Increase your moderate aerobic activity to 150 minutes per week (e.g. 30 min/day, 5 days/week). Studies prove physical activity aids in weight maintenance, yet the precise amount needed to reach that goal differs by person. You may require more than 150 minutes a week.
To lose weight and keep it off:
To achieve and maintain a healthy weight, it’s necessary to combine regular physical activity with a balanced and nutritious diet. This includes limiting calorie intake, focusing on whole foods and incorporating plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains.
Exercising regularly is crucial, like brisk walking, running, biking, swimming, or any other heart-pumping action. Additionally, it’s important to get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and manage stress levels to maintain a healthy weight.
Reduce risks to your health:
We all desire a healthy and blessed body with no illness. But only a few can achieve what they desire. Still, it’s not too late. Doing exercise daily also helps your body to prevent severe diseases.
Cardiovascular diseases
Almost in every country, especially in Ireland, people die from heart disease and stroke. So it is a serious case. To prevent cardiovascular diseases also known as heart diseases all you have to do is at least 10 minutes per week, and do moderate aerobic activities.
By this, the chances of getting heart d disease will get lower and you’ll be physically active. Regular exercise helps lower blood pressure and decrease cholesterol levels.
But remember one thing, you also have to follow a healthy food chart to prevent any serious problems.
Type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome
Doing regular exercise reduces the risk of having type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
Metabolic syndrome is a disorder characterized by hypertension, abdominal obesity, low HDL cholesterol, and high triglycerides/blood sugar. By doing regular workouts we can get rid of the possibility of these diseases. All we need to do is do physical activities for 150 minutes per week. People even start to achieve more benefits by doing less than what is recommended.
If you already have type 2 diabetes then start doing physical exercise which will help you control your blood sugar level.
Some cancers
Cancer is one of the most feared diseases that haunt most of us. But guess what, physical exercise also reduces the possibility of cancers. Research shows that people with the most physical activities get lower chances of developing the following cancers:
Kidney
Breast
Colon
Esophagus ( adenocarcinoma)
Endometrium
Lung
Stomach
Are you a cancer survivor? Then you also should get into exercise because research shows that exercise not only helps improve your quality of life but also improves your physical fitness.
Strengthen your bones and muscles by doing physical exercise
As you age, it is critical to care for your bones, joints, and muscles that hold up your body and allow movement. Doing so can ensure you can do your daily activities and keep active. Doing aerobic exercise, moderate in intensity, may help to slow the decrease in bone density that comes with aging.
Hip fractures are a serious health condition that can have a variety of negative effects on a person’s life, particularly for older adults. People who are physically active, such as those who participate in regular exercise and physical activities, have a lower risk of developing a hip fracture than those who are inactive or sedentary.
Regular physical activity can help to strengthen bones, improve balance, and reduce the risk of falls, which are major risk factors for hip fractures, especially in older adults. Additionally, adequate nutritional intake is important, as certain dietary deficiencies can increase the risk of fractures.
Therefore, participating in regular physical activity and having a balanced diet is important for maintaining bone health and reducing the risk of hip fractures.
Older adults who engage in physical activity are less likely to fall and suffer an injury from a fall. Programs that include multiple activities (e.g. aerobic, balance, muscle strengthening) are most efficient. Weight-bearing activities (running, walking, jump jacks, weight-lifting) help promote bone growth/strength and reduce the risk of falls and fractures.
Exercising regularly assists in controlling the discomfort and struggles of arthritis and other joint-related issues. Getting 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity weekly, to the extent possible, in addition to muscle-strengthening activities, improves your ability to manage pain and do activities of daily living. It also improves your quality of life.
Build strong, healthy muscles. Weight lifting and similar exercises are beneficial for boosting and sustaining muscle mass and power. This is especially important for seniors, as muscle mass and power tend to diminish with age. To gain more advantages, gradually increase the weight and reps of your muscle-strengthening workouts, regardless of age.
How to start a new exercise plan for being physically active:
Sometimes starting something new is worrying and full of fear. And this fear always prevents us from doing new things. Especially for middle-aged and old people. They think that they’re too old for doing exercise but no.
Studies show that starting exercise after 70 can also improve the quality of life. So nothing is impossible. But before starting you have to consider these:
1. How much activity can your body handle?
It depends from person to person. If you have any chronic illness or are a beginner then consider asking your doctor.
Remember don’t push yourself too much because that is when the odds happen. Exercising is also about making your body and mind happy but overdoing it only can make you exhausted. And it can cause some serious injury. So don’t overdo it.
