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Our bodies tend to respond positively to the right stimulus. Exercise and a healthy diet can change your quality of life. The important thing is to be consistent, and embrace a healthy lifestyle as part and parcel of your life. Why exercise? Regular physical exercise reduces your chances of getting heart disease. Exercise improves sleep patterns. You will sleep soundly and restfully after your days workout. Muscles are a vital part of the human body. Strength exercises will keep you toned, strong and in-shape. As you become physically fit, you will find that you have more energy and your levels of fatigue and stress will reduce. A strong body improves posture, increases bone density and improves the metabolic rate. Can you think of 5 completely fit adults that you know? People who have no health problems whatsoever? No backache, no heart or cholesterol problems, no weight issues, no digestive disorders. How many did you count? With our stressful urban lifestyle, the incidence of health problems has become all too common. We need to reverse this trend, by taking care of our bodies. This is actually simpler than it sounds. Everyone needs exercise. Exercise is not only for those who are out of shape. Once you get into a regular workout schedule, you will see the rewards. Your body will look leaner and fitter and you will feel much more active through the day. In fact, all that extra activity will also help you get a good nights sleep! Apart from enjoying all the health benefits that go with being fit, when your body is in peak condition, your physical appearance improves too. Glowing skin and shining eyes are the best accessories for your brand new look! Chances are you will be smiling a lot more too. Specially with all the compliments that will be coming your way Namita Jain Namita is a Clinical Exercise Specialist and Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant. She is currently attached to Bombay Hospital as their clinical and wellness specialist. Look forward to the following fitness topics this week:

Sustaining fitness levels Improving fitness levels Overcoming barriers to fitness

Physical Fitness Benefits and Importance | Body Health and Fitness There are so many benefits to be gained from participation in physical fitness and wellness programs and people of all ages and both genders can derive benefits from such programs so as to help them to maintain high er quality of life. The most important benefits of physical fitness

and wellness approach in the development of positive attitude that helps people to see lifes possibilities and to work for their attainment so as to make ones life personally fulfilling and satisfying. It provides the basis for optimal physiological health and gives us the capacity to enjoy a full life. The main benefits of Physical Fitness are 1. Condition of heart and lungs by increasing the oxygen available to the body therefore enabling the heart to use oxygen more efficiently. 2. Devolopment of physical fitness components such as strength, endurance , agility, flexibility, etc and improvement of muscle tone. 3. Fosters correct posture, figure, body image, and physical appearance. 4. Quick recovery after injury, illness and decrease the risk of cardio-vascular disease. 5. Reduces and controls body fat, exercise combined with a proper diet will reduce body fat and also fulfill proper nutritional requirement 6. Increase energy level of a person and helps to maintain ideal body weight. 7. Through Participation in physical fitness program, leisure (free) time is properly utilized. 8. Improve mood and reduce depression and anxiety. 9. Postpones fatigue and reduces recovery time after vigorous activity. 10. Helps people to meet challenges of life, make them self confident and postpones ageing process.
What is Physical Fitness? So what is physical fitness? Well, it is a state or condition in which both your body and your mind are healthy and physically sound (by taking in proper nutrition and maintaining a good workout schedule). It is not necessary for a person who is physically fit to have a lean body, that can be achieved by maximum calories burned. Rather, they should have strong body endurance, along with good muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. It is also important to remember that a physically fit body is generally accompanied with a happy and satisfied state of mind. Importance of Physical Fitness Gone are the days when physical exercises were meant for people serving in the armed forces (or those having physically demanding jobs). These days, a physically fit body, free from aliments of any kind, is believed to be one of the most important assets that a human being can possess. The importance of physical fitness and exercise, customized to the specific requirements of both young and old, has led to the popularity and use of exercise equipment. The easy access to gyms and fitness centers further highlights the importance of physical fitness. This has resulted in people leading longer and healthier lives, that their predecessors could not have dreamed of. Advantages of Being Physically Fit Physical fitness not only improves our quality of life, but also helps us in the long run. It increases cardiovascular fitness and body endurance. Regular exercise can also help increase the strength of your heart. Whats more, being physically fit also increases blood circulation and helps it to deliver oxygen and nutrients to all the tissues. This not only helps the muscles increase your overall body strength, but increases its ability to exert force and sustain contractions. Physical fitness makes your joints and body more flexible, and regular exercise results in a decrease of body fat. It increases lean body mass, resulting in a balanced and healthy body composition. Never negate the importance of physical fitness, and work towards achieving a healthy disease-free body!

