Want to look good, feel good and live longer? Exercise can make a difference.
Love it or hate it, daily regular exercise for all ages is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. It is good for the heart, blood pressure, muscles and bones, boosts our natural ‘‘feelgood’’ chemicals (endorphins), reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, burns off calories and helps our memory.
Most of us want to look good and live a long life but it often seems we care more for our cars than our bodies. If the TV and refrigerator weren’t so far apart, some of us wouldn’t get any exercise at all. But exercising for just 30 of the daily 1440 minutes – all it takes to make a start in the right direction – doesn’t mean sore backs, sad-looking runners or being obsessive.
The secret to choosing your exercise is about finding what is realistic and what works best for you. Good genes and good luck help some people find exercise easy but if you choose it yourself, you should find it enjoyable and you will more likely stick at it. And it doesn’t necessarily mean expensive gyms or entering a marathon.
Walking is a safe, effective and easy start. Short, frequent bursts of activity (snacktivity) are known to reduce heart attack risk. Begin with 10 minutes a day and increase to 60 as you begin to feel good about yourself. Use a pedometer to total your daily steps – aim for 10,000.
Keep some walking shoes in your car, take the stairs, not the lift, and park away from the supermarket. Walk, bike or take a bus to work. Don’t send emails if you can walk with the message. Start a lunchtime walking group. You’ll be amazed how this produces fitness over time.
But watch out for the initial burst of enthusiasm – injury or overtraining will set you back or put you off. Take it slow and steady. And if you have other health conditions, or are over 60, see your GP first for a check up and some advice on how to ease into your programme.
If you are over 60, pilates, yoga, tai chi, and aqua aerobics can help you stay strong and mobile, reduce Alzheimer’s risk and prevent falls.
For children, fitness should be fun family activities instead of TV. Fit children sleep well and cope better with school and study.
Walking to school or catching a bus is better than going by car. Sadly, stubborn teenagers may need rewarding to walk the dog instead of playing computer games.
Most exercise that is not high impact is safe in pregnancy and helps you prepare for labour. Pregnant women should never exercise to lose weight.
Someone said: ‘‘Whenever I feel like exercise, I lie down until the feeling passes.’’ I hope it wasn’t you.
| DIY: MAKING THE MOST OF IT |
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1. Try community centres and the YMCA for free exercise classes.
2. Join a dance class or another activity group for moral support. |
3. Join a gym if you don’t like the winter cold and make sure you’re taught how to use the equipment.
4. Get into the gardening, lawn mowing and housework – luckily they all count as exercise. |
(Published in the Sunday News, 19 July 2009)
More everybody MYHEALTH columns from Barbara Docherty
Barbara Docherty is a registered nurse and clinical lecturer at the University of Auckland School of Nursing, and writer for the everybody.co.nz website. The opinions contained herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the publisher or sponsor. Copyright UBM Medica (NZ) Ltd.
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