A rule of thumb: If you feel out of breath while exercising then you may have overdone it. Calculate the time of how much your body can handle and start doing exercise according to it.
2. What are your life and fitness goals?
Goals are important but emphasizing them too much is not. Like you’re making a goal of jogging 5000 steps/ day or going to the gym every week and losing all you’re stamina on the first day, is what call a wrong decision. Make a goal that is easy for you to achieve.
Like, start with doing your daily chores or your hobbies. Overgrown your yard, go for shopping. You can also make a bucket list and do all the things that you can’t do. This will make your day and also keep you fit.
Exercising doesn’t mean doing 100 pushups daily. Exercise is what makes you happy. And if you’re having fun, then it means you’ve succeeded.
3. How sociable is he?
We are social beings. It’s hard for us to live alone. It is also equal to achieving a goal. If we see someone who is working toward the same goal as us, we get easily motivated.
So you should encourage yourself to do exercise with others. Go to the park, meet up with people and talk with them while doing exercise. Studies show that the people with whom we spend time infect us with their good habits. And social support helps us to achieve physical and cognitive health.
Stick to a group whether you’re joining a golf club or signing in to a dance class. It is a great way to help you to stick up with the habit.
4. Are you tech-savvy?
This is the age of technology and doing physical activity with mobile is too much efficient. In these days there are loads of fitness apps on our mobile so we can choose one to our preference and can get started right away.
Mobile fitness apps will help you to track your exercise and diet. And wearable devices are way more flexible.
Using it, you can set up a goal and challenges. And also can keep your daily exercise logs. You can use this app as your journal writing about your ways of life, eating habits and you’re feeling throughout the day.
After a few weeks, you can decide what you need to improve by looking into your journal. Isn’t it amazing?
5. How much time are you willing to allocate to it?
Setting up a regular time for exercise is much harder than deciding the duration of the session. Start with less time. Studies show that exercising only 10 minutes/per day also helps the body a lot. By saying to yourself “it’s only ten minutes”, you can also reduce the psychological handicap.
Start with a 10 minutes session and by time increase it to 15, 20, or 25. And remember that little exercise is always better than none. Don’t let people tell you that you can’t do it and make them believe that nothing is impossible for you.
Improve your ability to do daily activities and prevent falls
We sometimes face the difficulty of doing very easy activities or daily chores like climbing upstairs, going shopping, washing dishes, or playing with children. This difficulty is called functional limitation, also known as decreasing ability to do daily activities.
How is this related to physical activity? If you are a middle-aged or older adult, engaging in physical activity can help you to lower your risk of experiencing functional limitations, such as difficulty performing daily activities or difficulty walking. Regular physical activity, such as walking, biking, swimming, or playing sports, can help improve your balance, strength, flexibility, and endurance.
Being physically active can also help to reduce your risk of developing chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer. Additionally, physical activity can help to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression, as well as promote better sleep. Therefore, if you are a middle-aged or older adult, staying physically active can help you to maintain an independent lifestyle, free from functional limitations.
Improve your physical functioning and reduce your risk of falls. Older adults should engage in multicomponent physical activity to enhance their physical capabilities and reduce the odds of falling and being hurt. This form of exercise includes aerobic, strength, and balance activities, and can be done either at home or in an organized setting.
Physical activity increases your chances of living a longer life
Scientific studies have demonstrated that engaging in regular physical activity can help to reduce your risk of premature death from some of the leading causes such as heart disease, stroke, certain types of cancers, and other chronic conditions.
Physical activity helps to improve your overall health and wellness by reducing your risk of developing these diseases, while also promoting healthy weight management, improved mood, and greater overall energy levels. Even modest amounts of physical activity, such as 30 minutes of walking five days a week, can have significant long-term benefits.
Exercise is a major factor in our well-being. Doing 150 minutes of physical activity per week can reduce the risk of dying.
For being healthy and risk-free, do moderate amounts of physical activity. No need to go for a high amount of exercise.
Conclusion
Physical inactivity can have numerous negative effects on both physical and mental health. A sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of chronic diseases, reduce cardiovascular health, and negatively impact mood and cognitive function. Regular physical activity and exercise can help prevent and manage many health problems, leading to a healthier and more fulfilling life. It’s important to make physical activity a regular part of daily life and to find enjoyable ways to stay active. Prioritizing physical health can have many benefits and improve overall well-being.
