When not to exercise
You want to do some form of physical activity every day, if possible. However, if you have any of the following conditions or symptoms, either take a day off or check with your doctor first.
Gardening is one of those rare multiple-benefit activities, providing endurance, strength and flexibility activities all in one, How? Picture an early spring day when you're preparing your vegetable garden for the first painting. Digging the soil builds muscle strength as well as endurance. So does loading shovels of compost and topsoil into the wheelbarrow, wheeling it over to the garden, dumping it turning the earth over as you work it in. When the time comes to plant the flower or vegetable seedings, you bend and stretch to get them in the ground.
Other benefits of gardening?
If you follow what trainers and experts tell you, a well-rounded fitness regimen would have you actively engaged in some type of formal exercise for an hour a day six or seven days a week. A lot
of effort, a lot of time but not unreasonable if you want to be truly fit for a long life. But what of the other 15 hours a day that you're awake?
When you think about it, it's thoroughly illogical to believe that the optimal fitness schedule is '1 hour on, 15 hours off.' The truth is, fitness is best seen as a lifestyle, not as a task.
Every moment of your day, every task you do, is an opportunity to move in ways that help your health. When you think of fitness as a lifestyle, it means you walk a little faster, stand a little staller, stay outside a little longer, do tasks a little more intensely. It means you bypass the easy or lazy options and instead take the stairs, fetch the item from the garage yourself and take care of that fallen branch or broken step right now, by yourself.
When fitness become a lifestyle,it means that you are naturally walking more each day, so you don't have to shcedule it formally, get dressed for it and recover from it. It means that you are naturally stretching your muscles, using your strength and challenging your sense of balance. It means that not
Active living - the best exercise of all
half an hour goes by when you haven't done some small thing with a little more exertion as a matter of habit.
And does this kind of living pay off! More energised living burns calories, strengthens muscles, builds endurance, improves your mood and makes you sleep more deeply. Science proves it, and living it qucikly reveals it.
So how do you start living a filter lifestyle? Again, it's all in the choices. Here are some simple life rules to start.
Does living the fit lifestyle mean you can stop thinking about exercise? No, Active living will do a great job of keeping you slim and maintaining your body's current physical condition. But remember the definition of exercise - using your body in ways that go beyond normal exertion levels.
Only by mixing in a some formal exercise can you improve your strength, endurance, flexibility and balance.
To help to put all this in perspective, we've created the 'full-life fitness pyramid' (see on next). This is general guide to the range of exercise you should strive for in a week and in what amounts. Follow this plan and you are moving towards greater strength and better health. Make a copy of the fitness pyramid and put it by your desk or stick it on your fridge. Refer to it and you'll have an instant understanding of your fitness needs.
full-life
fitness pyramid
The comprehensive approach to building up a strong, healthy body through a combination of
exercises and activities
Balance exercise
frequently: a few minutes a day
Examples: agility games and challenges, tai chi
Flexibility exercise
frequency: at least twice a week
Examples: stretching, yoga, Pilates
Strength exercise
frequency: each main muscle group exercised hvice a week
Examples: weight-training, exercise bands, callisthenics
Endurance/aerobic exercise
frequency: 30 minutes sessions at least three times a week
Examples: fast walking, cycling, aerobics, rowing
Hobbies and passions
frequency: seek a daily dose
Examples: sports, fishing, knitting, gardening, birdwathcing
Active daily living
frequency: all walking hours
Examples: taking the stairs, getting outdoors, living energetically
You want to do some form of physical activity every day, if possible. However, if you have any of the following conditions or symptoms, either take a day off or check with your doctor first.
- A cold, the flu or an infection with a fewer.
