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The Benefits Of Regular Exercise |
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Written by Tania
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Regular exercise is important whatever your age. Frequent activity
brings a wide range of benefits for your whole body. It strengthens
your muscles, builds and maintains bone density, protects your joints
and improves general posture, flexibility and resilience. Exercise is
essential to ensure that your mind and body function healthily and
happily throughout your life.
Walking
Walking is a great way to increase fitness and improve your general
health. It is safe, low-impact and can be enjoyed by almost anyone, yet
brings similar benefits to many more strenuous activities. It is also
easy to incorporate into your everyday routine.
Outdoor walking gets you out in the fresh air and lets you explore
different areas and types of terrain. Indoor walking on a treadmill
provides an all-weather alternative. It is easy to combine with other
tasks too - you could try walking to work each day, for example, or
walking instead of driving to the shops.
Regular walking strengthens your muscles and joints, reducing the
likelihood of injury. Stronger bones mean that regular brisk walkers
are less likely to suffer fractures. Walking also helps to imporve mood
and reduce symtoms of depression and anxiety.
Walking at a vigorous pace is beneficial for the heart and lungs and
has been shown to reduce mortality rates in both young and old people.
It is also an excellent way to lose weight - walking for just one mile
can burn up to 100 calories.
Jogging
Less stressful for the joints than sprinting, jogging is a
very effective way to achieve cardio-vascular fitness and burn
calories. It is also an effective way to build strong muscles and bones
in your lower body becuase the force of impact from each step makes the
tissues grow stronger in response.
By the same token, however, the extra strain on muscles and
joints from this type of repetitive impact can lead to injuries - knee
pain and shin splints are common complaints.
For this reason, it is vital to wear good running shoes that
cushion and support your feet - regular joggers should buy a new pair
of running shoes every six months to a year.
Always remember to warm up and stretch thoroughly before you
start. You will need to breathe a little harder than normal to get more
oxygen into your body, but you should still be able to hold a
conversation while you jog - this is a sign that you are not overdoing
things. If you find yourself getting too out of breath, slow down or
walk until you have recovered. When your breathing has returned to a
more comfortable level you can start to jog again.
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