Exercise & Physical Activity

Physical activity is movement that is carried out by the skeletal muscles that requires energy

Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance

Exercise, however, is planned, structured, repetitive and intentional movement intended to improve or maintain physical fitness. Exercise is a subcategory of physical activity.

Exercise and Physical Activity Improve

overall fitness
body mass index
cardiovascular and muscular health
overall well-being by relieving stress
reducing depression
brain power, memory and thinking

Exercise Falls Into 5 Main Categories:

Aerobic. Aerobic exercise is the kind that makes you breathe harder and builds your fitness up. …
Strength building
Balance Training
Endurance
Flexibility

Check out these seven ways exercise can lead to a happier, healthier you

1. Exercise controls weight
Exercise can help prevent excess weight gain or help maintain weight loss. When you engage in physical activity, you burn calories. The more intense the activity, the more calories you burn.

2. Exercise combats health conditions and diseases
Worried about heart disease? Hoping to prevent high blood pressure? No matter what your current weight is, being active boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the “good” cholesterol, and it decreases unhealthy triglycerides. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly, which decreases your risk of cardiovascular diseases.

3. Exercise improves mood
Need an emotional lift? Or need to blow off some steam after a stressful day? A gym session or brisk walk can help. Physical activity stimulates various brain chemicals that may leave you feeling happier, more relaxed and less anxious. You may also feel better about your appearance and yourself when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem.

4. Exercise boosts energy
Winded by grocery shopping or household chores? Regular physical activity can improve your muscle strength and boost your endurance. Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.

5. Exercise promotes better sleep
Struggling to snooze? Regular physical activity can help you fall asleep faster, get better sleep and deepen your sleep. Just don’t exercise too close to bedtime, or you may be too energized to go to sleep.

6. Exercise puts the spark back into your sex life
Do you feel too tired or too out of shape to enjoy physical intimacy? Regular physical activity can improve energy levels and increase your confidence about your physical appearance, which may boost your sex life.

7. Exercise can be fun … and social!
Exercise and physical activity can be enjoyable. They give you a chance to unwind, enjoy the outdoors or simply engage in activities that make you happy. Physical activity can also help you connect with family or friends in a fun social setting.

The bottom line on exercise
Exercise and physical activity are great ways to feel better, boost your health and have fun.

The Recommended Doses of Exercise or Physical Activity

At least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity.

It is suggested that you spread this exercise throughout the week. Examples include running, walking or swimming. Even small amounts of physical activity are helpful, and accumulated activity throughout the day adds up to provide health benefits.

Strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Examples include lifting free weights, using weight machines or doing body-weight training.
Spread your activities throughout the week.
If you want to lose weight, meet specific fitness goals or get even more benefits, you may need to ramp up your moderate aerobic activity to 300 minutes or more a week.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues and helps your cardiovascular system work more efficiently. And when your heart and lung health improve, you have more energy to tackle daily chores.

The health benefits of regular exercise and physical activity are hard to ignore. Everyone benefits from exercise, regardless of age, sex or physical ability.

Regular trips to the gym are great, but don’t worry if you can’t find a large chunk of time to exercise every day. Any amount of activity is better than none at all. To reap the benefits of exercise, just get more active throughout your day — take the stairs instead of the elevator or rev up your household chores. Consistency is key.

We all experience positive benefits from exercise, such as feeling good, being in a good mood and feeling less stressed although this is not backed up by taking time off to exercise in a day, less than once a week or not all. Very strange attitude to have when something as beneficial as exercise and physical activity does not motivate people to participate and reap the rewards on all fronts of our human capacity and make-up.

Physical activity and exercise is great for your body, any sort such as dancing, swimming, walking, and jogging which boost cardio health and strength and of course great for your mind by reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety.

We do not need to regimentally train 24/7, every day of the week to become a gym bunny to have a healthy mind, but it’s proven that moderate exercise can do wonders for your mental health and self-esteem.

If you are feeling low, not sure what to do and bored, get out there and re-energise your mental batteries by putting your shoes on, turn on your music and go for a 20 minute brisk walk, jog or bike ride as it’s been proven that 20 minutes of exercise or physical activity can change your mood.

There are numerous surveys which have been conducted in relation to exercise and physical activity participation, but the figures are alarming low, and it is becoming a major concern to the health services, locally, nationally and Globally.

Estimation figures are as follows
Adults
17% of adults reported exercising daily
83% DO NOT
53% of adults say they feel good about themselves after exercising
35% say it puts them in a good mood
30% say they feel less stressed.

43% of adults say they exercise to manage stress
39% say they have skipped exercise or physical activity in the past month when they were feeling stressed.

62% of adults who say they exercise or walk to help manage stress say the technique is very or extremely effective
43% of adults who report exercising specifically to help manage stress say they skipped exercise or physical activity in the past month when they were stressed.

50% of adults say that being physically active or fit is extremely or very important to them
27% report doing an excellent or very good job of achieving this.

Teenagers also report benefits from exercise but face challenges when it comes to being physically active or fit.

53% of teens say they feel good about themselves after exercising
40% say it puts them in a good mood
32% say they feel less stressed after exercising

Regardless, one in five teens 20% report exercising less than once a week or not at all.

37% of teens say they exercise specifically to manage stress.
68% of teens who say they exercise or walk to help manage stress say the technique is very or extremely effective.

28% of teens skipped exercise or physical activity in the past month when they were feeling stressed
37% of teens who report using exercise to manage stress say they skipped exercise or physical activity in the past month when they were stressed.
Most teens (62%) say that being physically active or fit is extremely or very important to them, yet only 51% report doing an excellent or very good job at achieving this.

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