If a sensible man is asked to answer the question as to what he does prefer, health or wealth, naturally he will answer without much hesitation 'Health' because wealth without a good health becomes useless. The westerners pay more attention to their health than the people of the orient. In b\Britain they have the Central COuncil of Physical Recreation, the Scottish Council of Physical Recreation, the National Playing Fields Association. THe function of these various bodies is to keep the nation fit, not only physcially but mentally alert also. In modern education, physcial education and training forms part of the curriculum. In singapore schools, physical training is imparted to the young with the view to keep the young fit so that the future citizens of the country will be healthy. Only by enjoying good health can we think of enjoying wealth. Physical fitness is a must to both the young and old. THe best time to have exercise is early in the morning and late in the evening. If we cannot have a strenuous exercise, it is better to have at least a free hand exercise daily. In som countries like India and Britain, the yoga exercises are practised by some people. It is said that the best form of physical exercise is to stand on one's head. Experiments have proved that this exercise enables the man to get the required movements of the inner as well as outer organs and the result is man is also made mentally alert. People who do not take regular physical exercise are the ones who easily fall ill. The diseases such as diabetis and rheumatism can be prevented if we take regular physical exercises. A body without exercise can be compared to a machine that is kept inactive. Inactivity will lead to the machine getting rusty and in the long run becoming ueseless, so also is it the case with human body. The Japanses are an envy to the rest of the world. From a very young age the children of Japan are trained in Physcial fitness and the result is tremendous. Japan has one of the healthiest populations in the world and the mortality rate in Jpaan is low. Needless to say, physcial fitness is imperative evn among women and many of them do not seem to realise the importance of this. It is a folly to be so.

Benefits of Physical Fitness Physical Fitness has many positive benefits for a persons body. Exercise provides health benefits, increases strength and energy, enhances a persons appearance, which helps with self-esteem and also relieves stress. A major health benefit from exercising is reducing the risk of heart disease. Exercise will help increase the HDL (good cholesterol) to LDL (bad cholesterol) ratio. Estimates are that 96.8 million American adults (51 percent) have blood cholesterol values of 200 mg/dL and higher. About 37.7 million American adults (20 percent) have levels of 240 or above. By having physical activity, the efficiency of the heart and lungs is increased. As a persons level of fitness increases blood pressure will decrease therefore lowering high blood pressure. Exercise also controls diabetes by increasing insulin efficiency. A persons body is protected against osteoporosis when exercising because bone mass is increased. Studies done on the bone density of broken limbs have shown that in just 2 months, a bone can lose 5 percent of its mass. Astronauts have also shown similar loses when subjected to weightlessness. By exercising frequently, a persons joints, tendons, and ligaments are more flexible promoting easy unrestricted movement. This will increase a persons sense of balance and agility. Exercise also helps expedite the movement of the nutrients to the cells and the toxins from the cells improving digestion and elimination. The endurance and energy level a persons body is also increased. Exercising increases a persons life span by slowing aging process. Muscle tone in the body is improved and weight loss is controlled making a person look and feel better. This type of feeling really helps boost a persons self-esteem and decreases depression. Physical activity relieves stress and tension from a persons body by clearing the mind. Anxiety can also be released in exercises such as kickboxing, aerobics, or tae-bo. Another benefit that most people dont think of is the reduction in health care costs. The fitter a person is, the less chance of becoming ill. As many as 12 percent of the deaths in the US may be due to diseases associated with lack of regular physical activity. Steven Blair, chief of epidemiology at the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, led a study of physical activity levels and mortality. He found that the greatest percentage decrease in the death rate occurred in moving from the lowest fit group to the next-lowest fit group. Increasing levels of fitness went along with lower death rates, but the percentage improved in longevity decreased as fitness increased. Heart diseased, strokes, cancer, and diabetes are four of the top ten causes of death. These diseases

are a great burden to our health care system. A person might consider and think about the savings physical fitness can bring to themselves and the government. Our health is very important to us. If physical fitness can help us be healthier and live a longer life span, then we should consider having some sort of exercise routine added to our daily life. College of Sports and Medicine (ACSM) and the Centers for Disease Control recommended, Every Us adult should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week.