Physical Activity

Physical Activity is a vital part of taking care of your whole body. It should not be a chore. It should be something that you enjoy. The no pain no gain mentality is not going to be found here. That is a good way to hurt yourself. As with any change start gradually and work your way up to where you want to be. For all around fitness there are three areas to keep in mind.

• Flexibility
• Strength Training
• Aerobic Activity

Flexibility is the range of motion of each joint in the body. This encompasses tendons, ligaments, and muscles. That is why flexibility is so important. Working on it helps decrease our risk of injury not only during exercise but in everyday activities. We should take about 10 minutes everyday to work on our flexibility.

Strength Training is, as it sounds, helping you to be stronger. Now this doesn't just help your muscles it helps your bones become stronger and more dense as well. Strengthening your muscles helps your body use its energy more efficiently, which helps in loosing and maintaining a healthy weight. It also helps to exercise your fast twitch muscle fibers which tend to atrophy as we get older from a sedentary lifestyle. These muscle fibers are the initial response when using muscles, which help with tasks such as getting up from a seat and they also help with balance.

Aerobic Activity is a prolonged activity that includes large muscle groups and gets your heart beating. You should sweat and your breathing should get heavier but you should still be able to talk. If your heart rate doesn't increase then you are not working hard enough but if you cannot talk or catch your breath then you are working too hard. This kind of exercise helps to develop your cardiovascular system, which means it influences your heart, lungs, muscles, arteries and veins. It helps prevent heart disease and stroke. It also helps you loose weight. Now there are so many different kinds of activities that you can do to keep your body moving that you just need to keep trying until you find some that you like. The main goal is to just get up and move!!

All of these physical activities help you to feel better. Not only do you start to look more fit but it also decreases anxiety and stress levels. It doesn't take them away but it helps to decrease the effects of them. Also there is a release of endorphins which makes us feel good. A long with many other benefits it gives us a sense of accomplishment.