Physical Fitness & Exercise Health Tips:
According to wikipedia’s Encyclopedia:
Physical Fitness:
Comprises 2 related concepts:
General fitness (a state of health & well-being) & specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through exercise, correct nutrition & enough rest & is an important part of life.
In previous years, fitness was defined as capacity to carry out a day’s activities without undue fatigue. However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution rendered this definition insufficient. These days, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently & effectively in work & leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist diseases, & to meet emergency situations.
Components of physical fitness:
President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports:
Study group sponsored by US government declines to offer simple definition
Following chart was developed:
Physiology
Metabolic
Morphological
Bone integrity
Health related
Body composition
Cardiovascular fitness
Flexibility
Muscular endurance
Muscle strength
Comprehensive Fitness Program:
A tailored to an individual will probably focus on one or more specific skills. It will focus on age & on health-related needs. It should focus on bone health. Many sources cite mental, social & emotional health as an important part of overall fitness. This is presented in textbooks as a triangle.
It’s made up of 3 points. They represent physical, emotional, & mental fitness. Physical fitness can prevent or treat many chronic health conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyle or aging. Working out can help you sleep better. It’s that important to participate in physical fitness activities.
General Fitness:
State of health is the level of functional &/or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it’s the general condition of a person in mind, body & spirit, usually meaning to being free from illness, injury or pain “good health” or “healthy”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in ’46 as “a state of complete physical, mental, & social well-being with non disease or/& infirmity. This definition has been interpreted differently to different people.
In previous years, fitness was commonly defined as capacity to carry out day’s activities without undue fatigue. However, as automation increased leisure time, changes in lifestyles following the industrial revolution rendered this definition insufficient. These days, physical fitness is considered a measure of the body’s ability to function efficiently & effectively in work & leisure activities, to be healthy, to resist hypo kinetic diseases, & to meet emergency situations.
Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness (a state of health & well-being) & specific fitness (a task-oriented definition based on ability to perform specific aspects of sports or occupations). Physical fitness is generally achieved through correct nutrition, exercise, & enough rest.
President’s Council on Physical Fitness & Sports is a study group sponsored by US Government, declined to offer simple definition of physical fitness, instead, developed following chart:
Health related Skill related Sports:
Metabolic
Morphological
Bone integrity
Body composition
Cardiovascular fitness
Flexibility
Muscular endurance
Muscle strength
Agility
Balance
Coordination
Power
Speed
Reaction time
Team sport
Individual sport
Lifetime
A comprehensive fitness program tailored to an individual will probably focus on one or more specific skills, & on age-or health-related needs: bone health. Many sources cite mental, social & emotional health as an important part of overall fitness. This is often presented in textbooks as a triangle made up of three points, which represent physical, emotional, & mental fitness. Physical fitness can prevent or treat many chronic health conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyle or aging. Working out can help people sleep better. To stay healthy it’s vitally important to engage in physical activity frequently. As you approach “high blood pressure age”, it’s important to vigorously exercise daily to keep hypertension down, along with a fruit & veggie rich daily diet.
Training:
Specific or task-oriented fitness is person’s ability to perform in specific activity with a reasonable efficiency.
Examples:
Sports or military service; specific training prepares athletes to perform well in their sports.
400 m sprint: In a sprint, the athlete must be trained to work anaerobically throughout the race.
Marathon: Athlete must be trained to work aerobically & endurance must be built-up to maximum.
Many fire fighters & police officers undergo regular fitness testing to determine if their capable of physically demanding tasks required of the job.
US Army, Army National Guard must be able to pass Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT).
Physical exercise:
Any bodily activity that enhances or maintains physical fitness & overall health & wellness. It’s performed for various reasons including strengthening muscles & the cardiovascular system, honing athletic skills, weight loss or maintenance, as well as for purpose of enjoyment. Frequent & regular physical exercise boosts immune system, & helps prevent “diseases of affluence”: heart disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes & obesity. It improves mental health, helps prevent depression, helps to promote or maintain positive self esteem, & can even augment an individual’s sex appeal or body image, which is found to be linked with higher levels of self esteem. Childhood obesity is a growing global concern & physical exercise may help decrease effects of childhood obesity in developed countries. Health care providers often call exercise the “miracle” or “wonder” drug, alluding to wide variety of proven benefits that it provides.
