Exercise
Participating in
regular physical exercise results in significant psychological and physical
benefits. Some of which are:
 | Help
you lose weight, especially fat weight. |
| Improves
the functioning of your immune system. |
| Decreased
overall feelings of stress and tension |
| Lower
or help control your blood pressure. |
| Reduce
total cholesterol. . |
| Reduce
circulating levels of triglycerides (free fatty acid found in the blood). |
| Reduce
the risk of heart disease. |
| Increases
insulin sensitivity to prevent against type II diabetes (adult onset
diabetes). |
| Reduce
the risk of having a stroke. |
| Increase
your level of muscular strength. |
| Increase
your stamina and ability to do continuous work. |
| Increase
or maintain your bone mineral density to prevent osteoporosis. |
| Provide
protection against injury. |
| Maintain
or improve joint integrity. |
| Improves
your balance and coordination. |
People
who want to stay healthy need to exercise for at least an hour a day —
double the previous workout recommendation. For most
healthy people, the American Heart Association recommends an exercise target
heart rate ranging from 50% to 75% of your maximum heart
rate (see graph below). People that have
been exercising regularly and are very fit, may want to increase this range. You can calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from
220. As an example use a 50 year
old person. Maximum heart rate is
220-50 = 170 beats per minute. Your
ideal exercise training range is 50% to 75% of 170 i.e. 85 to 128 heart beats
per minute.
Measure your heart rate during exercise by feeling your pulse or using a heart rate monitor to ensure that you are in this range. Some examples of exercise are brisk walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming and aerobic dance. If you haven’t exercised for some time, start off with 10 minutes and gradually build up to 30 minutes, then 60 minutes or more per session. Please consult your doctor to determine the exact duration and intensity that is best for you.
Testing your Heart Rate Recovery (HRR) is an excellent indicator of current fitness level and risk of heart disease . To test your HRR, measure your heart rate during peak exercise workload. Stop exercising and measure your heart rate again one minute after the exercise. The difference between these two heart rates is your HRR. 17 is typical for an average person. A high HRR is better. If less than 13, see your doctor immediately.
As an example - if your maximum heart rate is 160 beats per minute and one minute after exercise, 140, your HRR can be calculated as follows:160-140=20. (which is good)
Your resting heart rate is another indicator of cardiac efficiency or how well your heart and lungs work. The more fit an individual is, the lower the heart rate will be before, during, and after exercise. The average person has a resting heart rate of 70 beats per minute, whilst a marathon runner's resting heart-rate will be 40 beats per minute.