- More fatigue than usual
- A swollen or painful muscle or joint
- A new or undiagnosed symptom
- Chest pain or an irregular, rapid or fluttery heartbeat
- Shortness of breath
- A hernia with symptoms
Gardening is one of those rare multiple-benefit activities, providing endurance, strength and flexibility activities all in one, How? Picture an early spring day when you're preparing your vegetable garden for the first painting. Digging the soil builds muscle strength as well as endurance. So does loading shovels of compost and topsoil into the wheelbarrow, wheeling it over to the garden, dumping it turning the earth over as you work it in. When the time comes to plant the flower or vegetable seedings, you bend and stretch to get them in the ground.
Other benefits of gardening?
- Cutting the grass with a walking mower (preferably manual) provides a great endurance work-out.
- Raking leaves provides flexibility and endurance benefits.
- Hauling compost, dirt and weeds is a good strength-building work-out.
- Pulling weeds is a wonderful way to stretch muscles stiff from too much string.
If you follow what trainers and experts tell you, a well-rounded fitness regimen would have you actively engaged in some type of formal exercise for an hour a day six or seven days a week. A lot
of effort, a lot of time but not unreasonable if you want to be truly fit for a long life. But what of the other 15 hours a day that you're awake?
When you think about it, it's thoroughly illogical to believe that the optimal fitness schedule is '1 hour on, 15 hours off.' The truth is, fitness is best seen as a lifestyle, not as a task.
Every moment of your day, every task you do, is an opportunity to move in ways that help your health. When you think of fitness as a lifestyle, it means you walk a little faster, stand a little staller, stay outside a little longer, do tasks a little more intensely. It means you bypass the easy or lazy options and instead take the stairs, fetch the item from the garage yourself and take care of that fallen branch or broken step right now, by yourself.
When fitness become a lifestyle,it means that you are naturally walking more each day, so you don't have to shcedule it formally, get dressed for it and recover from it. It means that you are naturally stretching your muscles, using your strength and challenging your sense of balance. It means that not
Active living - the best exercise of all
half an hour goes by when you haven't done some small thing with a little more exertion as a matter of habit.
And does this kind of living pay off! More energised living burns calories, strengthens muscles, builds endurance, improves your mood and makes you sleep more deeply. Science proves it, and living it qucikly reveals it.
So how do you start living a filter lifestyle? Again, it's all in the choices. Here are some simple life rules to start.
- Always take the steps if you are going up or down two or fewer flights of stairs.
- Always stand when talking on the phone.
- Always get up and move when TV commercials come on.
- Always get the post, take out the rubbish, walk the dog and pick up the newspaper yourself rather than having it delivered.
- Always strive to be outdoors as much as possible (it's virtually impossible not to be more active outside than inside).
- Always get up and move after 30 minutes of sitting.
Does living the fit lifestyle mean you can stop thinking about exercise? No, Active living will do a great job of keeping you slim and maintaining your body's current physical condition. But remember the definition of exercise - using your body in ways that go beyond normal exertion levels.
Only by mixing in a some formal exercise can you improve your strength, endurance, flexibility and balance.
To help to put all this in perspective, we've created the 'full-life fitness pyramid' (see on next). This is general guide to the range of exercise you should strive for in a week and in what amounts. Follow this plan and you are moving towards greater strength and better health. Make a copy of the fitness pyramid and put it by your desk or stick it on your fridge. Refer to it and you'll have an instant understanding of your fitness needs.
full-life
fitness pyramid
The comprehensive approach to building up a strong, healthy body through a combination of
exercises and activities
Balance exercise
frequently: a few minutes a day
Examples: agility games and challenges, tai chi
Flexibility exercise
frequency: at least twice a week
Examples: stretching, yoga, Pilates
Strength exercise
frequency: each main muscle group exercised hvice a week
Examples: weight-training, exercise bands, callisthenics
Endurance/aerobic exercise
frequency: 30 minutes sessions at least three times a week
Examples: fast walking, cycling, aerobics, rowing
Hobbies and passions
frequency: seek a daily dose
Examples: sports, fishing, knitting, gardening, birdwathcing
Active daily living
frequency: all walking hours
Examples: taking the stairs, getting outdoors, living energetically
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