Classification:
Types of Physical Exercises: They’re generally grouped into 3 types, depending on overall effect they have on human body: Flexibility exercises: stretching, improve range of motion of muscles & joints. Aerobic exercises: cycling, swimming, walking, skipping rope, rowing, running, hiking, playing tennis. They focus on increasing cardiovascular endurance. Anaerobic exercises: weight training, functional training, eccentric training or sprinting, increase short-term muscle strength. Categories of physical exercise: Strength training Agility training Eccentric Training ‘Dynamic’ exercises: steady running, tend to produce a lowering of diastolic blood pressure during exercise, due to improved blood flow. Static exercise: weight-lifting) can cause systolic pressure to rise significantly (during exercise). Categories of general physical skills: Physical exercise is used to improve physical skills. Physical skills fall into the following general categories, per Cross Fit: Cardiovascular/respiratory endurance: Stamina Strength Flexibility Power Speed Coordination Agility Balance Accuracy Benefits Effect on the immune system: Although there have been hundreds of studies on exercise & the immune system, there’s little direct evidence on its connection to illness. Epidemiological evidence suggests that moderate exercise has a beneficial effect on human immune system; an effect which is modeled in a J curve. Moderate exercise has been associated with a 29% decreased incidence of upper respiratory tract infections (URTI), but studies of marathon runners found that their prolonged high-intensity exercise was associated with an increased risk of infection occurrence. However, another study did not find the effect. Immune cell functions are impaired following acute sessions of prolonged, high-intensity exercise, & some studies have found that athletes are at a higher risk for infections. The immune systems of athletes & non athletes are generally similar. Athletes may have slightly elevated natural killer cell count & cytolytic action, but these are unlikely to be clinically significant. Vitamin C supplementation has been associated with lower URTIs in marathon runners. Biomarkers of inflammation such as C-reactive protein, which are associated with chronic diseases, are reduced in active individuals relative to sedentary individuals, & positive effects of exercise may be due to its anti-inflammatory effects. Depression in the immune system following acute bouts of exercise may be one of the mechanisms for this anti-inflammatory effect. Effects on brain function A 2008 review of cognitive enrichment therapies (strategies to slow or reverse cognitive decline)concluded “physical activity, & aerobic exercise in particular, enhances older adults’ cognitive function”. In mice, exercise improves cognitive functioning via improvement of hippo-campus-dependent spatial learning, & enhancement of synaptic plasticity & neuro-genesis. In addition, physical activity has been shown to be neuro-protective in many neuro-degenerative & neuromuscular diseases. Exercise reduces risk of developing dementia. Anecdotal evidence suggests, frequent exercise may reverse alcohol-induced brain damage. There are several possibility examples for why exercise is beneficial for the brain: Increasing the blood & oxygen flow to the brain Increasing growth factors help create new nerve cells & promote synaptic plasticity increasing chemicals in the brain help cognition: dopamine, glutamate, no-repinephrine,& serotonin. Physical activity beneficial effects related to cognition where it increases levels of nerve growth factors that support survival & growth of number of neuronal cells. Effects on depression: Factors contributing to depression: Being overweight, low self esteem, stress, & anxiety. Endorphins act as a natural pain reliever, antidepressant, improvement in mood, increased self-esteem, & weight management in the body. Endorphins responsible for “runner’s high”(euphoric feeling person receives from intense physical exertion). Anandamide may play a greater role than endorphins in “runner’s high”. When person exercises, levels of both circulating serotonin & endorphins are increased. Their levels are known to stay elevated even several days after exercise is discontinued. Exercise alone is potential prevention method and/or treatment for mild forms of depression. Exercise: According to A 2010 review of published scientific research suggested it improves sleep for most people & helps sleep disorders like insomnia disappear. The optimum benefit time to exercise may be 4 to 8 hours before bedtime, exception being not heavy exercise taken shortly before bedtime because it may disturb sleep. Public health community campaigns measures encourages to take stairs, have been shown to be effective in increasing exercise in a population. For example, City of Bogot¡, Colombia, blocks off 113 kilometers (70 miles) of roads on Sundays and holidays to make it easier for its citizens to get exercise. These pedestrian zones are part of an effort to combat chronic diseases, including obesity. Compendium of Physical Activities: Compendium of Physical Activities was developed for use in epidemiologic studies to standardize assignment of MET intensities in physical activity questionnaires. Compendium of is list of physical activities & associated energy cost of each activity. original Compendium was published in 1993, first update in 2000, & most recent update in 2011. More information can be found at the Compendium of Physical Activities website: https://sites.google.com/site/compendiumofphysicalactivities/ MET (Metabolic Equivalent): The ratio of the work metabolic rate to the resting metabolic rate. One MET is defined as 1 kcal/kg/hour & is roughly equivalent to energy cost of sitting quietly. A MET also is defined as oxygen uptake in ml/kg/min with one MET equal to the oxygen cost of sitting quietly, equivalent to 3.5 ml/kg/min. Common misconceptions: Many myths have arisen surrounding exercise, some true, some false. Myths include: Excessive exercise can cause immediate death. Death by exercise has some small basis in fact. Water intoxication can result from prolific sweating (producing electrolyte losses) combined with consumption of large amounts of plain water & insufficient replenishment