WHY IS EXERCISE

BENEFICIAL??

6 BENEFITS OF EXERCISE 1.Exercise improves your mood. Need to blow off some steam after a stressful day?

A workout at the gym or a brisk 30-minute walk can help you calm down.

Exercise stimulates various brain chemicals, which may leave you feeling happier and more relaxed than you were before you worked out. You'll also look better and feel better when you exercise regularly, which can boost your confidence and improve your self-esteem. Exercise even reduces feelings of depression and anxiety.

6 BENEFITS OF EXERCISE 2.Exercise combats diseases Regular exercise will help prevent heart disease – the

#1 killer of both men and women in the US. Regular exercise can help you prevent — or manage

— high blood pressure. Your cholesterol will benefit, too. Regular exercise boosts high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good," cholesterol while decreasing low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad," cholesterol. This one-two punch keeps your blood flowing smoothly by lowering the buildup of plaques in your arteries.Regular exercise can help you prevent type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and certain types of cancer.

6 BENEFITS OF EXERCISE 3. Exercise helps you manage

your weight. Want to drop those excess pounds? Trade some

couch time for walking or other physical activities. This one's a no-brainer. When you exercise, you

burn calories. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories you burn — and the easier it is to keep your weight under control. You don't even need to set aside major chunks of time for working out. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk during your lunch break. Do jumping jacks during commercials.

6 BENEFITS OF EXERCISE 4. Exercise strengthens your

heart and lungs. Winded by grocery shopping or household chores?

Don't throw in the towel. Regular exercise can leave you breathing easier.

Exercise delivers oxygen and nutrients to your tissues. In fact, regular exercise helps your entire cardiovascular system — the circulation of blood through your heart and blood vessels — work more efficiently. Big deal? You bet! When your heart and lungs work more efficiently, you'll have more energy to do the things you enjoy.

6 BENEFITS OF EXERCISE 5. Exercise promotes better sleep. Struggling to fall asleep? Or stay asleep? It might

help to boost your physical activity during the day. A good night's sleep can improve your concentration,

productivity and mood. And, you guessed it, exercise is sometimes the key to better sleep. Regular exercise can help you fall asleep faster and deepen your sleep. The timing is up to you — but if you're having trouble sleeping, you might want to try late afternoon workouts. The natural dip in body temperature five to six hours after you exercise might help you fall asleep.

6 BENEFITS OF EXERCISE

6. Exercise can be fun! Exercise doesn't have to be drudgery.

Take a ballroom dancing class. Check out a local climbing wall or hiking trail. Plan a neighborhood kickball or touch football game. Find an activity you enjoy, and go for it. If you get bored, try something new. If you're moving, it counts!

What is Fitness?

Defining Fitness Physical fitness is to the human body

what fine tuning is to an car engine. It enables us to perform up to our potential.

Fitness can be described as a condition that helps us look, feel and do our best in our everyday lives.

More specifically, it is the ability of the heart and lungs, blood vessels, and the muscles, to perform at their optimal efficiency.

Components of Fitness

1. CARDIO-RESPITORY ENDURANCE

(AEROBIC)

The efficiency with which the body delivers oxygen and nutrients needed for muscular activity and transports waste products from muscles and cells.

FITT PRINCIPLEFor Aerobic Endurance

F: 3-5 times per weekI: 60-80% of maximum heart rate

(target HR zone)T: 20-60 minutesT: any aerobic activity that keeps HR within zone (running, swimming, basketball, aerobics, frisbee)

20 - 60minutes @ 60% - 80% of Max RH

Determining Target Heart Rate Zone

220 – Your age = Approximate Maximum Heart Rate

Max HR X .60 = Lower end of target zone

Max HR X .80 = Upper end of target zone

Components of Fitness

2. MUSCULAR STRENGTH

The ability of a muscle to exert force for a brief period of time.

FITT PRINCIPLEFor Muscular Strength

F: 2-4 times per weekI: 85% - 100% of 1 rep maxT: 20-60 minutesT: heavier weights with fewer repetitions (weight lifting)

Components of Fitness

3. MUSCULAR ENDURANCE

The ability of a muscle or a group of muscles to sustain repeated contractions or continue force against a fixed object.

FITT PRINCIPLEFor Muscular Endurance

F: 2-4 times per weekI: 65%- 80% of 1 rep maxT: 20-60 minutesT: lighter weight with more repetitions (resistance training, yoga, pilates)

Components of Fitness

4. FLEXIBILITY

The ability to move joints and use muscles though their full range of motion.

FITT PRINCIPLEFor Flexibility

F: DAILY stretchingI: stretch and hold muscle beyond its normal length at a comfortable stretchT: hold for 10-30 secondsT: stretches that allow the body to move through the full range of motion

Components of Fitness

5. BODY COMPOSITION

The amount of body fat a person has in comparison to their total body mass.

Ideal Body Fat Percentages are14% - 21% for Males 18% - 25% for females

PRINCIPLES OF EXERCISE

Adherence to certain basic exercise principles is important for developing an effective program.

The principles of exercise apply to everyone at all levels of physical training, from the Olympic-caliber athlete to the weekend jogger.

These basic principles of exercise must be followed:

1. REGULARITY / REVERSIBILITY

To achieve a training effect, one should strive to exercise each of the first four fitness components at least three times a week.

Infrequent exercise can do more harm than good.

Regularity is also important in resting, sleeping, and following a good diet.

2. PROGRESSION

The intensity (how hard) and/or duration (how long) of exercise must gradually increase to improve a level of fitness.

3. BALANCE

To be effective, a program should include activities that address all the fitness components, since overemphasizing any one of them may hurt the others.

4. VARIETY

Providing a variety of activates reduces boredom and increase motivation and progress.

5. SPECIFICITYTraining must be geared toward

specific goals.

For example, track athletes become better runners if their training emphasize running.

Although swimming is great exercise, it does not improve a 2-mile-run time as much as a running program.

6. RECOVERYA hard day of training for a given

component of fitness should be followed by an easier training day or rest day for that component and/ muscle group(s) to help permit recovery.

Another way to allow recovery is to alternate muscle groups exercised every other day, especially when training for strength and/or muscle endurance.

7. OVERLOAD

The work load of each exercise session must exceed the normal demands placed on the body in order to bring about a training effect.