There are countless reasons for doing regular exercise. You may want to lose weight, help yourself be emotionally more stable by using a physical activity to reduce stress, or simply to be more fit. Exercising can actually help you feel better, be more energetic, and even increase your lifespan. This article will focus on the benefit of increasing your odds for living longer with the right amount of physical exertion.
There are many different ways to get those muscles active and increase your heart rate. It is obviously important to choose one or more activities that you will stay with and not dread doing. Going to the gym, of course, is one thing that is popular and may be right for you. Perhaps, your preference would be playing tennis, walking, jogging, running, swimming, or a host of other available choices. Of course, you may want to do a variety of things to keep it more interesting.
Numerous studies have been done which compare the amount of exercise and the intensity of exercise with the health benefits received. Thousands of people have been observed in these studies which have compared mortality rates over spans of quite a few years. The results are interesting.
Aerobic exercise occurs when you increase your heart rate. You get aerobic exercise when you jog or swim or do any type of strenuous movement. The heart, like any muscle, gets stronger when you make it work harder. Aerobic movement increases the heart rate, makes your heart pump more blood, and gets more oxygen to your cells.
Some amount of high-intensity exercise, such as jogging or aerobics, has been found to be more beneficial than the more moderate activities, such as leisurely swimming or doing housework.
While even 20 minutes a day of moderate exercising will be beneficial to your heart, the Center for Disease Control, or CDC, recommends 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week, or 150 minutes a week.
Dr. Mercola points out some interesting statistics from a study which involved 661,000 adults for 14 years. People who exercised for 150 minutes a week had a 31 per cent lower mortality rate than the non-exercisers. However, those who exercised ten times that much, also had about the same mortality rate as the 150 minutes a week people.
The optimum benefit was experienced by those exercising at a moderate intensity for 450 minutes per week. Those people lowered their risk of premature death by 39 per cent! Thus, dividing that 450 minutes by 7 days in the week, would be about 64 minutes a day. Or if you prefer to exercise 5 days a week, 90 minutes would be ideal.
Realize, of course, that not all of your moderate or strenuous movement has to be spent on the tennis court or jogging or swimming, and any physical work that you do also counts. Pushing a lawn mower, washing windows, and many other activities can get that heart rate up and make positive contributions to your healthy lifestyle!
One caution, however, to you if you have been a non-exerciser: please approach the getting fit routine slowly. Start with a few minutes a day, or every other day, and increase your activity as your body tells you it is ready. Some of you may also be wise to check with your doctor before increasing your physical activity very much.
But do it! Get started. Just do it and experience those amazing benefits. I believe you will be pleased with your results.
As we age, in order to maintain optimum health, the body seems to have a higher requirement for nutrition and exercise. One way to increase nutrition is to add vitamin & mineral supplements, such as can be found at http://www.NutritionTeam.net. For more articles by Judy Thompson delivered straight to your inbox, get your free subscription at http://www.LearnNutritionBasics.com. The Bible in Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge... " Don't let your lack of knowledge destroy your health... get your free subscription today!
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