of electrolytes, especially salt & potassium (when running a marathon). It’s possible to die from a heart attack or similar affliction if overly intense exercise is performed by someone who isn’t at an appropriate level of fitness for that particular activity or has an undiagnosed rare condition like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Doctor should always be consulted before any radical changes are made to a person’s current exercise routine. Rhabdomyolysis is a risk. Common dangers may occur from extreme overheating or aggravation of a physical defect: thrombosis or aneurysm. Weightlifting makes you short or stops growth. One confirmed danger is that heavy weight training in adolescents (ages 11-16) can damage the epiphyseal plate of long bones & can stunt joints. It’s still commonly suggested that adolescents refrain from any kind of “strenuous” weight-lifting. Weight training is a healthy form of exercise for adolescents & can be perfectly safe if performed under the supervision of a trained professional. Muscle & fat tissue: One misconception is that muscle tissue will turn into fat tissue once a person stops exercising. This is not literally true-fat tissue & muscle tissue are fundamentally different-but the common expression that “muscle will turn to fat” is truthful in the sense that catabolism of muscle fibers for energy can result in excess glucose being stored as fat. For example, composition of a body part can change toward less muscle & more fat. Meaning a cross-section of the upper-arm, will have a greater area corresponding to fat & a smaller area corresponding to muscle. This is not muscle “turning into fat” It’s simply a combination of muscle atrophy & increased fat storage in different tissues of same body part. Muscle is being replaced by fat. Another element of increased fatty deposits is that of diet. Most trainees will not significantly reduce their diet in order to compensate for lack of exercise/activity. Excessive exercise: Exercise is a stressor & stresses of exercise have catabolic effect on body. Contractile proteins within muscles are consumed for energy, carbohydrates & fats are similarly consumed & connective tissues are stressed & can form micro-tears. Given adequate nutrition & sufficient rest to avoid over training, the body’s reaction to this stimulus is to adapt & replete tissues at a higher level than that existing before exercising. Results are all training effects of regular exercise: increased muscular strength, endurance, bone density, connective tissue toughness. Too much exercise can be harmful. Without proper rest, chance of stroke or other circulation problems increases, & muscle tissue may develop slowly. Extremely intense, long-term cardiovascular exercise, as can be seen in athletes who train for multiple marathons, has been associated with scarring of the heart & heart rhythm abnormalities. Inappropriate exercise can do more harm than good, with definition of “inappropriate” varying according to individual. For many activities, especially running & cycling, there are significant injuries that occur with poorly regimented exercise schedules. Injuries from accidents remain a major concern, whereas effects of increased exposure to air pollution seem only a minor concern. In extreme instances, over-exercising induces serious performance loss. Unaccustomed overexertion of muscles leads to rhabdomyolysis(damage to muscle) most often seen in new army recruits. Another danger is over training, in which the intensity or volume of training exceeds the body’s capacity to recover between bouts. Stopping excessive exercise suddenly can create a change in mood. Feelings of depression & agitation can occur when withdrawal from natural endorphins produced by exercise occurs. Exercise should be controlled by each body’s inherent limitations. While one set of joints & muscles may have the tolerance to withstand multiple marathons, another body may be damaged by 20 minutes of light jogging. This must be determined for each individual. Too much exercise can cause a female to miss her period, a symptom known as amenorrhea. Exercise trends Main article: Exercise trends Worldwide there has been a large shift towards less physically demanding work. This has been accompanied by increasing use of mechanized transportation, greater prevalence of labor saving technology in home, & less active recreational pursuits. Nutrition & recovery: Proper nutrition is as important to health as exercise. When exercising, it becomes even more important to have a good diet to ensure the body has correct ratio of macro-nutrients whilst providing ample micro-nutrients, in order to aid body with recovery process following strenuous exercise. Proper rest & recovery are as important to health as exercise; otherwise the body exists in a permanently injured state & won’t improve or adapt adequately to exercise. It’s necessary to refill glycogen stores in skeletal muscles & liver. Nutrition & recovery can be compromised by psychological compulsions (eating disorders: exercise bulimia, anorexia, & other bulimias), misinformation, lack of organization, or lack of motivation. Delayed onset muscle soreness can occur after any kind of exercise, particularly if the body is in an unconditioned state relative to that exercise. History: The benefits of exercise have been known since antiquity. Marcus Cicero, around 65 BC, basically said: It’s exercise alone that supports the spirits, & keeps mind in vigor. Link between physical health & exercise (or lack of it) was only discovered in ’49 & reported in ’53 by a team led by Jerry Morris. Dr. Morris noted men of similar social class & occupation (bus conductors versus bus drivers) had markedly different rates of heart attacks, depending on level of exercise they got: bus drivers had a sedentary occupation & higher incidence of heart disease, while bus conductors were forced to move continually & had lower incidence of heart disease. This link hadn’t previously been noted & was later confirmed by other researchers. In other species Physical exercise has been shown to benefit a wide range of other mammals, as well as salmon, crocodiles & one species of bird. However, several studies have shown that lizards display no benefit from exercise, leading them to be termed “metabolically inflexible”.